OMA Graduate Case Study: the path of a professional makeup artist after graduating from OMA
Yzabella Balette @ybalette
Film & TV HMUA, OMA Enrollment Specialist & Mentor / OMA Master Makeup Course and Special FX Makeup Course Graduate
Before OMA Courses
A freelance makeup artist with 15 years of experience specializing in SFX/prosthetic, worked at haunted houses, Comicon/cosplay events as well as independent films and music videos.
“I’ve done a little bit of everything. Weddings, editorials, fashion and even teaching airbrush and mold making workshops!” — Yzabella B.
After OMA Courses
- The go-to HMUA in the film/TV industry
- A valued OMA team member: Enrollment Specialist and student/graduate mentor
“OMA has offered so much professional insight, not only from teachers but other professionals in the industry, from all over the world — every state and every country has their own style, techniques and preferences for various makeup needs and having all of this knowledge condensed into the curriculum really helped me make myself more marketable.” — Yzabella B.
Initially, Yzabella came to Online Makeup Academy to take the Master Makeup Artist Course and the Special Effects Makeup Artist courses. She ended up successfully completing every flagship course and masterclass at the Academy.
As an on-staff Enrollment Specialist, Yzabella has a thorough knowledge of everything related to the Academy and Makeup Artistry in general. This makes her the best person to offer guidance to prospective students. “I feel that being able to offer personal experience and insight helps better guide our students to what would be the best fit and most beneficial for them.” — Yzabella says.
Going back to Yzabella's experience as a student at OMA, she had her questions and hesitations before enrolling in the course. As a MUA with some experience in the industry, she wanted to be sure the cost of courses would justify the quality of information, and that she’d be able to learn actually makeup artistry online.
“Weighing my options after a 5 year hiatus from the industry, I realized that they still offered more up to date techniques than my current knowledge and the professional kits made the price completely worth it.” — Yzabella concludes.
Today, there are so many online makeup courses on the market! What made Yzabella choose Online Makeup Academy? “Online courses are not all created equally. I feel like OMA has found the perfect combination of personalized/interactive + practical skill teaching that can be achieved without the need for in person learning.” — she says.
Flexible schedule is one of the main advantages of the courses at Online Makeup Academy. Although you can learn at your own pace, the Academy still offers personalized guidance and quality education. This is also something that Yzabella mentions: “With work and kids, it’s difficult to allow time for in person courses with rigid schedules and due dates. I liked that this was interactive enough that you don’t feel like you’re just watching YouTube videos, but also completely at your own pace. It’s exactly what I was looking for, plus the payment plan definitely made it more accessible at the time. At first, I was a bit worried I had bit off more than I could chew looking at all the lessons and modules. I’m a single mom, so my learning was limited mostly to late nights and possibly weekends. I was working a “dead end” job as a part time MUA/Receptionist for a medical spa, so I found myself watching videos and taking notes on Lunch, and then practicing at night. The next thing I knew I was nearly done and built up the confidence to begin separating myself from what was “familiar” to pursue what I knew I could do; OMA definitely gave me the needed update in application techniques as well as confidence to do so.”
Some of the courses (currently the Elite Career Path and Special FX Makeup Course) include a professional makeup kit that consists of all the products one needs to start working as a professional MUA. Something that’s constantly noted by those who ever took OMA courses, including Yzabella, is the quality of those makeup kits: “A big bonus was the kit. As someone who has made a living from makeup before, I knew the brands included in the kit and these weren’t “cheap” brands. A lot of other places I had looked into offered a massive kit, but not one included brands I had ever heard of, which was pretty shady to me.”
In OMA courses, students learn everything from basic fundamentals all the way to advanced techniques. Yzabella points out a well thought-out level of progression in OMA courses. “It doesn’t jump around the face, it's integrated seamlessly. Completely a bonus for any beginners in the field because you’re taught the fundamentals and then shown how to incorporate them, and then from there new skills are introduced and you are to include what you have learned previously with the new skill being taught. I think it’s a lot like baking. You can buy ingredients for a cake, but knowing how much of each ingredient and in which order to use them is essential to getting the perfect cake.”
The immersive online learning at Online Makeup Academy includes not only the HD quality video lessons. Our students also receive personalized video feedback on homework from their mentors - each one with a unique skillset and experience to offer. Here are Yzabella’s thoughts on it: “Everyone is very reassuring and encouraging! I’ve worked with all the instructors, and even when something needs work — it’s never “bad” or “you failed”, there’s just room for improvement and some advice on how to do that is offered. You’re not left to figure it out on your own and be stuck repeating the same mistakes over and over. It’s also great that they all provide different insights. It’s less “improve this technique”, but the advice transforms with where you are in your education or career; so it looks more like “you have so much experience and great photos, but now it’s time to put this into a portfolio and invest in yourself- get that custom domain name, pay for some targeted ads, etc”. It’s never a cookie cutter answer, but always customized to each student and their needs.”
