Makeup, Specialized Services, and Business Practices
Makeup fundamentals
Color theory drives corrective makeup. Primary colors (red, yellow, blue) mix into secondary colors; complementary colors sit opposite each other on the wheel and cancel each other. Green cancels redness, lavender cancels sallow yellow tones, peach or orange cancels blue bruising or dark circles, and yellow brightens. Undertone (warm, cool, neutral) matters more than surface color when matching foundation; test on the jawline in daylight. Know face shapes and how highlighting (brings forward) and contouring (recedes) alter them. Sanitation is not optional: no double-dipping, spatula product out, sharpen pencils, and never share wands or mascara.
Specialized services
Lash and brow tinting, lash extensions, body treatments, aromatherapy, LED, and advanced exfoliation each require their own consent, patch test, and scope check. Patch-test tint and adhesive 24–48 hours before the appointment on a small area the client can monitor. Refer clients with allergic reactions rather than retreating.
Business practices
Know your license's scope, your insurance requirements, and your state's sanitation rules. Pricing must cover product cost, time, and overhead. Retail only what you can explain and what the client's regimen actually needs. Keep records, manage bookings, protect client data, and understand that reputation is built on consistency and confidentiality. Marketing claims must stay within scope - no curing, no diagnosing.
Traps
Questions swap complementary and analogous colors, or place a patch test minutes before the service instead of a day ahead.
Rule of thumb
Name the opposite color: the cancelling shade is the one directly across the wheel from the problem tone.