Established in 2013 in New York City, Nina MUA beauty school offers a variety of makeup classes for aspiring artists. Nina Mua,the founder of Nina MUA, has always had a great passion in makeup and believes that practical training is important for any aspiring makeup artist. Nina MUA has professional makeup artists conducting the beauty lessons to ensure that their students succeed. Read on to find out more about Nina Mua and her beauty school:
What inspired you to start a beauty school: Nina Mua?
I attended a makeup school in Moscow, Russia. The educational experience I received was very different than what it is like now. For starters, there were no demos for teaching. There were only videos and they were not very effective at teaching techniques. When I was at school the institution really tried to force us to buy their products which were not the best quality. In that time, I also never thought that makeup could be my profession. The mindset was: its makeup and it should come naturally to women. Although I did receive a certificate and a diploma from the school, it was very hard to get jobs. This is when I realized the importance of having a portfolio as a makeup artist. Nevertheless, after beauty school, I worked in Moscow for a few years as a makeup artist. I met a talented group of performers who hosted parties and events. Seeing the makeup transformation completely opened my eyes. Seeing performative makeup being applied was like a different world for me. It was then that I really saw how powerful makeup is. I was a full-time makeup artist working in different makeup fields in Moscow. I started to reach the point where I was working for celebrities and high profile clients. I loved it, but I wanted to really challenge myself. I got invited to New York Fashion Week and the city blew my mind, because of the diversity and the people. So I moved to New York and it was very challenging for me. The culture, different background and language barrier were difficult to adhere to. I found it very difficult to stay here, but I challenged myself and told myself that I would succeed in New York. No one knew me here when in Moscow I was a popular artist. I started off offering my services for free. From there, I began to get good recommendations from clients that allowed me to land jobs. A few years later, I was a full-time makeup artist in New York City. I kept working and I worked more. When I was living in New York I saw a demand for quality makeup education because there were not many schools out there and if they were, they were very expensive. I started giving personal classes on makeup and hairstyling and saw an increase of people wanting to take my classes. I then decided to rent a small room dedicated to those small classes. Slowly but surely these classes teaching makeup and hair became my full-time job. As my services began getting more popular, I then rented a bigger space but the demand kept growing. At one point I wasn’t able to serve all the students by myself so I decided to hire teachers and get a bigger space. It was important for me that the programs included photoshoots for portfolio pictures and included a free makeup kit that has great quality, necessary products. I always want students to be fixated on the fact that you should be talented no matter what products or tools that you are using. That is the motto of our school. I created the name Nina Mua and got it to become licensed as a private career school with the Department of Education. Now we are serving more than 250 students per year.
There are over several beauty schools in New York City. What is special about the training and classes you offer?
I think what makes our school, Nina Mua unique is the close-knit environment that we provide for all our students. We pride ourselves in our small classroom size. With a maximum of 8 people per class, our instructors and staff are able to know each student by name and create personable yet professional relationships. When our students feel at home, they can thrive and achieve their true potential and talent. They feel confident asking questions, asking for help, and getting advice and tips from our instructors who have years of experience in the business. Because of this, we are able to learn each student’s weaknesses and strengths and help them with whatever they need. We care about each of our student’s passions and we do our best to help them achieve their dreams. We also have professional photoshoots as a part of the student experience. For example, in our complete makeup training program which is our Master Program, our students get three professional photoshoots. We book professional photographers and models from the top New York agencies. Our students are able to do three looks for each photoshoot and be a part of an experience that is very apparent in the industry. Timing, networking, and talent are all practiced in this experience as students take on a real photoshoot and gain confidence in the process. We believe the photoshoot experience makes us unique and prepares our students with real-life experiences. Our other part-time programs also include a professional photoshoot. In addition, our graduates always stay in touch with us and let us know about the milestones they achieve in their career. We constantly network and stay in touch with our students through social media and the web. Even after graduation, we always want to make sure we serve as a resource to help out our graduates. We have a closed community on Facebook that includes our graduates, where we constantly post job postings and opportunities. Here at Nina Mua, we pride ourselves in the relationships we create with students and the experience we give them while attending our school.
Currently, Nina Mua is based in New York City. Any future plans of expanding abroad?
Our makeup school is currently located in New York City. In the near future, we are planning to open a location in Los Angeles, California. I also partnered up with Online Makeup Academy to offer courses online. For students who are eager to learn makeup artistry and get a certification but can’t make it to Nina Mua directly in New York City, it is an excellent option. Our students who take our online program also receive a professional makeup kit. The Online Makeup Academy will provide students with over 7 hours of video training, a makeup kit and training materials, lifetime access to makeup videos, evaluation, and feedback from their work and a certificate stating that they completed the Online Makeup Course. Both are excellent options. Choosing which option is right for you depends on your availability and location. If you are able to attend Nina Mua Makeup School in New York and can make it to our classes (offered on both weekdays and weekends) it is a great option. Going to our makeup school gives you the hands-on experience with our instructors and allows you to learn in person. It is an amazing opportunity that includes a professional photoshoot and in-person, detailed training. However, we understand busy schedules and that people may live in other locations and cannot make it. The Online Makeup Academy is made to accommodate busy schedules and you can still receive excellent training from the comfort of your own home.
What is the most fulfilling experience of running a beauty school?
The most fulfilling experience of running a beauty school is seeing our students improve over time and gain confidence. When they have gone through their training and are at their graduation photoshoot, you can see how much confidence they have built. They feel ready to go out into the world and apply their talent. Feeling responsible for contributing to someone’s dreams is an immeasurable feeling. The students come with talent and passion and we give them the tools and instruction. We have students from all over the world who attend our school. They have big dreams on how to use their artistry after completing our programs. Seeing our students feel confident and ready to make their dreams into a reality is a very rewarding experience. We have students whose dreams consist of creating their own makeup school back in their home country, or they want to learn how to do makeup to motivate and lift the spirits of cancer patients through artistry. The individual dreams of our students have touched us and we are so proud that we can give them the resources to achieve these amazing dreams. Making people feel beautiful, connected and uplifted through makeup artistry is why we do what we do. We create an environment for passionate people to train and improve their skills in order to apply this artistry. When they first come in, they may be shy and nervous. On the day they graduate, it is filled with hugs, laughter, and many times tears. The transformation is astonishing and we cannot be more proud that our students are using their artistry to make the world a more beautiful place.
What is some career advice you would give to students who want to become professional makeup artists?
The career advice we would give students who want to become professional makeup artists is to never give up and never stop getting inspired. Makeup artistry is an industry in which you can never stop learning and you can always practice more. Our makeup school includes a team of professional makeup artists that have years of experience in the industry. They each have their own specialty and expertise in areas of makeup. Another thing we love about our team is that we can use each of their talents to maximize the individual education of our students and give them the best advice possible. For example, if the class for the day is going to cover bridal makeup it will be taught by our instructor whose specialty is bridal makeup. Or if the class will be teaching high fashion/editorial makeup, our instructor who has experience working for editorial shoots and looks will be teaching the class. This is a great system because if a student has a specific passion within makeup artistry that they want to focus on, they can connect with the teacher who specializes in it and can interact through questions and advice. Overall, believing in yourself and your talent will get you where you want to be. Be confident! We also have a blog on our website that covers different topics, if you would like to read more check it out: http://www.ninamua.com/makeup-school-nyc-blog/
It was so interesting to learn about Nina Mua and her journey of creating the Nina Mua School . Check out Nina MUA here: http://www.ninamua.com/
