HOW TO HIRE · BEAUTY & GROOMING

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

Make-up tutors need no licence anywhere in the UK. Here is what to check, what to ask, and what to do if the lesson falls short.

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

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a make-up tutor in five steps

  1. Say what you want to learnEveryday, evening, mature skin or bridal self-make-up.
  2. Bring your own kitSo the tutor teaches with what you have.
  3. Agree the lengthOne hour, two or three — and what is covered.
  4. Ask about productsIncluded, or a list to buy.
  5. Mention allergiesBefore the lesson.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

The law in all four UK nations is silent on make-up tutors — no licence, no register, no required qualification. Council skin-piercing licences begin only where a needle breaks the skin, which a make-up tutor does not do.

A certificate for the make-up lesson and an insurer's name are the two things to ask for.

Insurance that covers the make-up lesson

Without public liability insurance, a make-up tutor who injures you has to pay out of their own pocket, so ask whether the make-up lesson appears on the schedule of their insurance.

Ask to see the policy schedule, and look for the make-up lesson on it.

Trader status under the Consumer Rights Act 2015

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 covers a make-up lesson bought from a make-up tutor in business. Reasonable care and skill is the standard; below it, you can require the work again or a reduction.

Confirm the trader badge on Locufy and hold on to the written booking. legislation.gov.uk →

VAT

Make-up lessons are exempt from VAT only when a sole trader or a partner teaches you in person, in a subject of the kind schools or universities teach; the same lessons from a limited company or its staff are standard-rated at 20%. An individual make-up tutor under the £90,000 registration threshold charges no VAT in any case and has no VAT number to give.

Ask whether you are booking the make-up tutor as an individual or through a company, and whether VAT is added. gov.uk →

“What will the make-up lesson cover?”

A good answer: A plan in writing: skin, base, eyes, brows, lips — whatever you asked for.

“Will I practise myself?”

A good answer: Yes — the make-up tutor shows one side, you do the other.

“Will you use my own make-up?”

A good answer: Yes, and tell you what is worth keeping.

“Do I get notes or a face chart?”

A good answer: Yes, to take home.

“Are products included?”

A good answer: Yes or no, and no pressure to buy.

“How do you keep your kit clean?”

A good answer: Clean brushes and single-use applicators.

“What if the lesson does not cover what I asked?”

A good answer: A further session or a reduction.

Booking by the hour

  • The rate per hour or per lesson, and any evening or weekend rate
  • The minimum booking and what happens if the lesson runs short
  • The looks or techniques agreed before the first hour, written down
  • What each side brings: the make-up tutor brushes, products and a face chart; you your own make-up bag to work from
  • ID checked and the tutor's rating, and travel to your home priced if they come to you

Walk away if

  • The lesson turns into a sales pitch
  • No hands-on practice
  • Dirty brushes
  • No written plan for what is covered
LOW
£40
TYPICAL
£100
HIGH
£150

What a make-up tutor costs: £40–£150 per lesson

Make-up tutors price per lesson, set by length and whether products are included. Makeup Lessons 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 tutors 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. Kit reviewYour make-up bag looked through.
  2. Skin prepHow to prepare your skin.
  3. DemonstrationThe make-up tutor does one side.
  4. PracticeYou copy the steps with guidance.
  5. NotesA face chart and routine to take home.

Face chart
A drawing of the look with products noted.
One-to-one
A lesson with just you.
Group lesson
Several people taught together.
Kit clear-out
A lesson sorting what to keep and replace.
Base
Foundation, concealer and powder.
Masterclass
A longer, more advanced lesson.

AFTER

When the job is done

Keep the notesThe face chart and product list.
Practise the routineWithin a few days, while it is fresh.
Ask follow-up questionsMany tutors answer a message after the lesson.
Leave the reviewYou can review a make-up tutor on Locufy once the booked visit is done. If the make-up lesson is not right, use the make-it-right step first so the make-up tutor can put it right before the review goes up.

STEP 1Tell the make-up tutor, in writingRaise it within days, by message, not just in the chair. If the make-up lesson was below the reasonable care and skill the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires, ask for a repeat or a reduction.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyGive the make-up lesson under four stars and we ask whether to send it to the make-up tutor first; we follow it through with them, and then you review.
STEP 3No regulator — Trading StandardsNo body licenses a make-up tutor, so a make-up lesson 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 tutor will not refund or redo the make-up lesson, 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 tutor: questions people ask

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

Reasonable care and skill — the Consumer Rights Act 2015 standard — applies to every make-up lesson bought from a trader. Write to them, ask for it to be put right, and if it cannot be, ask for money back.

£40–£150 per lesson, typically around £100. Length, a professional school and products included put it at the top end. For the breakdown, read the makeup lessons price guide; your town in the search box above shows make-up tutors near you.

Usually, within 14 days of booking under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. A class booked for a set date can fall under regulation 28, which excludes some leisure services from the 14-day right, so read the make-up tutor's written terms before you pay.

They cost less per person; ask the make-up tutor how much hands-on time each person gets.

Tell them in writing. A service not done with reasonable care and skill can be repeated or the price reduced.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in beauty & grooming

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

Make-up tutors near you

Make-up tutors in LondonMake-up tutors in ManchesterMake-up tutors in BirminghamMake-up tutors in GlasgowMake-up tutors in BelfastAll make-up tutors 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. Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — 6.1 The treatment of private tuition
  8. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register