I did a makeup consult the other night and let me tell you – I had fun! I love working with new people and getting to pass on what I’ve learned about the makeup industry. And when you look at this industry, there really are so many possibilities, especially with various events.

First I’d like to say that I’m completely self-taught. It is through reading and doing that I actually was able to get a grasp on what I love to do. Makeup artists don’t necessarily need any formal training, but sometimes it’s a really good way to get more information and some sort of backing. I’m just getting started myself, and although I may pursue some sort of esthetician program eventually, I’m really working on getting my name out there through word of mouth – it’s very powerful!

In any case, here are a few events where a makeup artist is certainly necessary:

Weddings
Even the girl who never wears an ounce of makeup wants to look her best on her wedding day. And it is that girl that would especially get her makeup done. Even I would get my makeup done because it’s a way to pamper myself, not stress, and look my best. Most makeup artists do a trial run beforehand so they’ll be sure they will like the makeup job on the big day. In fact, some wedding parties also get their makeup done. Really there are many opportunities to be had within the wedding industry.

Proms
Prom season is upon us! Well, almost. It is April, after all. So lots of excited teen girls want to get their makeup done – and their parents are prepared to pay for this service. This might be a good opportunity to get some extra pocket money.

Birthdays
For milestone birthdays especially, everyone wants to look their best. And getting their hair and makeup done will help make them feel beautiful. Whether they are just going out on the town or they are going to an actual party, there are those that would delight in having their makeup done by a professional.

These are just some of the occasions that keep a makeup artist employed. If you’re passionate about this then get going on expanding your career possibilities. And if you want to get more involved with techniques and patterns and color theory, then explore the benefits of a makeup career.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

• The middle 50 percent nationally earns $35,250 annually.
• In the decade from 2006-2016, it is estimated that the makeup field will increase by 40 percent. However, it is currently small in size so this will really only add a few hundred workers (hey, an increase is an increase, right?).

-Amanda Fornecker

To continue on with our Oscar recap, I have recruited the very knowledgeable Barry Brian to give us a little insight on how to get the looks of some of the most popular and glamorous movie stars. Who wouldn’t want to look like these beauties? Below, you’ll find some makeup advice from someone who has been to beauty school, owned his own salon, and currently teaches with the Empire Education Group.

Hello there glamorous readers! I have noticed something very different about the bevy of beauties who have walked down this year’s red carpets and I wanted to share with you! It seems that tinsel town’s starlets are trading in their over-the-top glam looks for a more understated look, which I love. It’s been widely speculated that this is their way of being recession-chic and I think we can all appreciate that!

Regardless, what we have seen from our top stars this entire awards season has been refreshingly classic –- with a little twist thrown in here and there…

Frieda, Kate, Anne and Penelope – four of my favorite standouts this year, for their mind-blowing talent and equally stunning beauty!

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GET THEIR AWARD-WINNING OSCAR LOOK!

It’s very easy to get this look, but the key is to focus on two facial features at most, and play down the others. What everyone looks at first is the eyes, but this year the eyes are less dark and smokey and more neutral. Opt for a more prominent brow to set the tone of the look and then balance the face with a great lip color. Read on for more helpful tips…

• Brows – Brows should be strong. If there are some more sparse areas, fill in with a brow pencil and soften the lines with a Q-tip or angled eyebrow brush.
• Lips – To get this retro pop of color, opt for a matte finish — the lips should never be frosted or glimmery, but rather fresh and romantic.
• Eyes – Again, keep them softer and not too stormy or dark. For the perfect sans shadow look, just swipe a darker liner across the top lid only and load up on the mascara!
• Skin – The skin should be translucent, dewy and alive. Matte skin on a red carpet always shows imperfections and looks dead!
• Hair – Keep hair soft, whether as a retro-inspired up-do, in a tousled chignon, or long and lustrous, but not pin straight or too tightly slicked back.

-Barry Brian, Artistic Director of Empire Education Group

Welcome to the second edition of the carnival of Beauty Smarts! Did you watch the Oscars on Sunday night? Did your faves take home the coveted award? More importantly, what are your picks for best- and worst-dressed celebrities?

