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MAKEUP TO GO BLOG

  • MTG Experts: Working As A Union Artist with Elizabeth Fox

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    • by Tania
    MTG Experts Elizabeth Fox makeup San Francisco makeup Northern California makeup artist hair stylist film union FX makeup to go blog makeup educator makeup careers

    Elizabeth Fox is one of my fave people I’ve met in this biz, full stop. She and I met when we were both teaching at a makeup school in San Francisco. While the types of makeup and jobs we do differ (she loves her some film set life and some FX/gore, and if you know […]

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  • Biz Talk – Making the Move to Media Work

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    • by Tania
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    Raise your hand if you want to start booking dream jobs at great rates. Safe to say few people would turn down such an offer 😉. Whenever I make a post about working in the industry as a media makeup artist the first question that inevitably comes up is “Well, how do you book these […]

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  • So You Wanna Be A Pro Makeup Artist: Makeup Portfolios in 2022

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    • by Tania
    old portfolio books portfolio website of Tania D Russell makeup artist Los Angeles makeup artist San Francisco mens grooming hair styling advertising commercials fashion

    People can’t hire you as a makeup artist if they can’t see your work… But what even is a Makeup Artists’ Portfolio in 2022? I try to keep my articles on Makeup to Go “evergreen” to the extent that I can, but the reality is that this industry is ever changing and evolving. Almost all […]

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  • MTG Experts: Balancing Bridal and Media Makeup in Your Career with Rachel Lusk

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    • by Tania
    MTG Experts Rachel Lusk makeup San Francisco makeup Northern California makeup artist hair stylist balancing bridal and commercial makeup to go blog makeup educator makeup careers

    One of the many great things that happens over the course of a career are the connections we make with other artists. One of the very few great things to come out of the pandemic shutdown phase was connecting with folks of all kinds – from DJs to Authors to Chefs to our fellow Makeup […]

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  • Makeup to Go – An Origins Story

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    • by Tania
    tania d russell working on set founder makeup to go blog tania d russell makeup expert beauty educator los angeles san francisco las vegas

    Picture it…Los Angeles… circa 2005 I’m an emerging artist on my Come Up. I’m certainly nowhere near a Senior Artist but I have some good work under my belt, I’ve just signed with my first starter Agency, and in short: I’m feeling myself. via GIPHY This is the groundwork from which Makeup to Go was […]

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Welcome to Makeup to Go Blog!
Welcome to Makeup to Go Blog!

Founded by Tania D. Russell - a career makeup artist for the advertising and entertainment industries - the Makeup to Go Blog and the Makeup to Go Council of Experts seek to educate and inspire future generations of media makeup artists, and foster community for professional media makeup artists. Click Here to Meet the Experts

 
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Tania D. Russell...

