Having a makeup artist available in your spa gives an added value of being able to offer additional full service makeup treatments, whether for daily needs or for special events such as prom and weddings. This added service provides a spa with the ability to create all-day spa packages that consist of a manicure and pedicure, massage, facial, and end with a full makeup application. Makeup is another great way to increase revenue, whether through retail sales or as an add-on treatment to other spa menu items.
Whether selling products or treatments, spa employees are usually the best way to increase overall sales. One way to encourage sales is through setting up goals for your employees. These goals should be given to every employee in the spa as a way to stimulate sales for all aspects of the spa – including makeup products and treatments. The goals can range from dollar amounts to products/services sold. Ultimately, when employees have goals to reach, it helps them get the conversation started. If their goal is to increase makeup sales, it will ensure that makeup is being discussed with every transaction and service.

Add-on Services
Add-on services are miniature treatments that can be added to any service to enhance a skin care treatment – magnifying the treatment’s overall therapeutic effect. For example, with a facial service, a complimentary makeup application or foundation match may be offered afterwards. If the customer or aesthetician prefers to not use makeup after a treatment, any non-makeup product (such as a primer), oil control products, or a tinted moisturizer can be applied instead to finish the service. Other makeup products like an aromatherapy facial mist or eye creams can also be used during a treatment.
A simple add-on makeup treatment for clients could be a cut and color. Since clients usually ask if they need to change their makeup, this is a great service to provide, especially through the seasons. For instance, many clients will continue to use the same shade foundation, unless they experience a tan during the summer or while on vacation. However, with a cut and color add-on treatment, the makeup artist can assist the client with changing their eyeshadows, blushes and lipsticks to go along with the current season and popular trends.
Another way to incorporate makeup as an add-on service is through waxing services. Every technician should have a set of concealers, a setting powder, and a set of eyebrow powder kits. When someone comes in for a wax, they generally do so during midday when they have other things to do afterwards. Why send them out of your spa/salon with red skin from a waxing service? After the wax service is done, the technician should apply a concealer onto the red areas of the skin. There are concealers out there that are ideal for this situation − specifically formulated with allantoin to help repair skin tissue, jojoba esters to add hydration, and vitamins for antioxidant protection. Once the waxing treatment is complete, a translucent powder can be used to set it. Try to find a translucent powder that has licorice root extract, which is an anti-inflammatory that helps to calm and reduce redness in the skin. After the color correction has been done, you can help reshape and fill in the client’s eyebrow with an eyebrow kit. The kit should be shown to every eyebrow customer to ensure they can create the same eyebrow when they are at home; this is another creative way to increase your retail sales.

Retail Sales, Promotions and Special Events
Increasing and refreshing a spa’s service menu is important and adding a new service, such as makeup, is a great way to boost a business’ bottom line. However, maintaining a constant flow between spa services and retail sales is a strategic way to maximize profit. When adding a makeup artist to a spa, the next logical step would be to add a makeup line to the spa’s retail line-up.
Most women are looking for a makeup line that is non-comedgenic, will allow the skin to breath, but gives coverage that resembles a natural appearance. Makeup artists frequently hear comments like, “I did not know that color would enhance my eyes,” or “I never realized how important eyebrows are in framing the face.” Makeup artists can offer so many important tips for natural beauty. The colors an artist chooses for foundation, blush, eyes, eyebrows and lips can be an educational experience that customers will incorporate into their daily beauty routine. Knowing how to apply products and what colors to use can make all the difference in the final result.
By adding a makeup application class to your service menu, you can use it as a way to build a loyal clientele. For instance, block out a couple of hours in the late afternoon or evening and offer a Little Black Dress Night or whatever you think will entice your customers. Be sure to have beverages and finger foods available. When booking appointments in advance, you should make sure to allow at least a half hour in between each appointment. This will give the makeup artist enough time to offer the service, clean tools, and be ready for the next customer. During the actual event, you can offer the service as a full makeup makeover or you can decide to focus on foundation, eyes, lips, et cetera. Either way, this is a great way to boost a new or existing makeup service. Furthermore, when running a promotion you can choose to charge a fee or you can bolster sales and attendance by offering a free entrance fee with the purchase of three products.
Makeup promotions can also focus on a particular demographic like teenagers and the mature client. This client base provides the opportunity to establish a long-lasting, loyal clientele. In addition, the teenage client is usually unaware of the importance of product ingredients, so they do not understand the repercussions of some of the trendier department or drug store brands. Teenage clients tend to also have more skin concerns, including acne. Talking to them about the importance of ingredients is necessary in order for them to keep their skin looking clear and healthy. Another group that can benefit from learning about makeup is mature women; this client base constantly asks what they can do to look younger. Like the Little Black Dress event described before, this is another area where you can promote your makeup line by offering a Take Ten Years Off service with anti-aging tips for their skin with make-up application.
Special events like prom, graduation, weddings, et cetera are another way for a spa to promote its services. Different areas of the spa can work together, grouping services to create an ultimate spa package. A big event, such as prom, can be turned into an assortment of treatments for the client to experience before their big event – everything from hair and nails to facials
and makeup.

