With Maine’s history of being a powerhouse for textile production, the state has long attracted people interested in textiles and fashion. Maine’s fashion industry received a shot in the arm in 2012 with a $400,000 gift from Burt’s Bees cofounder Roxanne Quimby to the Maine College of Art. She expects that the efforts of this college will help to revitalize Maine’s fashion industry, thus providing additional opportunities for makeup artists in the state.
Another lucrative industry for makeup artists in Maine is that of film and TV production. Maine was ahead of its time and established incentives for filmmakers to work in the state in 1987. Such major films as Forrest Gump and The Cider House Rules were filmed in Maine which offers a large variety of types of scenery for filmmakers to produce high quality productions.
In addition to these opportunities, Maine’s wedding industry had a market value of $235 million in 2013 according to TheWeddingReport.com. Makeup artists who work with clients such as brides frequently get tips for their efforts, so their salaries are even higher than the state’s salary information would suggest.
Range for Salaries for Makeup Artists in Maine
The average salary for a makeup artist in Maine in 2013 was about the national average. These professionals averaged $66,331 a year in this state according to the Maine Department of Labor.
The starting salaries for makeup artists in Maine were lower than the state’s average in January 2015 according to Indeed.com. This site analyzes the starting salaries for makeup artist positions over the previous year and provides an average.
In January 2015, the average starting salary for a makeup artist in Maine was $36,000. Salaries in the state’s major cities were slightly lower than this:
- Bangor – $34,000
- Portland – $33,000
- Lewiston – $33,000
A makeup artist’s salary can vary a great deal depending on his or her level of experience. Nationally makeup artists in the top tier of their profession earned 6.2 times more than those in the lowest tier according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.