Terrible experience. Paid tuition in full for the complete program for my daughter. Some teachers were excellent, but some were awful. My daughter was told she would have an internship after graduation and they never reached out after she turned in her application. When confronted about it they denied the whole thing. They really seem to have favorites and have no regard for talent. Just want their money. I wish we would have went elsewhere. I would give zero stars, but a few teachers were wonderful read more

Please save your money and go somewhere else. I ended up dropping out mid way of this class a while back ago and joined a different program. I regret wasting any money on here. You can learn more about makeup from YouTube than this school. They clearly do not have a good reputation based on the reviews by other students. Avoid at all costs!! read more

I attended Cinema Makeup School this past year and loved every day of it. I took the complete track which included all of the classes they offer, and I am coming away with a ton of knowledge and network. The class sizes are pretty small so the teachers are able to help students individually, and answer any questions they may have. The teachers and staff are very helpful and kind. It felt more like a family than a school. I recommend this school for anyone looking to gain new skills or improve upon what they already know. read more

Cinema Makeup School - Silicone painting - Makeup Artists Near Me - Los Angeles, California

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I would highly recommend this school to anyone that is looking to advance their knowledge as an artist. Ive loved every moment and every challenge Ive experienced and i hope that my review helps someone to make a decision for their future career in the business. read more

I had such a great experience here at CMS, I am a complete track graduate and it was the most rewarding 8 months of my life. I really was able to learn skills and techniques from beauty to FX work from the best in the industry. The school is extremely supportive of all the artists that enroll and they really love to watch us grow. I recommend that all artists interested in this industry take a look at this school so see the multitude to classes they offer. read more

I learned of this school at WonderCon from one of my favorite FaceOff contestants, Robert Lindsay. It took a little over a year to get enough money together to even contemplate attending this school, but it all came together. I looked at everything this school has to offer: Skype tour Campus Tour Impromptu tour because I was in town I even brought my super-skeptical Mom to the interview/tour, and she was convinced. Now my whole family & my boyfriend are onboard, and I start classes in November! I also modeled for a "crash course", and had an amazing experience. The instructor was a former FaceOff contestant with an awesome career and attitude, and the students were talented & eager to learn. I learned a lot just being a volunteer model, imagine what I'll learn from classes! Personally, I want to do special effects makeup etc, but I've looked in on every class, including Beauty, and I see instructors working hard & students doing very well. Pictures attached are from a crash course, people looking at the school with no prior training. read more

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I actually attended this school in 2005 after already being a trained makeup artist in the NYC area I thought by taking the Master Class it would help me significantly since there weren't many good make up schools in NYC. After $24k for the master class, I started and realised that the teachers were very uninterested and bored and had the day off, so they took the $100 for the day.... Their classes weren't constructed what you would think. I watched these French instructors roll their eyes. I heard them tell the class. They only pick up classes for the $100 a day they get paid. I hated the master class. The theatre was ridiculous. The instructors spend the first half of the day showing you what to do, you do it on your partner. Then lunch then they do it on you. They take a photo, that's your package. At the end you get some pictures for your "portfolio" An Asian woman was running the show but this heavy guy with glasses Lee at the time was like the "principal" I only wanted to then take the beauty course. They refunded very little. But made me keep and pay for my unused make up and products and glues that came with my kit. Their kit - everyone complained daily about the cheap brushes, everyone's rolling carriage broke, no one was happy Then they tell you "only 10%" actually become make up artists. I thought that was bad. Some students came from Japan and all over. When I hit beauty, I learned nothing! This school taught me how to make a fake beard! Thanks! This school actually made me ashamed to tell people I graduated here. Everyone I kept in contact with aren't in make up or in the business at all. Save your money there's another school in Hollywood I wish I had went to instead ... that Michael Westmore school Every great makeup artist and instructor I met in LA went there Trust me. Save your money. The only good thing about this school was there's a subway station nearby, and a parking garage nearby for $39 a month you can park... I strongly strongly insist you do your research before you invest in a make up school. Update: yeah, sure Lee... because I'm the 12 years since I was there your school got so improved" it's not achieved 5 Stars And to list your students accomplishments is just proof of it. Why don't you have some of your "pets" Leave some inside connected 5 star reviews. I have every right to leave an honest accurate review. Students can get a better education from YouTube, and save thousands. All they need is a trip to Sephora. Your "job placement" was a joke, as was your "portfolio" photos. I withdrew from the masterclass because your teachers rushed, were lacklustre, and it was indeed a huge waste of money. You really should be ashamed of yourself. I lost interest in that school within a month because it was obvious with not only my concerns, dozens were equally concerned. Do you still keep that screwdriver in your desk to fix everyone's kit? read more