Spas Versus Retail Stores
As a skin care professional, you should always know what your customer wants before they know it themselves. Taking the opportunity to educate new or returning clients about the importance of product knowledge is a definite plus. It is imperative that clients understand the ingredients included within their products as well as the ingredients they should stay away from.
Generally, cosmetics sold in retail stores (such as department stores, drug stores and grocery stores) are usually cheaper due to the low quality of ingredients used within cosmetic products. In the spa, the client will get a more personalized service versus a grocery store and the busy activity of a department store. In some cases, the people hired to work the counter of a department store are not generally makeup artists, but are sales associates instead. This scenario explains why clients would be able to receive a more rounded education on makeup at the spa versus other retail locations.
Education is key! Using the opportunity to teach a client while walking them through the steps of a makeup application will not only help educate the client, but it will also help excite them about learning new techniques. In addition, this will help build confidence in the client, thereby establishing a stronger and more trusting relationship with the aesthetician. In fact, I have personally found that the more knowledge you can offer your client, the more impressed they will be with you. They will eventually refuse to go see anyone else and as a result, they will end up only buying their makeup products from you.
Keeping track of recent trends helps build confidence with your client so she knows that you are on top of the latest in makeup application. Most women tend to enjoy shopping at department stores because they like to see what is new and fresh – use this to your advantage. Make sure to showcase new products in your retail displays, e-mail blasts and announcements. Keep your makeup current and always wear what you are carrying so you are a walking advertisement for what you are selling. This helps with the makeup conversation too. Clients will begin asking you about the lipstick or eyeshadow you are wearing and you can use the question as a segway into getting them to purchase your makeup line. Convenience is another added advantage for your clients; buying makeup at your business will save them an extra trip to the mall when they can simply pick up their makeup at the same time they are getting a facial.
When a client trusts their aesthetician to take care of their skin it is an easy assumption that they will also trust them with their makeup recommendations. Like a personal trainer working with their clients to help them tone up and lose weight, an aesthetician listens and works with their clients on tackling their goals and concerns. With the right cosmetics, an aesthetician can add to the benefits of the skin care treatments they provide to their clients. As a stand-alone or add-on treatment, makeup can build a trusting relationship with your clients by helping them build their confidence.

Director of Education and Artistry for Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics, Philip Luque, has been bringing out the beauty in people for 15 years. His diverse background includes work for top designers such as Carolina Herrera and Diesel, in the pages of Italian Vogue and W, at the Emmy and ESPY award shows, and on the faces of Danica Patrick, Peyton Manning, Paris Hilton and others. A licensed cosmetologist, Luque displays his skills and creates his beautiful effects using Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics. He enthusiastically demonstrates Youngblood’s versatility and quality at every educational session.