The search for a suitable makeup artist can feel like finding a life partner who understands your style, preferences, skin type, personality all at the same time! It's really daunting as not many people feel like they need makeup artist until their wedding day! In today's age where a google search can put you infront of 100 options and ads, it's definitely overwhelming and can put you off from your search. How do you even know who to pick when you don't know what you want or what you're looking out for?
Reviews and word-of-mouth recommendations are a great way to find out more about an artist but do also give them a chance to interact with you and you might be pleasantly surprised.
After 10 years of dolling up brides in my career, I feel like I've seen my fair share of the good, the bad and the ugly of weddings! Makeup should be something you sort out before the wedding, and on your big day, it should run like a well oiled train and it's not something that you should be worrying about.
I’ve had brides come crying to be days (or even hours) before their wedding, begging me to remedy their makeup woes! I always do my best to help but sometimes it's just not possible. My goal is to help you avoid this as much as possible!
Here are 5 tips that will help put your mind at ease and make finding your makeup artist match a breeze.
Tip 1 - Know Your Style
If you normally do not wear makeup and feel really lost with what your style is, I highly recommend taking some time to browse through Instagram and pinterest to select photos of makeup looks you feel drawn to. Photo references are the best for artist to get an immediate visual of what you prefer and then in turn we would make recommendations of what might or might not work for you based on your references. This gives us a starting point of collaboration to curate the best look for you. If you have zero clue about this after doing your homework, another option is to find an artist you resonate with or whose work you feel drawn to and give full trust for the artist to curate a look that he/she feels suits you best.
Tip 2 - Set Your Budget
The market price for makeup artist services can range from low hundreds to the thousands. By being clear of how much you want to spend you then will reduce your headache of going through and coodinating too many makeup artist. May I suggest selecting 3-5 artist whose style you like the most, reach out to them for their quotations and availability (please provide your wedding date and timings if you have them). Most artist are not so comfortable posting our rates online so best to email us for our latest rates. It's important to note that cheap makeup artist doesn't mean they're bad, and expensive artist does not mean that they're better. Always pick someone you feel comfortable with at a price you're comfortable with.
Tip 3 - In doubt… TRIAL
About 30% of my brides opt for trials and they're usually for 2 main reasons. Firstly, they're shopping and looking for someone they vibe with and whose style resonates with them best. And secondly, they've booked and confirmed the artist and would like to see the full look to ease their anxiety or any uncertainty. Big tip, for brides who bought 'packages' from bridal studios, it's very important to trial as you do not know who is being allocated to you. Trials are a great way to assess if you're comfortable with the artist himself/herself. He/she's going to be the first person you see on your big day so it's important to get someone who puts you at ease and whom you can trust to bring your best face forward without you worrying constantly through the day.
Do note that different artist have different policies on trials, they're usually chargeable (even if they package it into a bundle rate), also do check their policy on using the trial look for other purposes such as pre wedding shoots etc, this may not be allowed as these services are priced differently. Some artist also require you to remove the makeup and hairstyling before you leave the trial, so it's always good to check what their policy is.
Tip 4 - Communication with your Artist!
I really encourage this relationship to be a 2 way street, I always appreciate feedback from my clients. I find it imperative that my bride informs me whenever she has any allergies, sensitivity, comments, any discomforts (makeup should never hurt or irritate you) or personal preferences. Always feedback to your Artist how you feel about the look before he/she leaves, nothing makes an artist feel more helpless than getting feedback once we've left the location and we are unable to do anything about it. My goal is to make my bride feel as comfortable with the look as possible, so that she can truly enjoy her wedding day without having to worry about her makeup or hair.
Tip 5 - Trust your Artist!
As artist we take pride in our works, it's really personal for the artist to do what we feel looks best for you. When you book an artist, we really appreciate when you trust our style and knowledge to put your best face forward. Never ask an artist to duplicate another artist's work, it really takes the joy and meaning out of our art. It's ok to show elements of what you like about the look, but avoid saying things like -’ I really like this look can you copy this on me?’. It rarely works as everyone looks different, and the look might not be suitable for you. Consult with your Artist to collaborate and curate a look that would suit you best. More often than not, I usually get to know my brides really well because of such effective communication and trust that we become friends even after the wedding!
I hope I eased some of your worries and that you found these tips useful and helpful in your search for your dream artist. If you have any burning questions about this topic, please feel free to drop me a question to my email (marie@27a.co), I will do my best to answer your questions and help you out! I wish you all the best in your wedding journey! Good luck!
Xx
Marie