The short answer
Both are correct. One is the Portuguese of Portugal, the other is the Portuguese of Brazil.
European Portuguese: maquilhagem, maquilhar, maquilhado, maquilhador.
Brazilian Portuguese: maquiagem, maquiar, maquiado, maquiador.
If you are in Portugal, write maquilhagem. It is the form in Portuguese dictionaries and the one you will find on invoices, on product labels and in job adverts here. If you are in Brazil, or writing for Brazilian readers, maquiagem.
Neither one is a misspelling of the other. It is the same distance that separates autocarro from ônibus, or telemóvel from celular: two standards of one language, each with a long stretch of use behind it.
Where the extra letter comes from
Both words come from the French maquiller, which already meant painting the face in the nineteenth century. French writes maquillage, with ill, and pronounces it roughly the way a Portuguese lh sounds.
Portugal translated the sound. The digraph lh is the usual way that French sound gets carried into Portuguese, and out of that came maquilhagem. Brazil translated the letters instead: it stayed closer to the original spelling and let the extra l go, giving maquiagem.
Two different decisions, taken more than a hundred years ago, and both of them stuck.
The full vocabulary, side by side
The difference does not stop at the main word. These are the ones that cause the most trouble when a Brazilian client describes what she wants to a Portuguese makeup artist, or the other way around:
| Portugal | Brazil |
|---|---|
| maquilhagem | maquiagem |
| maquilhar | maquiar |
| maquilhadora, maquilhador | maquiadora, maquiador |
| rímel | máscara de cílios |
| brilho de lábios | gloss |
| lápis de olhos | lápis de olho |
| batom | batom |
| base, pó solto, blush | base, pó solto, blush |
| esbatido, esfumado | esfumado |
| pestanas | cílios |
| sobrancelhas | sobrancelhas |
Look at the last rows. Most of the technical vocabulary is identical in both countries. Same brands, same products, and inside a studio nobody needs a translator. The words that do change are few, and you can learn them in an afternoon.
Two of them deserve a note. Rímel is an old brand name that turned into a common noun in Portugal, the way biro did in English. And pestanas in Portugal are cílios in Brazil, which produces the single most frequent mix-up of the lot: someone asks about a lash lift and hears both words back, depending on who is answering.
How it is written in English
Makeup is the most common form, and make-up with a hyphen appears mostly in British English. Both are correct. The person doing the work is a makeup artist, often shortened to MUA in credits and on social profiles.
In French it is still maquillage, in Spanish maquillaje, in Italian trucco. Almost every Romance language kept the French root. Italian went its own way.
Which one to use when you write online
If you work in Portugal and you are writing your professional profile, write maquilhagem. It is what clients here type when they search, and it is the term that appears in the official documentation of the trade.
If you write for readers in both countries, do not force both forms into the same sentence. Pick the one your main audience uses and let the other appear naturally where it fits, in a reply to a comment for example.
In a message booking a service, the word changes nothing. Requests reach me written both ways and my answer is the same. What actually helps is the date, the place and the type of service.
Frequently asked questions
Is it maquilhagem or maquiagem?
In Portugal it is written maquilhagem. In Brazil it is written maquiagem. Both are correct within their own standard of the language, and both come from the French maquiller.
What is the correct form in Portugal?
Maquilhagem, with lh. It is the form listed in European Portuguese dictionaries, the one used on invoices, in job adverts and on products sold here.
Is maquiagem wrong?
No. It is correct in Brazilian Portuguese, where it is the only form in use. In Portugal it is understood without effort and nobody corrects it.
Why does Portugal write it with lh and Brazil does not?
Both words come from the French maquiller. European Portuguese brought the French sound across with the digraph lh, as it did with other borrowings. Brazilian Portuguese stayed closer to the original spelling and dropped that letter.
Is it maquilhar or maquiar?
In Portugal, maquilhar. In Brazil, maquiar. The rule that applies to the noun applies to the verb: maquilho-me in Lisbon, me maquio in São Paulo.
How do you say maquilhagem in English?
Makeup, also written make-up in British English. The person doing the work is a makeup artist, shortened to MUA.
Do product names change between the two countries?
Some do. Rímel in Portugal is máscara de cílios in Brazil; brilho de lábios is gloss; corretivo is corretivo in both. Base, pó solto, blush and esfumado are spelled the same on both sides.
One last thing
If you came here only to check before hitting publish: write the form of the country you are in. Both describe exactly the same work, and choosing between them was never the difficult part of this profession.