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The differences between makeup artists and fashion designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a makeup artist, becoming a fashion designer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a fashion designer has an average salary of $54,265, which is higher than the $41,026 average annual salary of a makeup artist.
The top three skills for a makeup artist include customer service, product knowledge and store events. The most important skills for a fashion designer are fashion design, sketch, and apparel.
| Makeup Artist | Fashion Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $41,026 | $54,265 |
| Hourly rate | $19.72 | $26.09 |
| Growth rate | 17% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 4,620 | 49,476 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 34 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 6 |
A makeup artist is a beauty enthusiast offering makeup services depending on the clients' needs and event purposes. Makeup artists must have a broad knowledge of the beauty and fashion industry to provide recommendations and create the best aesthetic looks for clients. Makeup artists also need to have an understanding of colors and styles, as well as extensive options on long-lasting makeup materials and cosmetic toolkits. A makeup artist in a professional setting often works alongside other stylists to manage the right looks for clients.
Fashion designers design and assist with the making of shoes, accessories, and clothing. They identify trends and styles, colors, and trims of a clothing collection. The designers keep an eye on travel shows and read fashion magazines to spot trends and interpret specific patterns, color palettes, and prints for each season. They sketch designs by hand, address buyers as a seasoned marketer, and create technical production drawings. It is part of their responsibilities to collaborate with team members to make edits to lines, select seasonal themes, and create new concepts.
Makeup artists and fashion designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Makeup Artist | Fashion Designer | |
| Average salary | $41,026 | $54,265 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $77,000 | Between $37,000 And $78,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Nevada |
| Best paying company | - | Ralph Lauren |
| Best paying industry | - | Retail |
There are a few differences between a makeup artist and a fashion designer in terms of educational background:
| Makeup Artist | Fashion Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Cosmetology | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | - | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between makeup artists' and fashion designers' demographics:
| Makeup Artist | Fashion Designer | |
| Average age | 34 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 11.8% Female, 88.2% | Male, 17.3% Female, 82.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 13.6% White, 51.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 7.3% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 11.6% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 18% |