Body and Make-up Artists
Design and apply make-up, and decorate, adorn and modify the human body using a range of techniques such as tattooing, piercing and skin modification.
Booked solid at the studio
You are an artist at a small studio doing make-up bookings and, on set days, body art appointments, with a calendar that is always full. It is 10am. A bridal booking arrives at noon, a seventeen-year-old and her mother are due for a consultation, and your assistant has just rung to say she is running late.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I'm turning eighteen in a few months. Mum says it's fine and she'll sign anything. I just want the tattoo done now. It's a tiny design. Please, you can do it, can't you?
Do the tattoo, because her mother has agreed and the design is very small
You have broken the law, and you could lose your licence and your business. A parent's permission does not change the age rule. The rule exists to protect young people, and it applies in every state.
Say kindly that it can't happen until she is eighteen, and offer to sketch the design for then
Kayla is disappointed but understands. You sketch the design and she keeps it, coming back on her birthday. Saying no politely means she still wants to be your client.
Say you need to check the rules with a colleague first and ask them to come back next week for an answer
They come back, and you tell them the same answer a week later. You knew the rule already, and asking straight away would have saved everyone a wasted trip.
I know I should have said, but I've never used this foundation before and my skin goes patchy sometimes. It's the wedding in three hours. Surely it'll be fine, won't it?
Do a quick wrist test while you work, and have a gentler option ready
The test shows a mild reaction, so you switch to a gentler product. Mrs Lindqvist looks radiant and has no problems all day. A short pause saved the morning.
Reassure her it'll be fine and go ahead, because there's no time left for tests before the wedding
Her skin reacts in the church, red and blotchy, and the photos show it. A test takes minutes. Skipping it to save time can cost the whole day.
Use a product you know is mild and don't mention it to her
Her skin is fine, but she doesn't know what you used, and later can't tell her own pharmacist. Telling clients what is going on their skin is part of the job.
I'd like this symbol on my forearm. I found it online. I'm not sure exactly what it means, but it looks cool. Can you do it for me? Make it bigger than in the picture.
Say it looks great and start straight away, since it's his arm and it's his choice to make
Hamza loves it for a month. Then a friend tells him what the symbol means, and he regrets it. Respecting a choice includes making sure it's an informed one.
Ask where it comes from, help him look up the meaning, and suggest he sleep on it
Hamza finds out the symbol has a sacred meaning to a particular culture. He chooses a different design that is truly his. He's grateful you slowed him down.
Refuse to do the design at all and tell him he shouldn't have it
Hamza leaves offended and posts that you were rude. You may have been right about the symbol, but your lecture closed the door to talking about it.
How it went
By evening the studio is clean, the bridal party has left happy, and tomorrow's sketches are on the desk. This work is creative and hands-on, but also full of judgement calls about rules, skin and respect. How do you think you'd go at saying no to a customer you really wanted to please?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The bruise that kept changing
A fictional case set in a small studio that does make-up for weddings and film shoots, and body art by appointment.
The situation
Bailey worked as a make-up artist on a short film at a country hall. The scene needed a character to have a bruised cheek. The shoot ran over two days, and on the second morning the director said the bruise looked different from the day before. Bailey had no photos of the first day. The actor was already in the chair, the crew was waiting, and the director was tapping her watch.
What they did
Bailey asked the continuity supervisor for stills from the first day's footage. She matched the colour and shape from those frames, working slowly even though the clock was ticking. She told the director it would take ten minutes and used the time to take photos from three angles for the rest of the shoot. She also started a face chart for the actor, with notes on each product used.
How it turned out
The scene looked right and the director thanked her. For the rest of the shoot, Bailey photographed every look before the actors left the chair. The next production she worked on asked for her face charts as part of the continuity folder.
What would you do?
- Why was it worth taking ten minutes rather than rushing the bruise?
- What small habits did Bailey start that helped the whole crew?
- How would you feel about being the person everyone waits on?