i've been into makeup since before pre-teen years... i've practiced on soooooooooooooooooo many people, and turned out some good faces, so i'm definitely self-taught... i read books when i find them, i pay attention to the magazine tips, watch tv stuff about it... anything makeup, i'm trying to be there... oh, plus i used to do avon and mary kay so you get some training with that too (sometimes)... so maybe i'm just 99% self-taught....