Beauty Industry Careers Insights

Which career in the beauty industry is right for you?

The UK’s vibrant and diverse beauty industry, an industry worth £27 billion in 2020, offers a wealth of career opportunities for anyone with a passion for makeup, skincare or fragrance. So we thought we’d break down the key roles to help you decide which beauty industry career could be right for you.

Customer-facing beauty industry careers

At Artisan People, we work with luxury brands such as Estée Lauder, L’Oréal and Chanel to fill a huge range of customer-facing roles in department stores.

Makeup artist

Being a makeup artist (MUA) has become an incredibly popular career choice, and there are many options available, such as TV/film/theatre work and being an in-store MUA for a luxury brand. An in-store MUA offers practical guidance on products – helping customers with colour-matching and application techniques, inspiring them to try new looks/products, and providing tutorials and makeovers. Each brand has its own specific style and colour palettes, so our in-store MUAs are all given brand immersion training to give them a comprehensive knowledge of the brand’s product range and unique personality.

Alongside makeup artistry skills and a keen eye for colour, style and detail, you’ll obviously need to be comfortable and confident in applying makeup to other people to be an in-store MUA. The benefits of luxury products speak for themselves, but demonstrating those benefits effectively is key, so communication and sales skills are important. Sometimes you’ll need to know what your customers are looking for even if they don’t know themselves!

Skincare specialist

Skincare specialists advise customers on how to look after their skin, assist with their skincare concerns and recommend the most suitable products. These roles require an understanding of skin types, allergies and skincare routines and a strong product knowledge in order to safely recommend the best products. People need to feel comfortable in talking to you about their skincare concerns, so having a friendly, mature and empathetic nature and a passion for helping people is key. Many of our skincare specialists come from a beauty therapy background, but there are also roles for those who just have a personal experience of skincare – full product training is provided.

Fragrance consultant

Brands recruit fragrance consultants to introduce customers to their product range and engage them in the products. These roles suit gregarious people with energy and confidence – it isn’t about waiting for people to come to you, you’ll often need to approach people to offer a fragrance sample. There’s a science to fragrance, so you’ll need to know your parfum from your cologne, how smell differs, and which fragrance matches each customer’s requirements. Brand training will always be given, and we offer a dedicated course to get you started on your fragrance journey.

Beauty retail assistant

Retail assistants do not need such a detailed knowledge, but they still need a passion for their products and for people. You’ll be responsible for welcoming customers, helping them find everything they need, managing transactions, and ensuring product displays are fully stocked and well-presented.

For all these roles, a love of all things beauty is obviously an absolute essential. You’ll need skills and knowledge appropriate to the role (although formal qualifications aren’t always necessary) as well as impeccable customer service skills. You will truly be the face of the company, so luxury brands are looking for great communicators with engaging personalities who are well-presented, professional, adaptable and reliable. As each brand has its own unique personality, style and approach, we offer brand immersion training for all candidates.

Office-based roles

If a behind-the-scenes career is more for you, the beauty industry offers plenty of options, from creative marketing roles to operational positions in finance and HR.

E-commerce specialist

Accounting for over a quarter of the global beauty and personal care market sales in 2022, e-commerce is a vital sales channel for all brands. Roles in e-commerce vary, but will likely involve optimizing the online customer journey, maximising conversions, stock forecasting, overseeing on-site merchandising and analysing product performance.

Digital marketer

As the digital marketing space grows and innovates, our clients are looking for digital marketing superstars to engage customers across multiple channels. These varied roles can include managing search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and content marketing, as well as managing social media, analysing campaign performance and coordinating consumer panels. Strong strategic marketing skills are important as well as creativity, flair and an eye for an unmissable opportunity.

Finance/HR

Finance specialists are always required in the beauty industry, filling roles that range from bookkeeping and payroll to chief financial officers. And, as such a people-focused business, HR staff play a core role, acting as people champions at beauty brands, providing advice and support on HR matters, and managing training, development and employee relations. Requirements will vary, but beauty brands are usually looking for candidates who have experience working in CPG (consumer packaged goods) industries, are commercially minded, and have strong attention to detail and great communication and organisational skills.

Your beauty industry career starts here

We recruit staff for a whole host of high-end beauty brands, from skincare specialists such as Dermalogica and Sisley to luxury makeup and fragrance brands such as Gucci, Dior and Estée Lauder. And we have vacancies available in all major cities, including London, Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Cambridge and Birmingham. So whether you’re just starting to look into potential careers in beauty or are looking for the next step in your beauty career, take a look at our vacancies today.