Home Makeup Artist Resume template
Makeup Artist resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what makeup artists actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most makeup artists should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Makeup Artist working across bridal, event and photographic work, with a kit and hygiene routine built for back-to-back bookings. Comfortable consulting on a look, preparing skin, applying everything from natural bridal finishes to airbrush and special effects, and keeping clients calm on a tight timeline. Builds repeat business through referrals and honest product advice.
Key skills
- Bridal and event makeup
- Special effects makeup and prosthetics
- Airbrush application
- Skin assessment and preparation
- Colour theory and face shaping
- Makeup for photography, film and television
- Lash application and brow shaping
- Kit hygiene and tool sanitisation
- Client consultation and look planning
- Retail cosmetics and aftercare advice
- Booking and scheduling software such as Timely and Fresha
- Basic hairstyling for event work
Experience: example bullet points
- Consulted with wedding parties of up to eight people to plan individual looks that stayed consistent through a full day of photographs and ceremonies.
- Built a kit hygiene routine covering brush washing, palette scraping and tool sanitising between clients, which kept turnaround between bookings to about thirty minutes.
- Created special effects looks with prosthetics, wax and cosmetic colour for short film and student productions, adapting designs on set when lighting and continuity changed.
- Applied airbrush makeup for studio and location photo shoots, producing an even finish that needed less correction in post-production.
- Managed bookings, quotes and reminder messages through scheduling software, which reduced no-shows and filled cancelled slots from a waitlist.
- Advised retail customers on foundation matching and aftercare, and converted a steady share of them into repeat clients booking event and occasion work.
Education
Certificate III in Makeup (SHB30221) or Certificate IV in Screen and Media is the common entry point, often built on short courses in airbrush, bridal and special effects; a Diploma of Screen and Media (Specialist Makeup Services) supports film and television work.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Makeup Artist
- Certificate III in Makeup
- SHB30221
- Diploma of Screen and Media (Specialist Makeup Services)
- bridal makeup
- special effects makeup
- prosthetics
- airbrush makeup
- skin preparation
- colour matching
- sanitisation
- work health and safety
- TGA cosmetic labelling
- Australian Consumer Law
- editorial photo shoot
- freelance makeup
- booking software
- client consultation
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.