Event MUA Nicole Aquilina talks about getting signed with an agent and moving into the commercial world.

Send us Fan MailThe Makeup Insider is a fortnightly podcast exploring the life and career of makeup artists, hosted by freelance mua Vanessa Barney. This week: getting personal with Nicole Aquilina, Melbourne events-based makeup artist.  Inspired by Australia’s Next Top Model, Nicole was drawn into the creativeness of the makeup, beauty and events world.  With 11 years’ experience across commercial, weddings and events - she’s sought after for her artistry expertise and is passionate about her clients and her work.  KEY TAKEAWAYS:SAY GOODBYE TO MIRRORS.Makeup often looks bad, before it looks good - you know. While there’s no rules in makeup, it pays to have a happy client. That’s one rule that Nicole swears by, ‘don’t do your client’s make up in front of a mirror’.  With one of the biggest trends this season making a comeback is the winged eye-liner, mua’s know that this can often be a challenge. And having a client take a sneak peak before the final reveal, could be a real mood kill on set.  You have to be confident in making the brief work for your client - and keep final looks as just that. SO TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT. WHAT YOU REALLY, REALLY WANT.  The big takeout here: Ask your clients what they want. Better yet, get them to show you.  When you work on a counter, like MAC (which Nicole coins was the gateway into makeup before social media), you get to practice on people from all walks of life. Different genders, skin tones, facial features - it teaches you what theory and school just can’t.    People often go to a makeup counter with pictures on their phone of looks they want to replicate, and you get to show them the products that match their skin to achieve that look. When you’re freelancing and you have a client that wants a certain look, the best way to get them to explain that ‘natural’ look they saw on instagram is to show you.“It’s so important to ask your clients what they want. Like so many people say they want natural, but when you ask them to show you a photo of ‘natural’, it’s of Kimmy K.”Nicole Aquilina IT’S OK TO ASK FOR HELP. After building up clientele over the years, Nicole wanted to make the switch away from weddings and move into more commercial work.Her problem? She didn’t have the network. She knew that she wasn’t personally at that point in her career where she could easily do it, and needed to ask for help.  Nicole encourages mua’s to get the experience, build your networks and don’t take setbacks personally. It’s important to know that a ‘no’ right now, isn’t a ‘no’ forever - so just keep going and focus on self improvement.  “I find it really hard to let go of control. [But] sometimes you just need someone to hold your hand a little bit and help you out.”Nicole AquilinaThe Hair Edit Waitlist Follow TMI on IG Follow Vanessa on IGThe Makeup Insider Blog The Makeup Insider TikTok