After a long night of watching the Oscars, this edition examines the concept of dressing to impress and really taking beauty to the next level. Take note of some of the following techniques in order to hide the fact that you were partying it up all night long! And see our award-worthy picks in each of these beauty categories…

For Excellence in Makeup…
Sometimes makeup can define a whole character in a movie. The Joker, anyone? So it’s absolutely paramount to get just the right person with just the right amount of beauty experience and makeup training to work on such Oscar-nominated films. But in everyday situations, we can all use a few tips on getting what we want and need out of our makeup applications. Below, I present to you some interesting techniques that you may not have thought to try before.

And our nominees are…
Camille Kruse presents Under Eye Circles and Puffiness, posted at Skincarelogic’s Blog, giving us “easy-to-understand information and news in the world of skin care!”

There are lots of things that can cause puffy eyes. It happens at all stages of life, according to Aparna, who presents us with Puff out puffy eyes in Beauty and Personality Grooming.

And for a trick you may not have thought of before, check out A’s My Latest Eye Combo at Makeup Lovers Anonymous.

The Oscar for Hair Goes To…
Hair is oh-so-important, especially at the Oscars. Those celebs are certainly critiqued from head to toe, so hairstyles are oftentimes paramount to the success of a best-dressed actress. There are lots of ways to style hair, but what’s the best way? For some tricks-of-the trade, check out the following hair blogs.

And our nominees are…
At our very own blog, A Minute with SpaBeautySchools, I talk about the importance of my hairdresser. She’s just amazing and a very important person in my life! Read more in Ode to a Hairdresser.

Terry presents a similar sentiment toward building relationships with your hairdresser in Beauty posted at New Hair Styles For Women.

Did you know that using eggs in your hair can help your appearance? Bri’anne Smith does. In Brianne’s Blog, we learn how to Be An Egg Head (Its great for your hair!). This comes from a professional hairdresser!

Blonde can often be a difficult color to go to, depending on your hair type. Karen Marie Shelton writes about how to Banish Blonde Hair Brassiness at HairBoutique.com.

Everyone Can Be a Skin Winner…
One of the most important aspects of beauty, to me, is skin care. Some people need to work at skin care more than others, depending on their skin type. Others may have it a little easier. In any case, the possibilities in this field are endless for both estheticians and for those performing self-remedying treatments at home. Learn how to get flawless skin in some of the following blogs.

And our nominees are…
Got the wintertime skin blues? Rachel Ferrucci presents us with How to Deal with Winter Itch in Touch’d. Here, she explains a variety of methods to nix that nasty dry skin!

What are AHAs and why are they particularly good for your skin? Sheena explores the answers to this topic in The Benefits of Alpha Hydroxy Acids at Spa Girl Beauty Tips.

Moisturizing, cleansing, and using natural remedies to keep your skin as healthy-looking as possible are all important subjects that Julie takes on in her blog, Healthtrition Beauty and Health. Daily Skin Care Tips will help you in your everyday routine.

Do you love strawberries? Then you might really enjoy Julena’s blog on Make Your Own Organic Skin Care — With Strawberry! posted at Organic Makeup and Skin Care.

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We think all these blog entries are stellar, but which is your favorite? Go check ‘em out now and pick up a few tips along the way. Get your dose of Beauty Smarts to learn what you need to know to stay fresh.

-Amanda Fornecker

• Are you a blogger? We invite you to contribute to the next Beauty Smarts carnival: Submit here.
• Readers: Let us know your favorite post here, and what you’d like to read more about in the future. Comment below!

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the very first edition of the Beauty Smarts Blog Carnival! This isn’t just about beauty and spa education. We’ve compiled some of the best blog submissions out there about all kinds of beauty and spa topics — from winter skin care tips and snake massages (yes, snakes!) to some mini makeovers and top beauty tricks (we love us a good trick!).

This first edition of SpaBeautySchools.com’s Beauty Smarts is entitled “Mind, Body, and Soul” because all of you beautiful contributors and readers embody strengths in all of these categories! Enjoy this first edition of Beauty Smarts and be sure to enter your own blog posts for future editions.

MIND
Strengthen your mind at beauty school to get all the firsthand tips you need to succeed in the beauty industry. It’s more than just going through the motions. It’s about experience, learning, and forming your very own practices with clients. Here, you’ll find some beauty school news and tips.

Karen Marie Shelton presents Cosmetology School Insider Tips posted at HairBoutique.com, giving eight tips and pieces of advice to those who may be considering the cosmetology school route. She presents herself with this question: “If I could ‘do it all over again’ and hit rewind to Day One of Beauty School, what would I do differently?”

