Makeup Artist Reveals How Much a Full Face Actually Costs
By Devon Abelman. Photos: Courtesy of Instagram, Twitter.
With prom season around just the corner, Mikala Walker is getting ready for a busy couple weeks. (Don't worry, we thought it was a touch early, too.) To prepare, the 18-year-old makeup artist from Oklahoma City started taking appointments at the end of February. She posted on Twitter that she would be doing full faces — including glitter, foundation, and false lashes — for a cool $75. To us, that is obviously the steal of the century. (Some of us would pay $75 just to have someone apply our false lashes.) Several of her followers thought otherwise. They tweeted her saying they were getting ripped off and the price tag was "bs". According to Popsugar, Walker originally charged $20 when she first started. However, this was before the 18-year-old amassed around 51,800 followers on Instagram for her gorgeously blended eye shadow and winged liner. Plus Walker has fine-tuned her makeup skills since then.
In response to the negativity she was receiving, Walker posted a detailed list of the products she uses for a full face of makeup on Twitter, along with the itemized prices. She doesn't get free makeup sent to her from brands as some professional makeup artists do. Instead, the cost of the makeup in her kit comes directly out of her pocket. Walker tallied up a whopping $635 bill to demonstrate what's behind her "bs" $75 price tag.
With on-demand beauty apps growing in popularity, people have come to expect relatively cheap makeup application in the comfort of their homes. On Glamsquad, for example, you can pay a freelance makeup artist to do your makeup for $75 with a press of a button. It's set a precedent that is frustrating for professional makeup artists. Also, Glossible reports that the makeup artist is only making about a $49 profit off of each service. (We're cringing, too.) Walker's price breakdown proves just how much actually goes into the job. Of course, there's the actual artistry of it all, too. Mastering the perfect cut creases and winged out liner is a priceless skill all of its own. Kudos to Mikala Walker for standing up for her craft.
This story originally appeared on Allure.
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