As an industry, we often focus on the consumer-facing segment of beauty, but there is an army of beauty professionals that work behind the scenes. The ongoing Writer's Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes mean many of these makeup artists, hair stylists, and manicurists need work.
To assist the professional beauty community impacted by the loss of income, Sahara Lotti, founder, CEO, and inventor of Lashify, celebrity and television makeup artist Matin Maulawizada, and Ellen Maguire, founder of Coterie Global, announce the launch of Beauty4Beauty, an industry-wide initiative to encourage beauty brands and affiliated companies to provide unemployed and underemployed professionals with meaningful work opportunities for the duration of the strikes.
“Beauty4Beauty is a call to action. We are asking brands and others who benefit from the organic support and work of the beauty artist community to hire us to create content, provide hair and makeup for e-comm shoots, appear on a brand’s social media, and any other creative project that would benefit from our talents. We simply want to work, and even a small job can have a major impact during the strikes. We’re relying on the generosity of beauty brands to help the beauty community during our time of need. And in return, they will receive brand-focused, inspiring content and our unwavering support," shared Maulawizada.
For the first time since 1960, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA unions are all on strike, with key issues ranging from fair pay to the impact of artificial intelligence. The Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild is part of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). While IATSE is not on strike, most members have been out of work for several months as production schedules slowed in anticipation of an impending strike.
Union and non-union beauty artists who work with celebrities on the red carpet, press junkets, television appearances, film festivals, etc., have experienced a dramatic loss in income due to the strikes—with no end in sight. Celebrity talent is prohibited from promoting any of their upcoming films, TV, or streaming projects, which means their beauty teams don’t work either. The indefinite postponement of the 2023 EMMY Awards, a marquis event for the beauty community, is the most recent blow to struggling artists.
Beauty brands and artists agencies can support these professionals by committing to hire these artists and showcase their work on social media to spread the word. Top celebrity makeup artists, hair stylists, and manicurists have committed to sharing Beauty4Beauty brand partner announcements and artist content on their own social media accounts to support the brands generously hiring artists.
Beauty4Beauty is a grassroots effort with a small pro bono support team available to help brands identify artists. Participating brands individually manage artist outreach, contracts, and scope of work.
To help build awareness of the movement, use the Beauty4Beauty logo and tag @beauty4beauty and #beauty4beauty on social media posts. If you are interested in the program, email beauty4beauty@coterieglobal.co.
