Beauty Tips

7 Odd Beauty Jobs You Never Knew Existed

We bet you've never heard of these fascinating, under-the-radar ways to work in beauty

by Emily Woodruff | 4 COMMENTS

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Mortuary Makeup Artist Elizabeth Isaacson, licensed funeral director and embalmer

What she does: As a funeral director, Isaacson wears many hats -- one of which involves applying cosmetics to the deceased. This includes anything from a natural application to full reconstruction in cases of trauma.

How she started: "I began working at a funeral home when I was 17 with the goal of becoming a funeral director. I went on to receive my degree in mortuary science and have worked in the industry since."

Weirdest part of the job: "When a family brings in the deceased's own makeup. I've seen some pretty scary stuff -- wild colors, things that are so old they should be in a museum and colors that are so wrong for that person you wonder how they wore them without anyone saying anything."

Hardest part of the job: "You can spend hours working on someone trying to get them to look just right, and then you proudly display them to their family, who tells you they look great but are planning to keep the casket closed."

Best part of the job: "Helping others in a time of need and making people look their best. Many times a deceased person has been sick or in a nursing home for a long time, and the process of embalming and applying makeup is a huge transformation. When you haven't been "fixed up" in a long time it can be very refreshing for your family to see you looking like yourself again, which helps with the healing process."

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When you think of people who work in the beauty industry, all things glamorous and gorgeous come to mind. But the beauty industry isn't all perfectly pouty lips and tanned, toned bodies. When it comes to the job market, "beauty" is a loosely defined term that can encompass everything from mimicking grotesque wounds, to picking bugs out of hair to getting up close and personal with a stranger's naked body, and these professions prove it. We're turning the spotlight on the less-celebrated beauty jobs that you never hear about -- and they're definitely not boring.