In Cutting Out Domestic Violence, posted at our very own A Minute With SpaBeautySchools, Robyn Tellefsen tells us what beauty schools are teaching to be sure their students are prepared for the real world. Students are actually being trained to learn how to recognize signs of domestic abuse in their clients. What a great initiative!

BODY
Who doesn’t want to know the best ways to keep up their appearance? From hair to makeup to skin care, there’s a lot to manage on a day-to-day basis to stay beautiful. Here, you’ll find a variety of different tips, products, and general info that can help catapult you to the top of the beauty charts!

What’s So Important About Exfoliation Anyway?, asks Meredith Edwards-Cornwall at Daily Dose of Coffee. There is much to know about exfoliating, including different methods to incorporate into your daily beauty routine. Find out what might be best for your skin type.

Similarly, “A” of the Makeup Lovers tells us about her favorite exfoliating product at Makeup Lovers Anonymous in Clarisonic and Clean. With just the right product, you can really improve your skin quality and the way you feel.

Makeup is always something that a lot of girls are interested in, but not everyone knows which products to use and when to use them. Jenny Muller helps the makeup-challenged along in Beauty and the Blog. To get some fun looks she presents Malibu Makeover: Get the Barbie Look and WATCH IT: Smoky Eye in 3 Steps. See if you can recreate these looks.

When the weather outside is frightful, check out Cold Weather Skin Care Tips, presented at Healthtrition Beauty and Health. Here, Julie tells us how to prevent dry skin and what we should avoid in order to stay healthy and keep that skin glowing.

Lots of people wonder about the hair removal process and in Permanent Hair Removal: How Permanent Is It? posted at FlawlessHairDesigns.com, Joseph breaks down the real meaning, while telling us the various methods that exist to complete this beauty technique.

Do you or someone you know suffer from adult acne? Camille Kruse gives us a look at this skin care issue in her blog Adult Acne… A Rising Concern! posted at Skincarelogic’s Blog.

Kate presents a look at her top beauty tips in Beauty Tricks and Secrets posted at Advice on Love, Life, and Everything Between, while Josanne Anthony gives us some hair advice in Lovely Locks! at Everyday Cupcake.

SOUL
Looking for some posts that’ll soothe your soul? This section of our Beauty Smarts carnival features spa and green stories aimed to calm you, make you feel better, or help you along the soul-searching path.

Everyone likes to go to the spa, but there are some quite out-of-the-ordinary spa experiences that you may have never even considered. In our blog, A Minute With SpaBeautySchools, we present to you A Slithery Spa Massage and A New Day Spa – For Kids?!. The titles speak for themselves…

It’s only natural to have some kind of day-to-day challenge and for some this beauty challenge may be dark circles. How can this be corrected, you may ask? Aparna presents Natural remedies for dark circles around your eyes posted at Beauty and Personal Grooming, saying, “Let’s just debunk some of the myths as well as unearth some of the facts about the causes of those ‘panda eyes.’”

Julena gives us an “honest and detailed review of organic skin care products by Body Deli” in Organic Skin Care Perks – The Body Deli posted at Organic Makeup and Skin Care, while Sheena breaks down parabens in beauty products in The Difference Between Natural and Organic Beauty Products on her Spa Girl Beauty Tips blog.

Does the Fountain of Youth exist? Chris & Chat explore staying young in The Fountain of Youth posted at Chris & Chat Spa and Facial Care Center.

And don’t forget how good sleep is for the soul. That’s what Natalie Fox focuses on in How to have a perfect skin by adapting good sleeping habits in her blog, All Sleep Info. Here, Natalie talks about these issues, and gives us three tips for sleep to help you have healthy and young skin.

Finally, for your MIND, BODY, and SOUL, check out Danelle Ice’s great blog on Don’t Look Like a Tired Mom: 13 Quick Mini Makeovers. And these tips, hosted on Homemaker Barbi, can be applied to just about anyone! She says, “Here are 13 surefire ways to wake up your look when your energy levels are less than full.”

This concludes the first edition of Beauty Smarts. We hope you enjoyed this collection of advice, tips, and ideas to heal your Mind, Body, and Soul. We had some great submissions this time so let’s keep sharing this great info to help all readers get and stay beautiful!

Thanks for reading!

-Amanda Fornecker

• Are you a blogger? We invite you to contribute to the next Beauty Smarts carnival, which is scheduled for Monday, February 23, 2009: Submit here.
• Readers: Let us know your favorite post here, and what you’d like to read more about in the future. Comment below!