Makeup Lessons · In person & virtual · Tampa Bay · Chicago
Private makeup lessons, taught on your own face.
Not a tutorial you scroll past, and not a counter selling you products. Two hours with someone who looks at your features, your skin and the light you actually get ready in — and teaches you a routine you can repeat on your own.
One-to-one, group or working pro · Brush set included · Follow-up session included
Why People Book
“Why didn’t I do this sooner?”
That is the sentence I hear at the end of almost every lesson. Not because anyone learned a trend, and not because they bought a new foundation. Because for the first time, someone sat down with them — their face, their features, their life — and taught them how to see themselves properly.
I have taught complete beginners, working professionals and everyone in between, across twenty years of television, film and commercial work. Teaching is the part I have never given up.
What A Lesson Includes
Built around the person in the chair.
- Makeup bag auditWe go through what you already own. Most people keep three things they should throw away and are missing two they need.
- Skin prepThe part nobody teaches. It is where longevity is built, and it changes what everything on top of it does.
- Your choice of formatWatch and learn, or hands-on: you apply, and I guide and correct as you go.
- Placement for your featuresEyes, brows, contour, blush, bronzer, highlight and the balance between them, mapped to your face rather than a trend.
- Everyday and elevatedOne look for a normal morning, and how to take the same face up for an event or a camera.
- Lashes and brushesLash application, and what each brush is actually for.
- Product recommendationsA short list chosen for your skin and your routine. Nothing is sold to you.
- A routine you can repeatYou leave able to do it again on your own. That is the whole point.
Included with every option
- A professional 20-piece brush set, yours to keep
- A follow-up support session
- Take-home PDFs, product links and short clips to practise with
Ways To Work Together
Alone, with your people, or as a pro.
- Private one-to-oneYour face, your kit, your lifestyle. For learning your makeup properly for the first time, or finally fixing the parts that never sit right.
- Virtual one-to-oneThe same lesson over video, wherever you are. You use your own products in your own light, which is where you actually get ready.
- Group experienceFriends, family, colleagues or a wedding party. Up to three hours, unlimited guests, and everyone leaves with real skills instead of a goodie bag.
- Working professionalsTechnique, placement and speed for artists already working: camera-ready skin, efficiency on set, and hair alongside makeup where it helps.
Group Lessons
Everyone gets a mirror.
A lighted mirror at every seat, a brush set for every guest, and me moving between you the whole time. Up to three hours, unlimited guests, and the cost is shared — which is why so many people who inquire for themselves turn it into a group once they realise it is an option.
Bridesmaids, mothers and daughters, friends, and work teams. For corporate team sessions, tell us the headcount and the room.
Virtual Lessons
Your mirror, your light, your products.
For learning your own makeup, a virtual lesson is often better than an in-person one. You work in the bathroom or at the desk where you actually get ready, with the products you already own, and you keep the notes and the product list afterwards.
Anywhere with a decent connection. Sessions are one-to-one and hands-on: you apply, I guide and correct.
Investment
Lesson packages.
| Single SessionOne fully personalised private lesson. | $550 |
| The DuoTwo sessions: build the foundation, then refine it once you have practised. | $990 |
| The SeriesThree sessions, from uncertain to genuinely confident. | $1,350 |
| The MasteryFour sessions that build in order: technique, application, advanced skills, final refinement. | $1,650 |
| Monthly CoachingOne session a month. Ongoing skill building and seasonal updates. | $450 / month |
| Annual PartnershipTwelve sessions at the best rate, for every event and every camera all year. | $4,500 |
| Group ExperienceUp to three hours, unlimited guests, shared between you. | from $1,950 |
Every option includes the brush set, the follow-up session, take-home materials and product recommendations. Payment plans are available through Klarna and Afterpay, or we can set up instalments directly on your booking.
For Working Artists
Technique, placement and speed.
Sessions for artists already working: camera-ready skin, efficiency when you have ten minutes a face, airbrush technique, and hair alongside makeup where it helps. Twenty years of television, film and commercial sets, taught directly.
The kit we teach airbrush with is the water-based Kett airbrush system, often alongside the Kett Fixx Creme palette. Those two links are affiliate links: if you buy through them City Lights may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend what is in our own kit.
Who Teaches
Paula Heckenast.
Founder and agency director of City Lights Beauty Agency, a licensed talent agency, working since 2006 across television, film, commercials, brand campaigns and private clients in Chicago, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles. Every lesson is taught by Paula herself.
Florida Talent Agency License TA1765.
Questions
Before you book.
How long is a private makeup lesson?
A single session runs about two hours, and we use the time for whatever you need most: your everyday face, an event look, or the one technique that has never worked for you.
Do I need to bring my own makeup?
Bring everything you own, including the things you are not sure about. Part of the lesson is going through your bag, keeping what works for your skin and retiring what does not. If you are starting from nothing, we build a short list together instead.
Is a virtual makeup lesson as good as in person?
For learning your own makeup, it is often better. You use your own products, your own mirror and your own lighting, which is exactly where you get ready every morning, and you keep the recording and notes.
Where do in-person lessons happen?
On location in Tampa Bay and Chicago, and in Los Angeles when we are there. Virtual lessons happen anywhere with a decent internet connection.
Can I book a lesson for a group?
Yes. A group experience runs up to three hours for unlimited guests, so bridesmaids, families, friends and work teams all work. The cost is shared, which is why many people who inquire for themselves end up turning it into a group.
Do you teach working makeup artists?
Yes. Sessions for working professionals cover technique, placement, speed on set and camera-ready skin, drawn from twenty years of television, film and commercial work.
Can a makeup lesson be a gift?
Yes, and it is one of the better ones. Tell us who it is for and we will arrange it so they choose their own date.
What do I leave with?
A routine you can repeat, a professional 20-piece brush set to keep, a follow-up support session, and take-home PDFs, product links and clips to practise with.
Also On City Lights
Where to next.
Book Your Lesson
Tell us what you want to learn.
Private or group, in person or virtual, and whether this is for you, for your skills as a working artist, or a gift for someone else. You will hear back within one business day.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (888) 619-0628.