Nail artist vs makeup artist

The differences between nail artists and makeup artists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a nail artist has an average salary of $43,369, which is higher than the $41,026 average annual salary of a makeup artist.

The top three skills for a nail artist include beauty services, customer service and nail art. The most important skills for a makeup artist are customer service, product knowledge, and store events.

Nail artist vs makeup artist overview

	Nail Artist	Makeup Artist
Yearly salary	$43,369	$41,026
Hourly rate	$20.85	$19.72
Growth rate	22%	17%
Number of jobs	4,559	4,620
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	43	34
Years of experience	-	12

Nail artist vs makeup artist salary

Nail artists and makeup artists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Nail Artist	Makeup Artist
Average salary	$43,369	$41,026
Salary range	Between $14,000 And $127,000	Between $21,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between nail artist and makeup artist education

There are a few differences between a nail artist and a makeup artist in terms of educational background:

	Nail Artist	Makeup Artist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Cosmetology	Cosmetology
Most common college	-	-

Nail artist vs makeup artist demographics

Here are the differences between nail artists' and makeup artists' demographics:

	Nail Artist	Makeup Artist
Average age	43	34
Gender ratio	Male, 15.0% Female, 85.0%	Male, 11.8% Female, 88.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 2.4% Unknown, 2.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 52.1% White, 30.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	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%
LGBT Percentage	5%	12%

Differences between nail artist and makeup artist duties and responsibilities

Nail artist example responsibilities.

Achieve all sales goals through close client contact and upselling techniques.
Conceptualize and develop terrain models using Maya and partner with director and animators to correspond and produce effective shots.
Freelance artist for Dior cosmetics, left to obtain more work elsewhere
Work directly for Christian Dior to locally work spa days and events.

Makeup artist example responsibilities.

Achieve all sales goals through close client contact and upselling techniques.
Manage social media outlets such as Instagram and Tumblr to reach a broader audience.
Experience hair stylist providing full range of customize hair care services including hair extensions, wigs and braids.
Support master classes in NYC.
Work in collaboration with key artist for fashion week NYC.
Silk-Screen t-shirts, work in stain glass, glassblower apprentice.

Nail artist vs makeup artist skills

Common nail artist skills

Beauty Services, 66%
Customer Service, 15%
Nail Art, 6%
Nail Services, 6%
Nail Care, 3%
Front Desk, 3%

Common makeup artist skills

Customer Service, 25%
Product Knowledge, 12%
Store Events, 9%
Photo Shoots, 9%
Skin Care Products, 5%
Retail Sales, 2%

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse personal care and attendants jobs