Total waste of money! You can learn more Beauty and high fashion on YouTube than at this school. I learned the best techniques working at M.A.C. , on set, and working on photo shoots. It truly is all about practice and being hands on. This school is super rushed and is just a business. They want students to be in and out as quickly as possible. I know this because I was working on a feature film, and I met another Make Up Artist who was a former intern/ assistant at Cinema Make Up school, and she spilled the beans saying that they would make her lie and say whatever to sell the school as she had to give tours to those interested in the school. The instructors are nice, but most techniques they teach are super outdated and not in trend. I graduated a few years back and I absolutely agree with all the negative comments regarding not learning much in the Beauty course and airbrush being rushed. I was also unhappy with the hairstyling class as they had a former student teach the course. She was not the best teacher and I didn't really learn much. It's true they might be good at doing make up, but in terms of teaching, it wasn't the best. It's interesting how the special fx course was more detailed and the teachers really knew how to teach and break down all the complexities. JD was awesome and informative. Gayla and Mirelle were super nice. Thank God I went to this school when tuition was less than $15,000 because even that was a waste. The kit they provide is crap and also a waste of money. read more

I am a recent graduate from Cinema Makeup school and I have to say I'm very satisfied with the knowledge I've gained from my time spent there. All the teachers are super great and helpful. They are all trained professionals and understand what it's like being new to this craft. And whenever I had issues I felt safe enough to talk to the staff about it. Every single staff member is so kind and welcoming. The school offers so much great opportunities outside of just the classroom learning. They have seminars with special guests from the industry coming and talking about all kinds of different parts of being a makeup artist. And best of all the environment is great! They have a plethora of things to inspire you all around the school; A wig room, museum, and even a selection of inspiring makeup books. I gained so much confidence and knowledge being at this school and I wish I could do it all again because it was so much fun. I took the complete track and I'm more than happy with the results! :) read more

Attention Parents: before investing +$18,000 this school does NOT ASSIST in job placement, internships, career coaching or planning.

This is the best experience I have ever had! I have always wanted to go to Cinema Makeup School. so when I read all of the reviews here I got nervous because I had already made a deposit for a class. I was afraid some of the things I read in here were true. So I decided to change the class to a less expensive one to give it a try and if I lose the money it wouldn't be so bad. Well, let me tell you this was such a great experience all the way around. First, is really easy to get to the school by using the train, it leaves you right in front of it! The staff is really nice, everybody that I had contact with was helpful. My instructor was Rod Maxwell and he is incredibly good, shares all of his knowledge and is a really fun guy! I loved it. My class was the FX Crash Course. Learn a lot, could ask questions that were out of the program and got the help I needed. Got to meet the great Ve Neil that was checking every class, which is awesome, it gives you the confidence that they care about the classes. I totally recommend this school, and my advice is to start with this class, so you can get a taste of most of the things they teach. read more

Total waste of money. The leads they give you are craigslist ads from all over the country. You spend half your time being a model for someone else. The average age of the students is probably 23-25 but ranging from 16-35.... I completed a four week program 2 months ago and still have not received my certificate in the mail. READ THE FINE PRINT! This school will rob you. Most unprofessional admission department ever. read more

I graduated from the Master Makeup program. Before attending this school, I had no makeup experience and absolutely no idea what I was doing. The Master program changed all of that. CMS opened my eyes to an entirely new world and taught me how to thrive in it. Every day I learned, grew, and had fun doing it. The instructors not only know their stuff but genuinely care about you as a person and an artist. I can't stress enough what a wonderful learning environment it is, and the Master program gives you a really broad education. One of the things I love about my school is that CMS provides life-changing opportunities for its graduates. You get daily job listings, and opportunities exclusive for graduates such as the internship I just completed with Millennium FX thanks to CMS. Getting the opportunity to intern for Millennium FX was a childhood dream come true. I've wanted to work on Doctor Who since I was a little kid, and seeing that dream come to fruition was better than anything I could have imagined. Thanks to Cinema, I've grown immeasurably as an artist and become much more sure of my capabilities. I couldn't have had a better experience. read more

My teenage daughter attended the Special FX Makeup Bootcamp I, and she had a blast, which is saying a lot since she can be very critical about everything. She learned a great deal and we, as parents, felt very confident in the staff. At the last day open house event, any concerns we may have had were put to rest and we were not disappointed. Our daughter was also housed by the school, and we feel we got our money's worth. A huge thank you to Jade and Kim!!! It's an outstanding program and experience. read more

