How To Get Gifted By Brands (A 5-Step Checklist For Makeup Artists)
The gifting mindset shift
Before I get into the checklist, the mindset matters more than the steps. A few things I live by now:
If someone doesn't respond to you, it doesn't mean anything about you. It just means you haven't given them a good enough reason to respond yet. That's it. It's not personal, and it's not a no forever, it's a no for now.
Everything in this business is transactional. If you want a brand to gift to you, ask yourself what they get out of it. That mindset shift changes how you pitch.
And brands owe you nothing. No one owes you a response, a gift, or a booking. I had to properly sit with that. Once you accept it, you stop taking the silence personally and start focusing on what you can control, which is making yourself impossible to say no to.
The 5-step gifting checklist
Step 1: Write your wish list Write down every brand and product you genuinely love and use, and why you love them. There's no point pitching a brand you don't actually align with, because the whole point of gifting is that you're going to talk about it and help sell it. If you've got dream brands you don't use yet, put those at the bottom of the list.
Step 2: Optimise your page Make it obvious on your Instagram who you are, what you do, and where you're based. Tag and list the products you use from a brand so they can see you already know how to represent them. Consider a highlights folder like "Products I'm Loving" so brands can see exactly what you'd post if they sent you something.
Step 3: Find the contact Always try to find an actual name, not just a general inbox. A pitch without someone's name falls flat fast. Look at who other makeup artists are tagging in their PR posts, search the PR company on LinkedIn, or ask a colleague you know personally if they can share a contact. Don't ask people you don't have a relationship with for someone else's contacts, most artists won't (and shouldn't) hand that over to a stranger.
Step 4: Write your pitch and send it Come at it from what you can do for them, not what they can do for you. Do your research on how to pitch well, then send it.
Step 5: Follow up This is the one people skip, and it's the most important. Follow up in a week, two weeks, two months, whatever it takes. I've had people respond after five follow-ups. Keep a spreadsheet of who you've contacted and when, so you know when to circle back. Set aside one day a week for it. Some people call it Shoot Your Shot Wednesday. I went through a phase of trying to hit 100 rejections on purpose, I didn't quite get there, but the mindset shift alone was worth it.
Want the checklist?
I've turned this into a free downloadable checklist and Notion Board. Grab it here: Checklist
And if you'd find it useful, I'm considering running a workshop where I walk through exactly how I do this. DM me on Instagram @the.makeupinsider if that's something you'd want.