What makes the Art of Makeup School successful and a standout source for makeup education? We interviewed a recent graduate Allisun Sipes to find out why after attending other makeup schools, she finally decided on The Art of Makeup School as the one school that finally met her education needs. She came all the way from her hometown in Maryland to begin her program.

Allisun always wanted to work as a makeup artist in the fashion and beauty industry. Before she came to us, she started her makeup education in 2015 with a local Maryland school that offered a program focusing mainly on bridal and beauty makeup, touched on light special effects, and airbrush basics. The school offered a basic makeup kit and there were no photographs of the students’ work. After Allisun graduated the Maryland school, they offered some bridal job placements and print photo shoots, but due to the location she felt the job opportunities were limited, and she was she was still needing more experience in hair styling and tv/film makeup training to meet her career goals.

Looking to stretch her wings, she decided to attend The Academy of Makeup in Glasgow, Scotland in 2017. The program was 2 weeks of beauty and fashion makeup. The instructors were already working artists in print, fashion, and television and were very professional, but unfortunately, her education in film makeup was still limited, and there was still a void in the education of hairstyling without going through a full cosmetology school certification.

The search continued! She visited the College of Makeup Art and Design in Toronto but found it to be financially daunting. She researched schools in New York and Los Angeles, but also found them unaffordable with the added expense of housing in those cities. Then she found The Art of Makeup! She discovered Portland, Oregon to be one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S, and a booming hub for film, television, print advertising, and commercial production. This was not only a beautiful location to study in, but she looked at it as a possible long term move. She visited the school in September 2017 for a tour, and fell in love with Portland immediately. She ventured across neighborhoods and spoke to locals and the city made her feel like she was home. With sheer determination and perseverance she booked temporary housing, packed up her car, and drove 2,800 miles from her hometown to her new home in the Pacific Northwest.

Allisun found what she was looking for offered at The Art of Makeup. The School offered the classes she was missing; Film and stage character makeup, special effects makeup, and hair styling. There is also an in house photo studio where all makeup looks are documented each day for students to start their portfolios. Before they graduate, a professional photographer and agency models are brought in for a professional fashion photo shoot so students can practice their skills in a real job like setting, and use the photos for their portfolio. The instructors are all working freelance artists and business owners. Education includes hands on practice, weekly critiques, and continual feedback.  Students are placed on a job board where job opportunities are continually emailed out to graduates for 18 months after they graduate for a variety of opportunities in the fashion, advertising, theater, and film industries. Students are given marketing tools to start looking for and getting work. She not only found the school she was looking for, but she also found a new home!

Allisun had these things to say about the school.

“The Art of Makeup was a lot more hands on, full of concise info, and I finally feel like the gaps that were missing in my education have been filled. Hairstyling was a new experience for me entirely, marketing was more in-depth and there are more job placement opportunities. If it were the first school I went to, it would have been the last, but three times a charm!”