Times you should say “no” as a makeup artist.
Back in 2015, I was very much the “yes MUA”. I would say yes to every and all opportunities, in the hope one would land me the dream client. Just setting the record very much straight, I never received ANY amazing opportunity as the result of some free work. The promises of “next time we can pay you” are just empty promises and it came to teach me that being a “yes makeup artist” is not serving me, not serving my career and definitely not gaining me happiness (because happiness is NOT working on a night shift film for £100, being promised lead MUA next time). So here is your wake up call and hopefully, cheat sheet on when to say no and why.
1) You don’t want to do the job.
Simple right? If that job doesn’t light you up, don’t do it girl. “But the money” I hear you say. I hear you, I hear you - sometimes even I take on the odd job that might not be especially my interest, but has a great pay rate. But as long as that is in the exception, and not all the time. If you are doing jobs 90% of the time that you actively dread doing, its time to do something about that. We don’t work for ourselves to dread going to work. If this strikes fear into you, saying no to work that pays - try saying no to the work that pays less than you would like. This is a great start, and eventually no will start to feel more comfortable.
2) If its unpaid.
There are a few exceptions to this rule. I actively test IF the shoot fits my portfolio and will benefit me in some way. I have a great blog post on testing for makeup artists here. For me, I will say no if:
The shoot is not in an area I want to work in. If you HATE bridal and really don’t want to book bridal, there is no point you doing styled shoots. If you dislike fashion, don’t test in fashion. It sounds SO simple, yet took years for me to figure out. Now if anyone contacts me for a test, I absolutely MUST see a photographers work and the mood board - otherwise I could be wasting crucial time.
If I sense the shoot should be paid. By this I mean, if its for a brand, for any type of commercial work or for anything that is SELLING something, then I decline. This work should always be paid and will always be a no (and probably involve me outing the company in some way because I’m sick of exploitation)
If the team isn’t up to my standard. And by that I mean, I’m very very unlikely to work with students now, after 10 years. There is absolutely nothing wrong with student work, they are the future of our industry. But for me, I can’t afford mistakes on shoots. Even if a beauty shoot with a beautiful concept lands in my inbox, the chances of me actually doing that shoot are slim if the team isn’t on my level. Simply because I have been on too many shoots where I have pulled my weight, but it hasn’t been correctly executed. And that’s OK! Thats what unpaid shoots are for. But knowing your level and the level of team you now align with is crucial.
Makeup artists very often say yes, because we were told by old school MUA’s in the 80s that working for free, got them doing Vogue covers. This system is sadly outdated, our industry doesn’t work like that now. Playing smarter does. Knowing your worth and knowing when to work for free and when not too, is crucially important and will get you further than saying yes to everything.
3) If the client is not your ideal client.
You know that gut sense we all have sometimes. Listen to it. If you are emailing a client and feel in some way or another, this client is going to be a pain, that you aren’t going to get along or that you just feel unaligned in anyway that you can’t put your finger on - listen to that. I promise, that is your gut instinct, the universe whatever you want to call it - steering you. Those moments that I ignored, ended up being some of my worst experiences in my career. If you feel like you should say no, then say it. That date that you fear will be left without a booking, I promise that day can be used productively to make money in another way. You can work on your business, not in it - which is crucial for scaling. AND 9/10 times in my case, a client comes along who is a perfect fit for the dates where I turned someone down.
4) For your wellbeing.
Something I am sometimes guilty of, is overworking and not saying no when my body needed it. I am so guilty of working 2 weeks straight and then at the end of it being so exhausted. Its the people pleaser in me and something I continue to work on to this day. Sometimes we have to say no, for US. For our bodies, for our families, for our wellbeing. We say yes because, who knows WHEN we will be this busy again (the thing I hear most when makeup artists are burning out) but here’s the thing, the work will always be there. There are always going to be weddings, tv productions, films, commercials, fashion. It’s not going anywhere, but if you don’t look after yourself, there could be long term effects. Sometimes we have to say no to look after ourselves, and its the hardest no to say.
Those are some no’s we should priorities. Don’t be a yes MUA - because I guarantee its going to get you nowhere but wasted time and wasted energy. Remember we don’t need to be booked to be working - working on improving your business from home is just as important, if not, more important. You might wonder, how on earth is working at home actually making me money. But by marketing, by improving your practises, automating, scheduling, you are laying the foundations for future bookings, which cannot be done by being booked out every single day.