In addition to the salon setting, bridal industry and mobile special event services, makeup artists in Alaska are enjoying another industry where salaries are often premium – movie production.
Alaska’s makeup artist industry has come a long way since the filming of the Big Miracle and Frozen Ground. The state has become home to a substantial film industry since the introduction of the Alaska Film Production Incentive Program in 2013. With the lack of a state income tax and statewide sales tax, there are strong financial incentives to making films in Alaska. This has been a huge boon to makeup artists in the state.
Some of Alaska’s prominent makeup artists got their start in the film industry there and have been working to help make Alaska’s women more glamorous. This tight knit community includes such luminaries in the makeup artist field as Amber Brophy-Mock and Melanie Camargo.
Amber founded COR Cosmetics to provide high quality makeup that would not cause skin problems on the women who used it, while Melanie helped to start the Alaska Makeup Team.
Makeup Artist Salaries in Alaska for Different Industries
While the salaries for makeup artists vary substantially depending on their specialty and level of experience, a good gauge of the starting salaries for makeup artists in Alaska can be found at Indeed.com. This job site provides a summary of the pay for advertised makeup positions over the course of the previous year.
As of January 2015, a makeup artist in Alaska started at an average salary of $30,000. The salaries of makeup artists varied throughout Alaska and tended to be higher in the major cities, all of which offer film and TV production work:
- Juneau – $38,000
- Fairbanks – $35,000
- Anchorage – $31,000
Many makeup artists get their start in retail where they apply the basic skills of makeup application to customers. An esthetician makeup artist salesperson earned $14,000 at that time. Those in the salon industry enjoy the benefit of tips that can add as much as 25% to their take-home pay.
As these professionals become more skilled, they can branch out to individual consulting such as helping brides look gorgeous for their weddings or training businesswomen to discretely improve their looks.
There is a surprising amount of money to be made in making Alaska’s female residents look more glamorous. This type of work is likely to result in tips, too, making the makeup artists’ level of take home pay even higher.
With experience under their belt, makeup artists are more likely to be able to get lucrative jobs in Alaska’s TV or film industry.