Being part of the Millennium FX Protege Program was such an amazing experience, working with (and next to) so many talented industry icons who where helpful and so generous with their advice. When I arrived I had no idea what part of the production I would be in or what kind of makeup job I'd be assigned. I'm so pleased with my stay at Millennium FX, I accomplished so much more than I could hope for in this short time; got some amazing pictures for my portfolio & met talented new friends. read more

I have just had my first month in the Special Effects Track at the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles and so far, it's safe to say that this is turning out to be an unforgettable experience. Before starting my time at the CMS I applied for the Rick Baker Legends of Creature Design Scholarship and won. This however was after I had already registered with them as a student and paid the tuition of about 26,000 $. The scholarship has no cash value and is not retroactively applicable, a fact only made clear to you once you receive your certificate. After receiving the certificate and learning about the rules that apply to its viability, I requested the school to give me suggestions for a workaround. After almost two weeks of no reply I finally got a definitive answer by approaching them about the matter a second time. The gist of the answer I received from the school's director was: Congratulations for winning the scholarship. We are sorry but since the scholarship has no cash value, you most likely won't be able to benefit from it. However, if you continue to excel in your work, we might be able to provide you with opportunities to work without pay. Keep an eye out on Facebook and keep applying, although we can't promise you anything. And just so you know, it is incredibly hard for international students to get employed in this industry so it would probably be easier for you if you go back to your country after your courses are finished. This conversation provided me with a valuable opportunity to gain some insight into the thinking of the school's administration and how they set their priorities. I think it is fair to say that those lie neither with ensuring a good quality of life for their students, nor with working to help their students reach their goals. All that being said, I must mention that I am genuinely enjoying my time at the CMS. The school is well equipped and all the instructors and interns I have met so far are very kind, supportive and incredibly talented. If not for my aforementioned conversation with the school's administration, I wouldn't have had any doubts or regrets about my decision to attend. But after this experience, I would advise anyone who plans to register at the CMS to be aware of the schools goals and intentions if not that of the good people working there. read more

I took a Master's Program at CMS two years ago. Character program was definitely worth it. We had amazing instructors and learned so much. Prosthetics and Special Effects programs was great too but you have to understand that the whole experience has a lot to do with your instructor. You might get lucky and get someone like Kris Kobzina or Shannon Shea but there a great chance that you get someone not even half as good... Then it will not be worth the money. And the beauty program... the weakest one. First of all, you lose so much time by not having models available. You have to be a model and use your classmate as a model. Seriously? Lets be honest, makeup always looks better on model material faces. Also, it is so important to be able to practice on different skin types, skin colors and etc. In my group we only had asian/hispanic faces to work on. Also, out of 7 people, 3 people were guys!!! The instructors... Some of them are good makeup artists but not good instructors. It takes so much more than makeup skills to be able to teach. And the very last thing that is WORTH knowing before you commit to spending $$$$$ on school - MAKEUP kit. Under no circumstances purchase a makeup kit from school!!! It was such a rip off. You end up paying around $2000 for the makeup kit that is not worth it at all. Everything that I had in my beauty kit was so bad, I ended up throwing most of it out. All the instructors are also aware about beauty makeup kit being just horrible. Not a single instructor used kit products for a demo. School makes tons of money by selling students those kits. You get 3 liquid foundations, about a dozen of cream foundations, a great number of powders and all these products are under a brand of 'Cinema Cosmetics'. You won't be able to find it on google because it is the cheapest, lousiest cosmetic lab that sells you anything for $ and puts any label on its products. Also you pay $75 each for two eyeshadow palettes that have absolutely no pigment. The brush set is a part of the kit. Trust me you will be better off getting one yourself. So if you don't want to throw your money away DON'T BUY BEAUTY MAKEUP KIT. So overall, my experience was ok. My classmates and I were all pissed about some of the instructors, having to do makeup on each others and wasting money on makeup kit purchased from school. Really Strong Character Program. Really weak Beauty Program. If you are a girl who puts makeup on her face daily, you won't learn anything new for $$$$. Also, the school has some amazing interns which are not being paid of course. Some of the lab interns work for months and months and are just being exploited. Instructors don't have great salaries as well. The school itself looks like it can definitely use some renovation. When you take a tour you might get excited about the school having a room filled with clothes/accessories for the makeup looks you create. Everything they have in there is a big pile of crap. Don't get excited. The so called 'photo studio' is pretty bad too. Get ready to take pics of your work with your phone or your own professional camera. Don't expect school camera and lighting to work for you. So why is the school so expensive? I can't answer that. Someone is stuffing his/her pockets but $$$$$ is not worth it. read more

