Engagement season is upon us... congratulations to all of you who have said 'Yes!' so far this summer, it truly is such an exciting time and remember to enjoy being in this bubble while embarking on to planning your wedding journey. Engagement season also means multiple enquiries are landing in my inbox for 2023 each day. After speaking to many of my 2022 brides this summer and finding out why they booked me I thought I'd write a post to help you when looking for your bridal MUA.
Photography by: Tash and Will photography
There are many qualities a hair/ makeup artist can provide to your day but my top 3 things to start thinking about are the makeup style, what type of service you are after and the quality of work:
1) MAKEUP STYLE-
Liking your makeup artist's style is obviously vital, if your looking for a makeup artist to create a natural minimal makeup you aren't likely to book someone who only ever does full matte glam. But please don't be fooled in to thinking you have to like every makeup look that a makeup artist creates, in fact if every photo they post is the same makeup look recreated on different clients.. and everyone is starting to look the same then that can be a red flag too. - You'll end up not feeling like yourself, remember your bridal look should only be YOUR bridal look, its important you look and feel like you (after all that's who your partner wants to get married too)
I constantly have feedback where I have listened to my clients, I may have 3 years of degree training in makeup but it's your face! What you like is what you like, I will always ask questions and listen to you while giving my expert advice. Taking in to account your likes and dislikes as well as your skin tone, eye & hair colour as well as face shape and eye shape no makeup look should ever look exactly the same, so bare in mind when looking through MUA photos that not every makeup look will be your cup of tea, because it should be tailored to each client and variety of makeup looks means your makeup artist is well experienced and trained. The more variety of makeup looks the better but a makeup artists general style should be what you are booking your MUA on. And remember a professional MUA should be able to do everyone' s makeup.
"Olivia did my makeup for my wedding, as well as my sister's and my mum's, she was amazing, so responsive in her emails and really listens to what you want your look to be like during the trial . Olivia was great on the morning of the wedding and was so calm and made the morning great! Thank you Olivia! x - ELLA
2) WHAT SERVICE ARE YOU AFTER?
The next thing to think about is what kind of service are you after. I completely understand wedding planning can be overwhelming but if your choosing your hair and makeup artist as a tick box exercise and don't really care about your hair and makeup then I'm probably not the MUA for you. Each bride is truly important to me which is why I will always send out a pdf booklet all about prepping for your wedding morning, the trial and skincare help for you and your bridesmaids. At your trial I will always find out more about you, what will help you on the morning to create a calm and relaxed atmosphere and be your support, I do a schedule to ensure everything runs on time, and will never take on more services then I can handle, I'd much rather get an assistant or second stylist to ensure everyone has sufficient time for their service. I will also stay till you need me too ( I even think about your specific venue and see if I need to leave 10 minutes before so the sound of my car doesn't interrupt your ceremony.) and I'll always go the extra mile and help where is needed to ensure your relaxed and enjoying your morning. It's not just a job for the day for me, I know its YOUR special day, so I am not a makeup artist that just does the job and leave asap ( unless of course that's what you request.)
This is really important and please do ask whoever you are enquiring too what a wedding morning looks like when booking them, I've often had to quickly fix a brides hair once they've gotten in their dress because their hair stylist had disappeared as soon as they were done. I am never going to do a brides hair and makeup and leave early to go to another wedding booking example, you are booking a personal service and so you are my priority on the day you've booked me.
"Olivia was so amazing on my wedding morning! Not only did my makeup look perfect, it also stayed in place all day and felt so light on my skin. I have very dry and sensitive skin and I couldn’t believe how hydrated my face still felt at the end of the day. Olivia was super calm and so organised - she ran ahead of schedule and really calmed me down when I started to feel nervous. She went above and beyond by doing things like getting my flowers out of the water and drying them off for me, she even did up my shoelaces when I was flapping about, panicking about being ready on time! I will never forget what an amazing job she did and I’m so glad I chose her to be part of my wedding morning. Thanks so much Olivia" - Flo
3) DOES THE MUA YOU ARE THINKING OF BOOKING POST UNEDITED VIDEOS, PHOTOS (ON THE DAY/ BEHIND THE SCENES) AS WELL AS PROFESSIONAL?
Behind the scene videos of a wedding morning has become huge on instagram with the hype around reels, however behind the scene videos of makeup close ups are a favourite of mine and something I've done for a few years now. Videos showcase the actual makeup really well and means you can see truest to life what the makeup actually looks like, how they photograph on the back of the phone is also really important for you brides to be to see. I've always been honest when using a ring light/ natural day light and if im using different cameras/ phones as this can alter the overall visual. However, I am strongly against filters and editing photos when it comes to makeup, personally I feel if a makeup artist was to fiddle around with an image and do anything to it from how it automatically stored in to their camera roll then I think they are miss selling their skill.
BTS are amazing for showing a makeup artist's actual skill but in the same sense, knowing that makeup can photograph absolutely flawlessly with a professional photographer is also important. So if a makeup artist is showcasing their past brides wedding photos you can also ensure their makeups look incredible for camera. This is also why I upload my editorial, commercial work and bridal work all on the same instagram account, knowledge of how products and colours, and techniques photograph is so important when choosing your MUA, after all its your wedding photos that last a life time.
"I used Olivia for my wedding makeup for myself, my bridesmaids and my mum. Not only is she extremely talented with her make up, she make myself and my loved ones feel so beautiful and enhanced everyone’s natural features without it feeling over the top or too much. The make up lasted all day long and her calming attitude made the morning run so smoothly. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Olivia and I would highly suggest you book her for your events before she gets busy! A fantastic service and a lovely person to work with. I can’t thank Olivia enough for all she did!" - SAM
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