Upon successful completion of the course, along with their certificate, our students also receive post-graduate mentorship and support. “This is definitely a bonus from OMA. Most online schools don’t offer this — once you’re done, you’ll most likely never speak to anyone from the school again. This goes above and beyond — and it's personalized by a small team and just about everyone knows each student pretty well. It’s not a stock message everyone receives. It’s something that is unique to each individual student from portfolio help, to creative resumes, to just some ideas about brush brands both luxury and cost effect dupes. Super knowledgeable.” — says Yzabella.
Each person enrolling in OMA courses has their own objective. Some want to become freelance makeup artists, others dream to start their own business around makeup or hair. Yzabella’s goal was to fill the gaps in her already extensive knowledge and work on areas she knew she needed to improve on: “I never knew learning specific HD techniques and male grooming with OMA would be the start to a very busy career in the Film/TV industry throughout the South all because male grooming for HD 4k-8k filming is not a very common skill, which has led to me being the “go-to” HMUA in my area! I learned to study all types of makeup (even things I have zero interest in) because it’s important to know a little about everything to really open all the right doors. Even “set etiquette” varies from location to location; adaptability is definitely key.”
At Online Makeup Academy, we believe that if you aspire to get a new profession, it’s important not to put off your education. “For me, putting off learning was not an option, because being serious about turning this passion into a career meant doing whatever it took (including learning social media trends I didn’t like) to make myself marketable enough to make a living from, — says Yzabella — So, I think putting off learning is not the option. I think learning and practicing while you are in another profession works just as well if not better for those of us who don’t have the luxury to up and quit our jobs to pursue this lifestyle. Learn as much and as often as you can and practice on yourself, your friends, your children, anyone and improve. When you’re ready to make that leap, you’ll have hands-on knowledge and practical knowledge already- which allows you to focus on the business side.”
Now we are proud to call Yzabella not only a graduate of Online Makeup Academy, but also an irreplaceable member of the OMA team. “When I saw the position open, I knew I wanted to be part of it. I already knew all the ins and outs of the curriculum and feedback, but also because I wanted to help others on their journey. I think, professionally, this just offers me the freedom to still sign onto productions as I please, but I also get to continue learning from other professionals both with OMA and locally to constantly bring new knowledge to our table to share with all our students!” — she says.
Yzabella loves helping prospective students with making decisions on which course to join and walking them through the process step-by-step. As a mentor, she offers post-graduate support and shares her personal experience with students and graduates. “I know those who don’t work in this industry don’t get it, but it really does change lives, empowering someone to turn their passion into their career. There’s really nothing quite as liberating as that: ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’.”
The combination of experiences both studying at Online Makeup Academy and working with prospective students is what makes Yzabella so unique when it comes to providing the best possible guidance as a mentor. “I like to think I have a special relationship with our students and graduates — from the time they join me for a Virtual Video Tour or Phone Consult, to reaching out for just some extra guidance; sometimes they’re stuck in a rut and have lost their passion and need some reassurance, and some just like to check in and let me know what they’ve accomplished. I think it’s great because it’s like one big family. I think we’re personable enough that they feel able and comfortable talking with us since we are all professionals here; and most of us have been in their shoes at some point in our career. While you can talk to your friends and family as much as you want about any struggles or excitement about jobs or trials, no one will understand the accomplishment like another HMUA. We see you, we’re proud of you, and we’re so happy to see you succeeding in what you love!” — says Yzabella.
Outside of her work at the Academy, Yzabella also works as a HMUA in the film and entertainment industry. As Yzabella admits, she learns something new every time: “I think each production is unique — even the day to day when filming the same project multiple days/weeks in a row. I find I have the most fun with anything involving hyper-realistic gore; and each production I’ve worked on that involves some sort of special makeup effects is memorable. I grew up in a family of medical professionals and had a brief run in the medical field while freelancing on the side and it's fun to utilize the knowledge I have in that field to bring an extra level of realism to the production.”
Yzabella points out two of her favorite projects are Peace of Christmas and a short film The Hunting Pattern.
