6 Steps To Find Your Perfect Bridal Make Up Artist
23rd February 2018
#bridal#bridal make up#make up
When searching for a Professional Make Up Artist please bare in mind that you are looking for someone to do Bridal Make Up for you because you want to look PERFECT on your wedding day.
I’ve been working as a Professional Make Up Artist in the wedding industry for 15 years now, with new bridal enquiries coming in thick and fast every week, especially since opening my Make Up Studio. We often have multiple weddings on Fridays and Saturdays. Many brides book us over 18 Months in advance. As a Professional Make Up Artist my time is precious to lots of people, and it’s very upsetting when I get a phone call off an emotional bride who has just paid for a disappointing bridal trial or worst still, who have been let down last minute for her wedding by another Make Up Artist. I will always try to accommodate emergencies like this, but it is not always possible. I honestly believe that ultimately it is down to Make Up Artist to manage the expectations of their clients, however there are steps a bride to be can take to ensure they get the service they deserve.
When searching for a Professional Make Up Artist please bear in mind that you are looking for someone to do Bridal Make Up for you because you want to look PERFECT on your wedding day. You are more than likely NOT a Make Up Artist, otherwise you may have considered doing your own Bridal Make Up, so you need to find someone who specialises in Make Up Artistry… a true professional in their field, with lots of experience and personal recommendations...
To save confusion here’s some examples….you find a wedding planner to plan a wedding, a florist to supply flowers, a bridal boutique to buy your wedding dress from… Do you catch my drift? To some people this may sound obvious but it still surprises me how many women get their Bridal Make Up trials at a make up counter in somewhere like boots, or go to their local beauty salon for an overpriced Bridal Make Up trial from a poorly trained beautician. This may sound quite blunt and it isn't meant to offend anyone. You may be lucky enough to find someone in these places who are really good at Bridal Make Up. But in my experience, it is very rare! Make Up Artistry is a skill of its own and unfortunately, many salon owners will charge artist rates but allow their therapists with little training to do the bridal make up bookings, with the aim to make some money and more than likely to sell you make up.
So how do you avoid this trap? Firstly…
1.Finding your Make Up Artist…
Your first step is finding the right Make Up Artist for you. So you need to contact a few different Bridal Make Up Artists. Personally I would always start with asking for recommendations from your married friends, who did they have? Other people’s personal experience may help you find what you are looking for much quicker. Contradictory to that however, It’s also worth bearing in mind you need to gel with your Make Up Artist to make it the best possible experience for you, not every two brides will want the same Make Up Artist, it’s really down to personality. So just because your best friend had Make Up by Linda from down the road doesn't mean she will be suited to you. With social media being at the forefront of every industry your first port of call could be Facebook or twitter. See who you can find online, the most reputable Make Up Artists will have reviews on their business pages (we have nearly 150 on our facebook page). There are also wedding sites that can help you find artists in your local area, a lot of my brides contact me through Wedding Wire.
2. Questions you should be asking your make up artist…
The first thing you need to know is your Make Up Artists availability, the first question I always ask my clients is what date is your wedding? This way you don’t gethalfwayy through a conversation to find there’s no availability on the date of your wedding. Unfortunately often this isn't the first question we are asked, too many brides ask ‘do you use Mac?' as their first question when speaking to their prospective Bridal Make Up Artist. I personally find this highly FRUSTRATING and I know I am not the only one. Women are under a massive miss conception that Mac Make Up is the be all and end all in cosmetics…Wrong! Any genuine Freelance Make Up Artist will use a VARIETY of Make Up in their Make Up Kit, this is because as Make Up Artists we all know that not every product from one brand is going to be sufficient for every skin type, skin sensitivity, skin tone, or skin complaint etc…. Every brand has their signature products, a core product that is great but then that doesn't’t mean every product in their range will be. I personally have my favourite ‘must have’ products but they are not all from one brand. It’s really important to stay open-minded about make up and TRUST your Make Up Artist. Ask them what their Make Up Kit consists of, what they can tell you about the brands they use. Ask your Make Up Artist what experience they have, do they have a website? Find out as much information you can, and write it all down for your own reference later.
3. Arrange a trial…
Always, ALWAYS have a trial! You may see this as an extra expense, but for peace of mind, it is worth every penny.
Remember you are getting married! It only happens once in your lifetime (hopefully), so you want to look and feel AMAZING all day long, you also need to bare in mind how your bridal make up and hair will be in your wedding photographs FOREVER! If this isn’t motivation to find the perfect Make Up Artist, then I don't know what is! I personally have done wedding make up without a trial, and I have never had a problem, this is mainly down to building over 15 years of experience in the make up industry and having become an expert within my field, but you might not be so lucky with someone else. As a bride the last thing you want to do is feel tense and uptight on the morning of your wedding. I no longer offer the service of bridal make up without the bridal make up trial for this reason.
You may have an idea of how you want to look, but are you and your chosen Make Up Artist on the same page? How will you know with out a make up trial? Unfortunately you won’t! Something else to consider is that you may have found a picture of a Make Up Look that you like, I hate to break it to you but this may not look on you as it does in the picture. On two different people the same Make Up will look different. As Make Up Artists we can enhance your features and do fabulous things with your face, but we can’t necessarily completely change everything about your appearance... With that in mind try to be realistic and listen to the professional. Also why not take someone with you to your trial?! They may be able to offer you a little guidance and support. After you have had the make up applied you almost definitely need to keep it on for the day to see how well it lasts! It's not essential but Bridal Make Up when done properly should stay put, in rare cases you may react or not get on with a product the course of the day and it t also takes time to adjust to your new look. It's also good to reflect on the Bridal Make Up and see it in your own mirrors at home.
4. Consider what you may need to compliment your make up….
As well as a Make Up Artist I am also trained and qualified in skin care, I believe this is a fundamental part of your Bridal Make Up. Your skin is the foundation for your bridal make up. I like to analyse my clients skin prior to their wedding, usually, during the bridal make up trial. Often there are products you can use or treatments you can have running up to the wedding which will improve your skin for the better. This means your bridal make up will sit more beautifully and photograph better, and above all you will feel more confident about the way you look! Find out which Make Up Artists are able to offer you this service as well because it is very useful! There are other treatments that compliment your Make Up, particularly brows treatments and lash lifts which have become very popular with brides at my Make Up Studio. These treatments are something that I feel go hand in hand with make up and should be considered to get the best out of your Bridal Make Up!
5. Trust your gut….
Go with your gut instinct on this one, I have had a few SOS calls where brides have been let down only days before the wedding! This is such BAD practice, it makes me so mad. It’s one of the most important days of a woman’s life, I understand the responsibility of being your chosen Bridal Make Up Artist and I take it seriously. It’s very sad there are people in the industry that don’t! Usually After I have done a wedding I always get lovely comments about how well I ‘fitted in’ with the bridal party.I always aim to enhance the experience of the wedding morning for the bride and her bridal party. If you decide not to have a trail and haven’t met your Make Up Artist prior to your big day it’s a little bit like Russian roulette! It’s a risk you are better off avoiding!
6. Make the booking...
If you like your artist, get them booked in!… Good Make Up Artists get booked up WAY in advance. Once you have found the Make Up Artist you want It's always well worth putting a deposit down and confirming your booking to ensure you are not disappointed later on. It’s as simple as that! I hope that you find this useful on your search for your perfect Make Up Artist! If you are reading this and you would like some advise in relation to your own wedding and Bridal Make Up, then please feel free to contact My Make Up Studio. We are happy to give advise in most cases, regardless of whether you are booked in with us or not, we are always happy to help!
Suezanna xoxo