WHY The London Make-up Academy?

The LMA raised the standard of make-up schools when we created our advanced all-in-one course.  Knowing what today’s industry requires in a make-up artist, we have produced a course that would meet those needs – a multi skilled artist saving clients fees from having to book several people for one job.

A comprehensive, highly relevant teaching syllabus was formed with great attention to technical detail and a unique training method that produces individuals, not clones. 

Knowing of significant flaws in the main schools, the LMA has made sure its course has eradicated all of them.  We have since been flattered by other schools imitation of ours. 

Taught on a small intimate level, with dedicated artists knowing each students strengths and weak spots, when to push them and how to get the best out of them, with visiting artists to add even more variation to the in depth techniques taught, we reserve nothing to make you the very best we can.

The History

Nicole Arter - main tutor and founder of the LMA who has worked on celebrities like Cat Deeley, Paris Hilton and Ricky Gervais and on titles incluing Vogue, Harpers & Queen and many more, started in the industry as a fashion model and worked internationally for 5 years whilst doing a business degree.

Working with literally hundreds of many talented artists over the years, Nicole learned their range of techniques and tricks. After her business degree, Nicole realised she wanted a job that she would love and the creativity, variation and excitment of make up was perfect.   

After attending a well established make up school to get an "official education", she pursued a successful career in make up, working for MAC and freelance. Nicole was invited to interview for a new company launching. Their ethos was to revolutionise the environment and way women bought make up. 200 people applied for 5 positions and 80 made it through to the 3 make up interviews judged by Caroline Barnes, then Kylie Minogue's make up artist. Nicole was given a job at the flagship store in Central London.

Pout was heavily services oriented and extensive training in eyebrows and eyelash extensions was given. Nail training by the talented Leighton Denny brought Nicole's skills to Higher Level Master Cosmetologist.

Days were spent doing back to back services in all these areas on people from every walk of life, honed Nicole's skills across the board.  Working at a Photographic portrait company in her days off needed you to work well and work fast! The time an artist takes can make or break a shoot.

After talking to other make-up artists about where they were trained, Nicole was realised how out of date the system was for fashion make-up training. Everyone who'd attended the big schools at the time and everyone had major complaints as to the kit situation, the teacher's areas of expertise to what they were teaching, the syllabus and more. Nicole thought it was high time a fashion make-up school delivered just what a student needed to give them the best start possible going into this challenging but exciting industry - a course she wished had been available when she was training.

The London Make-up Academy was born.

A course was created that produced a student to Higher Level Master Cosmetology - still to this day we are the only school teaching to this level. Crucially, we are teaching what you must be able to do to succeed, that means hair training when all you dream of is make up - the detail training to make your work the absolute best it can be, to make you better than the rest. As importantly the training in you as an individual to ensure you are catching and keeping your clients, industry professionalism is as important as your talent!

Make up is Nicole's passion and teaching it provides a make-up high! Seeing a student produce their first piece of really beautiful work, their face breaking into a huge smile of achievement and pride is the icing on the cake.