Regardless of whether you want to do bridal makeup or not, if you'd like to get into makeup as a career, this is a great book to have. The business principles that the author discusses are relevant to ALL makeup artists, and not just the ones who work on brides. Plus, to do all this research online would take you hours, if not days---but most (not all, but most) of what you need to know is right here. Make-Up Designory's Beauty Make-Up is pretty straight-forward---base, brows, eyes, cheeks, lips---but it includes sections on applying makeup to mature models, applying makeup via airbrush, and working with brides. You get the sense that they borrowed from their live classes to write the book, and that's a good thing. There's a (very) small chapter on actually working in the beauty biz, but it's not long enough for us to include it in our section titled... Books for Aspiring Makeup Artists​ and the Business End of Things

Sadly, Aucoin died very young---he developed a type of brain cancer called a pituitary tumor, and began severely abusing pain medication. In 2002, he died of kidney and liver failure related to his drug use. His story is both very sad and very inspiring. Even though this is about starting a wedding makeup business, this might be the absolute best makeup book on our list. Seriously. Even if you're not interested in wedding makeup, Makeup Artist Money Manual: A Simple, Step-by-Step Guide to Your Long Lasting, Lucrative Career in Wedding Makeup Artistry is an excellent read, because it discusses running a small business---and as a makeup artist, no matter where you go, you will be running a small business! Chris Scott is an incredible artist, and his book, Face with A Heart: Mastering Authentic Beauty Makeup, is a fantastic read.

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This is another book that doesn't really provide techniques or glossy how-to photos; if that's your interest, you should look at the Kevyn Aucoin book and the Chris Scott book above. How to Be a Professional Makeup Artist: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners provides just that: a kind of road map to a makeup artistry career. Did We Miss Any?​ For better or worse, this book feels like a textbook---something that you might have to read in school. So, it may be a little less seductive than makeup books that feature colorful images and beautiful models. BUT. The subject matter is something you love, so it's probably an easier read.

The book itself is fantastic. So many makeup books look fantastic, but don't have any real substance. Chris Scott's book not only discusses various techniques, it provides step-by-step guidance on how to take care of your skin, prime lips and eyes and apply stains and shadows, and form a makeup strategy using model's various facial shapes. Chris supplements the book with a set of super-helpful how-to videos here.​ This is one of two books on our list that's published by a makeup school, and there's a reason why we've included a second one: we think it's fantastic. In our opinion, the Makeup Designory is one of the best schools of Makeup Artistry in the country---they've got locations in Los Angeles, NYC, and Overland Park, KS---as well as a unique cosmetics line that's sold in the U.S., Australia, the U.K., Spain, Japan, and a whole bunch of other countries. In other words, they know makeup, and they know how to teach it.The book also has plenty of guidance on how to work with brides, and that's a fantastic addition, because even if you're NOT interested in wedding makeup, it's at least something you should know about. We're friends with a few makeup artists who started out and were absolutely certain they wanted to do fashion makeup, got a few fashion makeup gigs, hated it, and are now making a great living doing wedding makeup.​ Also, as a bonus---Chris discusses certain aspects of makeup artistry as a career, and as someone with more than 30 years in the business, his insights are truly helpful. So, if you were sitting there thinking, "These all sound like great books about makeup, but I'm looking for something written by a woman who is English royalty," then Jemma Kidd Make-up Masterclass: Beauty Bible of Professional Techniques and Wearable Looks is your book. Plus, special bonus: the book is spiral bound. Why isn't every single book about makeup spiral bound? WHY? It's a huge plus, because it makes the book waaaaay easier use to use when you're practicing the techniques in the book. You won't have to weight both sides of the book down with a shoe or something. Jemma Kidd Make-up Masterclass: Beauty Bible of Professional Techniques and Wearable Looks, by Jemma Kidd