Tania D. Russell is a career media makeup artist of 25 years and counting with a career that has run the gamut from early hip hop videos to print advertising. Her work has appeared in magazines such as Elle Sweden and Runners’ World, on TV shows for clients such as BET, MTV, and HGTV, and for more commercial fashion and beauty clients than she can remember.
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Tania D. Russell | Makeup Artistry Career Educator
Knowing what rates are available doesn't do any go Knowing what rates are available doesn't do any good if you're afraid to ask 🤷🏾‍♀️ Part of the fear of asking for your rate is the fear of rejection. But when you are confident in what you are offering you don't have to fear rejection. In fact the negotiation becomes a two-way street on whether or not a job is a good match for you. - Knowing the range of rates for a given TYPE of job is a good guideline to keep from under-charging. - Experience does matter, but don't discount your talent and any other specialty skills you may have. For example I recently referred an artist to a job who is my junior but she is a fire 🔥🔥hair braider and that was part of what the job required. She booked the job at a great rate. - Understand what the client needs so you can quote rate accordingly or you can accept or not accept the rate that they offer you. If you feel a clients job scope is more than what they're offering you don't have to throw an attitude and hang up the phone and make a TikTok about it. Just explain to the client that in order to be of better service to them you need XYZ. Sometimes they can move and sometimes they can't, but If you don't ask you won't get. - There are *a lot* of makeup artists hair artists Wardrobe Stylists etc. etc. out there. The weirdest things can keep you in someone's mind and get you booked. It's not only makes you unique but it just kind of humanizes you and lets people know who you are beyond "the makeup artist". Baking has gotten me a lot of jobs LOL 😂 What tips and tricks do you use as part of your negotiating strategy? #makeupartistryeducation #promakeupartists #mediamakeupartists #freelancemakeupartists #makeupartistrates #soarehashtagsback ?
One of the questions I get most often is how do I One of the questions I get most often is how do I get booked on media jobs? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And so back in "the day" I would launch into building a book and all what have you - which is all true. It's not uncommon for someone's book - or the lack thereof - to be part of why they're not booking this work. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But I've also come to realize that a lot of times people don't know who actually hires for media jobs. So here is a quick guide 🤗. Now this is far from comprehensive because under each category I could list about 1 million different types (just as there are a zillion different types of projects there are a zillion different types of producers, for example). And under each type I could list about 1 million different scenarios. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ However the main take away I want folks to get from this is that it's not just the photographer or the end client who does the hiring. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So if for example you are working on a project for a pharmaceutical company. They make pharmaceuticals not photo shoots. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Somewhere in the pharmaceutical company, however, is the marketing department. The marketing department makes the creative decisions on what they want the project to be, but depending on the type of shoot they are not going to put together the shoot themselves necessarily. They're going to hire an (ad/creative) agency and within that agency there will be a producers, ADs, Creative Directors etc. etc. and those people will actually put together the shoot. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ See how far the rabbit hole goes? I told you there's lots of scenarios! Bottom line familiarize yourself with these folks, and so you can research how to reach them because these folks can all potentially hire you. 👍🏾
Want to work with a brand or on a certain type of Want to work with a brand or on a certain type of shoot or with a certain type of client? ​​​​​​​​​ Don't wait for opportunity to just appear (it won't). CREATE the opportunity! Beauty spec project shot by the fab @angela_peterman , hair by the fab @hairbyrenecortez , muse the fab @athenakatoanga/LA Models , makeup by the fab me. Want more details? Bounce up into Stories ☝🏾
WELP. WGA is on strike. There are a lot of unknown WELP. WGA is on strike. There are a lot of unknowns at this point however, actions like this can potentially affect anyone who works in the media arts. So what can we do (besides pray that the strike doesn't go on for long)? In my opinion, moments like these are really times to acknowledge each other's humanity, and to really come together as a creative community to support one another. Now is not the time to be adversarial. This is not now, nor should it ever be, union artists versus nonunion artists. Now is not the time to blame the writers. They need what they need. If they were getting what they need, they wouldn't be on strike in the first place. And in terms of working, now, is not the time to panic. Now is the time to give ourselves grace, breathe through our emotions, and become tactical in our response. Of the suggestions I have listed number one is a given (community matters more than ever if times get tough), numbers 3 & 4 are essential, but let's talk about numbers two and five. Now more than ever it's important to have a diverse income stream and that doesn't necessarily mean doing something else besides makeup. I think it can also mean having different types of clients. Example I have two recurring media clients who will likely not be affected by the strike in any way, shape, or form. And then so much emphasis nowadays is put on the business of makeup, and not enough on the artistry of makeup. But we're makeup ARTISTS and artists CREATE. Not only is it good for the soul but I also think artists should consider how many 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 people have made for themselves by just continuing to create. Strikes are an exercise in "this too shall pass". We will get to the other side and everything will be fine. In the meantime, you never know who is watching you and what opportunities may await you. And hopefully this is all moot, and it never reaches this point. It's always better to hope for the best, but 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 for the worst, but ultimately we all want this to be favorably over lol. Hopefully this will be a short strike and folks won't feel it too hard. Stay up, Fam! ✊🏾🧡
So where have I been lately? Working! But not ju So where have I been lately? Working! But not just any old work. Prior to 2015 I used to travel for work regularly. All throughout the state and the West Coast and even some across the country. But then mid 2015 I became seriously ill (you can read about that on the blog) and I was physically incapable of freelancing at that point and that's when I went to work in-house. After a while of working in-house, I was like OK I'm ready to go back out, but then the pandemic hit. 🫤. So in April 2021 I started planting the seeds of getting back out and getting on the road. And now in April 2023, those seeds are came to full fruition. And as is often the case, energy creates energy so by getting myself back out there working with serious intent, this led to me going to events, creating further opportunities, etc. etc. 🤗 I think in social media world it's easy to think that if things don't happen instantaneously, they aren't happening at all. But actually in a makeup career, the opposite is true. It will usually take some time to fully get where you're trying to go. That's why the best time to get started is Now. And I'll be here with content to help you along the way. 👍🏾 What are you manifesting this year? ✨
So this is it! I am closing registration for the Q So this is it! I am closing registration for the Q2 Five Small Things Quarterly Membership today! Q2 cohort members will be receiving their welcome packets tomorrow. Are you in? There is still time to join us! Do you have a plan for the rest of the year or are you just hoping "work picks up"? What do you plan to do if work doesn't "pick up"? Is this going to be another year of working on being a makeup artist or is this going to be the start of working as a makeup artist? This is the deep dive we are going to do in the Five Small Things Quarterly Membership. This is a hard industry. You have to love it to stay in it. We're going to identify what you REALLY want to do, and then figure out the steps - from your artistry to your business - to get you there. If this sounds like you, I suggest you get on it. I am not offering this in Q3 and I'm not sure yet if I'm going to offer it in Q4. Why? Because the plan is to WORK. I'll be working and I expect folks to be working in Q3 and Q4. SO if this sounds like something you need, jump on in! A payment plan is available 🤗. I only have space for a couple more fab folks because I am keeping these groups small. I want each member to get personalized attention on their situation, and I want the members have the opportunity to get to know and support one another. Live link in Bio. If you've been on the fence, take the leap and join us and we'll see you inside the cohort. 🤗 (Yes this song is corny and I love it ☺️)
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