ISSUE 001 / The bridal industry has changed. Has the education kept up?
An honest conversation about what it actually takes to build a career in bridal makeup today.
I've been a bridal makeup artist for 15 years, Which means I've worked through quite a few different versions of this industry!
I've seen trends come and go, the way brides find their makeup artists change completely, and social media go from something we occasionally posted on (but never for work) to something that can influence almost every part of how we run our businesses.
Then, along the way, I started teaching makeup artists, too. That was nearly seven years ago!
The longer I've spent on both sides of bridal education, the more I've found myself coming back to one question;
Is bridal makeup education actually preparing artists for the careers they're trying to build?
Because being brilliant at makeup matters. Massively. I will never be the educator who tells you that clever marketing can make up for a lack of artistry.
You need to understand skin. Products. Technique. Different faces, ages and skin types. How to adapt your work to the person sitting in front of you, rather than recreating the same makeup look on every bride.
But, and a BIG but.. you also need to know what happens when the makeup brushes go down. And to be honest I don't think we've always given that part of the career enough attention, especially in education.
Nobody really prepares you for everything around the makeup;
The first time a bride tells you at her preview that she doesn't feel like herself.
The enquiry that goes quiet after you've sent your prices.
The moment you realise you're fully booked but somehow still completely exhausted, and slightly resentful of your diary.
Or the horrible feeling of looking at another makeup artist's Instagram and wondering whether you should be doing absolutely everything differently..
None of those things necessarily mean you need another makeup tutorial. Sometimes you need a better way of communicating with your brides. Sometimes you need someone to help you understand your numbers. Sometimes you need to learn how to show your work properly, so the people who would LOVE having you as their makeup artist can actually find you ..and sometimes you need to hear from another woman who's been there and can tell you what helped her. That's education, too.
I don't believe there's one correct way to be successful in bridal. This is something I feel really strongly about.
I know artists who want fully booked wedding seasons, incredible destination bookings and teams of makeup artists working alongside them.
I know others who want to do ten beautiful weddings a year, earn very well from them, and have their weekends back with their families.
Some want to teach. Some couldn't imagine anything worse.
Some want to build businesses that become much bigger than themselves. And some want to spend their whole career being a really bloody good makeup artist. Nothing fancier.
None of those ambitions is more impressive than another.
I don't think the job of bridal education should be to convince every artist to want the same career.
I think it should give her the skills, understanding, confidence and support to build whichever version she actually wants.
Because what's the point of building a successful business if you've accidentally built yourself a life you don't particularly enjoy?
And can we talk about how lonely this career can be?
I think this is one of the strangest things about being a bridal makeup artist.
You can spend a Saturday morning surrounded by bridesmaids, photographers, hairstylists and somebody's mum asking if anyone's seen her earrings. ..And then spend the rest of the week making almost every business decision on your own.
You're the makeup artist. The person answering enquiries.
The person working out the diary. The content creator, photographer, editor, accountant, customer service department and honestly? the emotional support human. 😂 It's a lot.
I think sometimes we get so used to figuring it all out ourselves that we forget how much easier it can feel when you've got other people to turn to. Not people who tell you exactly what to do. Or people screaming 'MAKE SIX FIGURES WHILE YOU SLEEP OR YOU ARE A FAILURE'.. People who help you work out what makes sense for you.
So I've been building something a little different.
The Bridal Academy started with a very simple thought.;
What if bridal education supported the whole makeup artist, not just the part of her holding the brushes?
The artistry, absolutely.
But also the brides. The business. The content. The confidence. The decisions. The difficult conversations. The things you didn't know you needed to learn until you found yourself right in the middle of them. And what if you didn't have to complete it? Like a traditional course we've always been used to ??
What if you could come back when you needed something?
A new technique. A fresh perspective. Someone to look at your work. A conversation with somebody who understands.
What if there were new things happening every month? And what if some of the best parts happened away from the laptop altogether?
Actual connections with other people who understand you can't socialise at 7pm on a Friday, the 4am Saturday alarm, but i'm free on Monday at 10am for that coffee??
That's the thinking behind The Bridal Academy. Not a collection of courses to tick off an ever expanding list.
Something you can grow alongside. Something that gives you reasons to keep coming back.
And hopefully, somewhere you find people who make this career feel a little less like you're figuring everything out on your own.
The best bridal education should change with the artist.
Because the makeup artist you are today won't be the makeup artist you are in five years.
Your skills will change.
Your confidence will change.
Your circumstances and life might change. ..And what you want from your career might look completely different.
I think good education should make room for that.
So yes, the bridal industry has changed! And I think it's about time we started looking at bridal education a little differently, too.
There's room for all of us to build careers we love.
Let's make sure we're learning the things that actually help us do it.
With Love,
Natalie xo
Come and have a look around.
The Bridal Academy opens its doors on 11 January 2027.
Explore the Academy, see what we're building and join the waitlist to be the first to hear about check-in.
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