She talks about working on Peace of Christmas where she was the key HMUA with a cast of 7. “I had such a blast and was absolutely honored to have the privilege of working with Huff Media for this short film! I had one “German child”, one “German woman”, two “German soldiers” and three “American soldiers”. Our German soldiers just needed to look like they’d been out in the cold (Special Makeup Effects that included red noses and some paler skin) whereas my American Soldiers needed to look as if they’d wandered in the wilderness after a fire-fight with the enemy forces. They required dirt, blood, and one had a grenade burn to the face. It was a 12-hour day. We had a call time of 8am on location. We set up a station in an empty room, and we all received a “shot list”— basically letting us know who was first up (for those who don’t know, everything is shot out of order — in this case, the ending shot was first because we needed to be outdoors in the morning sun). But that is how it’s determined who is readied first and how quickly I’m needed to move. Once everyone has HMU on, I sit on set, behind a monitor for the remainder of the filming — making sure no one is shiny, no hair is out of place, and also making sure all “resets” (shooting the same scene from the beginning) match the last scene; IE: if they wipe the dirt from their face and we have to shoot again, I reapply the dirt to match perfectly from the previous shot). This tends to be the most difficult part — either having a vacant monitor to watch the playback and screenshot the last scene with the makeup to fix or taking my own continuity photos prior to camera rolling. Sometimes it's busy on set and you feel like you can’t move fast enough, and other times it's pretty smooth going — this was definitely one of the smoother productions. Once you hear “Picture wrap”, you get to take some cast photos if you want and then it’s makeup removal for the talent and cleaning/packing up!”
The 2-person cast at The Hunting Pattern that Yzabella worked on was admittedly very intense due to the nature of the film. “There were a lot of touch ups and because there was a “stalking” element, there were a lot of location changes. It was challenging but in a great way. I’m always proud of anything that requires me to completely transform a person, whether it be by time periods or character, even just some pretty fatal wound applications. In the case of the Hunting Pattern, it was about making them look normal — meaning just an everyday nurse, an everyday car guy…and then slowly destroying that image as the filming progressed, making them look deranged, sweaty, all the way to the end result which is so fun to see progress on playback because it really helps immerse the actor and amplifies their abilities.”
Like many professional makeup artists, Yzabella has established her own signature aesthetic for makeup and fashion. Should a makeup artist stand out with their personal outfit as well? Yzabella believes that this is up to each artist as an individual: “I’m a creative person and I have always enjoyed showcasing that. I like to play into that in all aspects of my life from music, to baking/cooking, fashion and home decor to makeup and hair! I feel like surrounding yourself with the things that inspire you and maintain your happiness really help project you. That said, industry standard is always black on black and anytime I am working on productions or other HMUA jobs, you can bet I’m wearing all black and minimal makeup unless it’s otherwise specified (there were times on production they required crew to be background talent)!”
Talking about makeup trends and what inspires Yzabella, she shared that lately, she has been watching a lot of K-Dramas and has found herself drawn to the minimalist but pouty and youthful look: “I find myself playing and “westernizing” this to fit my personal style (which has been really great for summer!). I’m also a huge fan of bold lips; example: the entire month of October, I wear black lipstick. I have reds, blues, greens, purples- I love lips and simple cat and fox eyes, so I probably play more with lipsticks and ombre color combos for them. From time to time, I get inspired by graphic liners and switch gears to eyes for a few days. With all that said, my work tends to fall on the more “natural” side since I do a lot of men’s grooming, but when I work on actresses; I like to encourage the directors to “modernize” their look, which could be just a heavier eyeliner or bolder pops of color- where it fits into the scene, of course.”
Overall, Yzabella says she finds her inspiration everywhere! “I have had the opportunity to work with several great makeup artists in the industry and learn from them — many of them working on big budget projects and I’ve learned so much. I follow them on IG and keep up with their work which is always inspiring to see how they “make” things work and interchange products you wouldn’t think to use. I watch a lot of foreign TV shows and films — each of which provide their own style of makeup effects and beauty standards that I get a lot of inspiration from and even just finding other creatives on social media; from models, to makeup artists, to bands and more. I can’t even be trusted to walk into a craft store/dollar store/flea market without my brain buzzing about what I can use random odds and ends for.” — she says.
Yzabella shares her goals in the makeup industry: “I think ultimately, I’d love to be able to do larger productions full time and hopefully break into the Union to work on SAG productions. Though because I’m a single mom and my kids are young, it will be a long time before I’m able to really push that dream. My current goals are met, and I’m extremely content with where I am: I love inspiring and mentoring other aspiring HMUAs with OMA and being able to sign on to smaller productions (1-3 days of filming) just to continue doing what I love when I can.”
Yzabella’s advice to aspiring makeup artists: “I think it’s really important to know your limits or your lesser skills and realize you never stop learning. Practice and invest in yourself — whether it's better-quality tools and products or taking in person workshops or online courses. Whatever it takes to expand your skill set, and who knows? Maybe you’ll find a new passion for another area of the industry that will lead you down a more fruitful path.”
And a few more words of wisdom from Yzabella: “I think a lot of people get caught up in the “perfection” of social media and influencer tutorials and get stuck in this thought of “I’ll never be that good”. I just really want everyone to understand that what they see is fake. No one has pore-less and texture-less skin. It’s like watching a superhero movie and trying to compare yourself to the superhero that doesn’t even exist. Seeing these should inspire you to better yourself, not compare yourself. I think that’s something really important for everyone to hear; don’t give up, challenge yourself to improve.”