Let me start off by saying this... Don't attended this school if you want to focus on beauty. This is not the school for you! Learn from my mistake. BEAUTY: My beauty class went through 4 different instructors while other classes had solid instructors. All four of the instructors had different opinions which were contradicting each other so it was just a mess. Also, if you do your own makeup on the daily and know the basics of beauty makeup already then it's a waste of money. You can get hands on experience with different websites for trade work. MAKEUP KIT: The beauty kit was trash so please please please don't purchase it. It's a little over 2000 or somewhere around there. Some of my classmates built their own kit and saved up to 600 dollars and their kits were high end products versus "cinema cosmetics." You can create your own kit with amazing products with the same amount or less. AIRBRUSH/INSTRUCTORS: The airbrush class was extremely rushed. Although it had an amazing lady who is well known in the industry. In my opinion as well as some of my classmates, she's not the best at instructing the class. Not only do I feel this way about airbrush, but also beauty. Just because someone is amazing at their craft doesn't mean their good at instructing you. I also feel like some of the instructors are crazed to hurt our feeling so they hold back on a lot. Except for Wendy, she's by far the best instructor I've had. She goes in to depth with everything and will definitely tell you if something looks bad or if you're doing it wrong. PHOTO SHOOT: Their photo shoots are aren't the best as well. The lighting is horrible and so is the quality. The interns are the ones who take your pictures, so it's not a professional photo shoot. I would recommend to bring your own professional camera because you won't get good use out of those pictures. JOBS: One more thing, they do send out jobs everyday and post them in the school, but it's something you can do at home by simply looking for jobs on Craigslist which is where they get some of them from. So I guess my mistake was not doing enough research and jumping into something I didn't really know much about. All I did was look as two or three Yelp review and that was it. I did read some bad ones, but I thought that they were just being dramatic. So I really recommend that you research as many schools as possible and choose something that best suits you before you spend a ton of money. Even though there were many things that disappointed me, I'm giving this school a two star instead of one since I did hear that they're best known for all of their FX/prosthetic work; which I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for. read more

I graduated from this school and did the 4 month Masters program so I have first hand experience. I waited almost 2 years and researched comparing different schools and I have to say this is the best choice. Yes it's not cheap, but compared to some of the other schools that offer the same or less this is the most cost officiant. The teachers there are current working artist on big films ( you can check for yourself on the website and google them to see this) and they offer the most up-to-date tips, trends and techniques. This is one of the only schools in the world that teaches you how to make and apply silicon appliances which is one of the best appliances out there at the moment! During school they help you find jobs for after school and weekends so you can really start networking. After you graduate they email you DAILY with local, state, national and world wide jobs cause they want to help get you out there ASAP and start making money! You're always welcomed back too if you need to work in the lab or sit in on a refresher course. All around this school met my expectations and beyond! 100% satisfaction!!! read more

My son has attended the CMS Summer Bootcamp two years in a row and loved it. He learned a great deal both years and has put his learning to use at school. (He is in Production Design at Oakland School for the Arts). He recently did a community production and they were astonished at what he knows at his age. This year's surprising additional opportunity to work with Ve Neill, whom we all watch on "Face Off" was a particular and delightful thrill. read more

Omg just went back today. School grown so much and it much much cooler when I was there lol . I like how they treated their student. I graduated over 6 years and from time to time I still reach out instructors their for question. Sometime I even reach out to one of instructor (Mike Spatola) that I never took class with him. He wasn't there when I was in school but every time (yes! Every time.) He always get back to me. People their are very helpful. Whenever I get struck and don't know what to do.. especially sfx work. I emailed them. Not so much lately but use to be quite often lol. I LOVE Nelly who teach airbrush. She is amazing and extremely talented. You will want to learn from her. Also they offered you a free unlimited retake class that you took. You will pay small fee for lab work but that pretty much it. I never heard such things for any other school. Now that I see the school again today... I really want to go retake some class lol read more

Loved going here! I was in the master program and finished January 2016. The teachers were great and I loved that they are all currently working in the industry and gave up to date ways of doings things. SFX was my favorite class. Kris Kobzina was my teacher and he was absolutely amazing. I learned so much and was able to sculpt a creature I love. He really helped my final come to life. The staff and students are all really friendly and it's a great environment to be in! Highly recommend this school to those interested in makeup. read more