HOW TO HIRE · BEAUTY & GROOMING

How to hire a make-up artist in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

There is no UK register to look make-up artists up on. Here is what to check, what to ask, and what to do if it goes wrong.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a make-up artist in five steps

  1. Look at their own portfolioReal clients with skin like yours, in daylight as well as flash.
  2. Ask about kit hygieneClean brushes, disposable applicators for mascara and lips.
  3. Mention allergiesAnd ask for a patch test of any product you have reacted to.
  4. Get terms in writingDeposit, timings, travel and cancellation in one message.
  5. Agree what is includedLashes, touch-ups, travel.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

The law in all four UK nations is silent on make-up artists — no licence, no register, no required qualification. A make-up sits outside the skin-piercing rules councils enforce.

Ask for the certificate from their make-up training, and the insurer's name.

Insurance that covers the make-up

The insurance norm for make-up artists is cover written for each treatment, so a make-up artist whose schedule leaves out the make-up is not insured for it.

Ask the make-up artist for the insurer's name and the schedule line that covers the make-up.

Trader status under the Consumer Rights Act 2015

Buying a make-up from a make-up artist who trades brings the Consumer Rights Act 2015 with it: the work has to meet the standard of reasonable care and skill, with a redo or partial refund if it misses.

Check the make-up artist's profile for the trader badge, and keep every message about the booking. legislation.gov.uk →

Booking terms under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013

A make-up artist booked online or by phone makes a distance contract: you have 14 days to cancel, unless the make-up happens inside that time at your request. Deposits and late-cancellation terms need to be in writing to bind you.

Ask the make-up artist for the deposit, balance and cancellation terms in one message before you pay. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Make-up for an event is standard-rated at 20% from a VAT-registered make-up artist. An artist or agency over the £90,000 threshold must register, add VAT to each face and show it separately.

Ask the make-up artist for a VAT number on the booking, and check whether the price for each face includes VAT. gov.uk →

“Can I see make-up you have done on skin like mine?”

A good answer: Real clients, close-up and in daylight.

“How do you clean your brushes and kit?”

A good answer: Brushes cleaned between clients and single-use wands for mascara — the make-up artist can say how.

“Can you patch test a product I have reacted to before?”

A good answer: Yes, ahead of the day.

“Are lashes and travel in the make-up price?”

A good answer: Each named as in or extra.

“How long will my make-up take?”

A good answer: A time per person, so the schedule holds.

“What deposit do you take, and is it refundable?”

A good answer: A deposit and refund terms in writing.

“Will you stay for touch-ups?”

A good answer: Yes or no, with an hourly price if so.

Getting the quote right

  • The look and the number of people
  • Lashes, touch-up cover and travel, each priced
  • Deposit, balance and cancellation terms
  • Who actually attends: the make-up artist whose portfolio you saw, or an assistant for extra faces, and whether that assistant is employed or subcontracted
  • The make-up artist's VAT number, with VAT apart from each look, the lashes and the travel

Walk away if

  • Double-dipping mascara wands or lip gloss
  • Dirty brushes from the last client
  • No written terms for a deposit
  • A portfolio of filtered images only
LOW
£65
TYPICAL
£80
HIGH
£300

What a make-up artist costs: £65–£300 per booking

Make-up artists price per booking and per person, with travel, lashes and touch-up cover priced on top. Makeup Artist price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Make-up artists near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. ConsultationThe look, skin type and event discussed.
  2. Skin prepCleanse, moisturise and prime.
  3. BaseFoundation, concealer and powder matched in good light.
  4. Eyes, brows and lipsApplied with clean tools and single-use applicators.
  5. Set and checkSetting spray, a final check and the make-up artist's touch-up tips.

Base
Foundation, concealer and powder.
Strip lashes
A false lash band applied with glue.
Setting spray
A spray that helps make-up last.
Touch-up cover
The artist staying to refresh make-up.
Disposable applicator
A single-use wand or sponge for hygiene.
Deposit
Money paid to hold a date, refundable or not by the terms.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the booking and receiptTerms, deposit and balance paid.
Remove the make-up properlyAnd watch for any skin reaction overnight.
Note the productsAsk the make-up artist for the shades used, to buy or repeat.
Leave the reviewYou can review a make-up artist on Locufy once the booked visit is done. If the make-up is not right, use the make-it-right step first so the make-up artist can put it right before the review goes up.

STEP 1Tell the make-up artist, in writingKeep it factual: what was agreed, what you got, what you want now. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you a redo first and money back second.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyGive the make-up under four stars and we ask whether to send it to the make-up artist first; we follow it through with them, and then you review.
STEP 3No regulator — Trading StandardsNo body licenses a make-up artist, so a make-up dispute you cannot settle goes to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline (0808 223 1133) in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland (0808 800 9060) or Consumerline in Northern Ireland (0300 123 6262).
STEP 4Small claims, if it comes to moneyIf the make-up artist will not refund or redo the make-up, you can claim without a solicitor: up to £10,000 on the small claims track in England and Wales, up to £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, and up to £5,000 in the small claims court in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a make-up artist: questions people ask

Not by law, in any UK nation. A good make-up artist can still show you training and an insurance schedule; ask for both.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a make-up artist who trades must use reasonable care and skill. Put the problem in writing; a redo comes first, then a price reduction if the make-up cannot be fixed in reasonable time.

£65–£300 per booking, typically around £80. Bridal work, group bookings, travel and early starts take it towards the top figure. Our makeup artist price guide breaks the figure down; to see what make-up artists near you charge, search your town above.

Only if you have reacted before or are trying a new product. Ask the make-up artist to test it ahead of the day.

Within 14 days of booking online or by phone, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, unless the make-up has been done at your request in that time. After that, the written terms apply.

Say so on the spot so it can be fixed. Work not done with reasonable care and skill is a reason for a price reduction.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in beauty & grooming

How to hire: Bridal MakeupHow to hire: Mobile Makeup ArtistHow to hire: Special Occasion MakeupHow to hire: Makeup LessonsHow to hire: Bridal HairHow to hire: Henna & Mehndi ArtistHow to hire: Spray TanHow to hire: Mobile BeauticianAll 701 hiring guides →

Make-up artists near you

Make-up artists in LondonMake-up artists in ManchesterMake-up artists in BirminghamMake-up artists in GlasgowMake-up artists in BelfastAll make-up artists on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — tattoo, piercing and electrolysis licence (England and Wales), with London's Special Treatments Licence
  2. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  3. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 54 — your rights when a service falls short
  4. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  5. gov.uk — VAT rates
  6. nidirect — small claims process (Northern Ireland)
  7. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register