Recently I had a bride-to-be sit down on my chair and tell me that she was on her third make up bridal trial. Initially I thought to myself "oh no she may be a picky one" but I began to ask questions about how those experiences went. One of the things she mentioned about one of the other professional makeup artist was that she did not pay attention to her features she did not feel like herself when the makeup was complete. The other professional makeup artist did not deliver what was asked of her and came up with another look. After discussing a little bit more in depth, we were able to connect about the look she wanted by just talking about it and showing several pictures that revealed her overall style. She even showed me a picture of her every day make up which helped me to understand her expectations. There should be no reason that someone would have to pay for three separate make up trials. It just sounded like the make up artist did not listen to what she really wanted.
I decided to write a small list of things that your make up artist should be asking you during the first few minutes of meeting you.
1) What kind of look are you going for?
If you don't have a specific look in mind, you should at least know what kind of vibe or theme you'd like. For example if you are not very detailed oriented it would be helpful for the make up artist if you can choose a theme like very romantic, glamorous, simple or vintage/retro.
2) What kind of looks do you strongly dislike?
Most of the time it's easy for us to talk about the things we don't like and little bit harder for us to talk about things that we do like. We can't usually say what we want to eat but we can sure tell you what we don't want to eat for dinner. The reason why is a lot of women are not "makeup experts" and so they can't necessarily pinpoint the things that they really do love but we've all been there when you see a woman with very heavy eyebrows or very fake looking lashes or extremely bright pink lips and thought to ourselves, "that's probably not the best look on her". Knowing what make up looks to avoid also helps a make up artist keep a client happy.
3) Do you have any allergies related to make up?
Make up is created with lots of different types of chemicals. The most popular one people are allergic to latex. Latex his phone in the most common eyelash adhesivs. Your make up artist should keep a latex free eyelash glue just in case.
4) Do you usually wear make up? If so what products do you like the most?
The most common answer I get is usually I don't really wear much except mascara or eyeliner and some concealer. That shows me that my client will probably won't like anything too dramatic because she won't feel like herself. If the client answers, "I usually wear the full face and on the weekend I really like to play and wear different types of make up" then I know that I can have some room to play and really have fun.
5) Is your skin dry, oily, or combination?
Most of the time your make up artist will have different kinds of primers and powder's to really fit your need.
6) Do you have a favorite lipstick that you want to wear for your special day?
This will help the makeup artist really create a nice look that goes well with your lips.
7) Have you ever had your makeup professionally done before?
This is a good time to share your best or worst experiences and give a description on why it worked...or didn't.
I decided to write a small list of things that your make up artist should be asking you during the first few minutes of meeting you.
1) What kind of look are you going for?
If you don't have a specific look in mind, you should at least know what kind of vibe or theme you'd like. For example if you are not very detailed oriented it would be helpful for the make up artist if you can choose a theme like very romantic, glamorous, simple or vintage/retro.
2) What kind of looks do you strongly dislike?
Most of the time it's easy for us to talk about the things we don't like and little bit harder for us to talk about things that we do like. We can't usually say what we want to eat but we can sure tell you what we don't want to eat for dinner. The reason why is a lot of women are not "makeup experts" and so they can't necessarily pinpoint the things that they really do love but we've all been there when you see a woman with very heavy eyebrows or very fake looking lashes or extremely bright pink lips and thought to ourselves, "that's probably not the best look on her". Knowing what make up looks to avoid also helps a make up artist keep a client happy.
3) Do you have any allergies related to make up?
Make up is created with lots of different types of chemicals. The most popular one people are allergic to latex. Latex his phone in the most common eyelash adhesivs. Your make up artist should keep a latex free eyelash glue just in case.
4) Do you usually wear make up? If so what products do you like the most?
The most common answer I get is usually I don't really wear much except mascara or eyeliner and some concealer. That shows me that my client will probably won't like anything too dramatic because she won't feel like herself. If the client answers, "I usually wear the full face and on the weekend I really like to play and wear different types of make up" then I know that I can have some room to play and really have fun.
5) Is your skin dry, oily, or combination?
Most of the time your make up artist will have different kinds of primers and powder's to really fit your need.
6) Do you have a favorite lipstick that you want to wear for your special day?
This will help the makeup artist really create a nice look that goes well with your lips.
7) Have you ever had your makeup professionally done before?
This is a good time to share your best or worst experiences and give a description on why it worked...or didn't.
Overall your makeup artist should be fully prepared for what ever you need or want. On the other hand it is best if you conduct your own research and share screenshots you may have seen on social media or magazines. Communication is definitely not easy to do especially when you were just meeting a person. Even if you are not too picky or specific about what exactly you want, knowing how to communicate what you do you like and what you do not like will change everything.
Many makeup artists that I know are very open to critiques especially if you're not happy. We would rather have you walk away happy and feeling your best than walking up only wishing you had said something. At the end of the day it's just powders and creams and we have plenty of makeup remover to fix it! Our job is to make you happy so please share when something is not working!
Happy Makeup Trials!!
-Nathalie
Many makeup artists that I know are very open to critiques especially if you're not happy. We would rather have you walk away happy and feeling your best than walking up only wishing you had said something. At the end of the day it's just powders and creams and we have plenty of makeup remover to fix it! Our job is to make you happy so please share when something is not working!
Happy Makeup Trials!!
-Nathalie