Do’s and Don’ts for Hiring a Bridal Make-up Artist for Your Indian Wedding

As a founder and senior makeup artist for MJ Gorgeous Makeup & Academy I have seen more weddings than a wedding planner and have met thousands of clients wanting to make the wedding day as perfect as perfectly possible. However sometimes the obsession of perfection goes too far and skeptic mind takes over your logical decision making. “More you wait and browse, better you get” is a dangerous way of looking things up.

Let us dive right in and checkout the right way of figuring your bridal makeup artist for your fantastic bridal makeup.

Do your homework ahead of time (Create a Top 5 Checklist)

It is true that the best ones get hired in advance because their word to mouth network is so strong. Trust me you need to start looking out at least 6 months in advance if you want to hire the best one in the town. This is what you should look for..

• Years of experience
• Past work (Photos and videos on the social media)
• Google them and see what you find apart from their website
• Testimonials
• Style of makeup (Diversity, Natural, Creative, Vivacious etc.)

If the above key points get you excited then check that bridal makeup artist in your list. Do not create more than top 5 list as this is where you will become overly skeptic. So the entire goal is to spend 2-3 days of time in creating a list of top 5 makeup artist that you really liked.

• Do not take a call by reading reviews on the makeup artist website or page only, you should check out google and third party reviews specially the recent ones.
• Do check the quality of the website and photos, a creative person like a makeup artist will always ensure that everything around them is neat. If you see a tacky web page with only photos then you must understand that the makeup artist may not have the awareness and sensitivity to deal with clients.
• It is very important that your taste matches with the style of makeup you are seeing, If you are one of those natural makeup admirer and seeing over the top makeup in the photo album then you may want to cross that name from the list.

Contact the Make-up Artist only when you are excited !

They say when you are not sure flip a coin and you would know your decision. No ways I am suggesting you to flip a coin however it will be a bad idea to start calling all the makeup artists right away.

Now you have a list of top 5 makeup artist and you have seen the work and credentials. The first call that you will make should be the one who excites you the most.

Don’ts when you call the makeup artist for the first time

• Do not say the first word PRICE, many clients call us and the opening sentence is how much for bridal makeup? This is a serious turn off for every reputed professional makeup artist around the world. They will lose interest in you even before you start your conversation as it gives them a feeling of street shopping.
• Always remember you are speaking with an artist who are generally very emotional and sensitive, they must not get a feeling that you are here to choose only when they give you a cheap estimate. You are here because of their artistry.
• Remember you are approaching a professional bridal makeup artist because you want the best makeup for your wedding and not because they can be hired for cheap
• Keep negotiations in the end else you will lose this makeup artist and end up with someone average and cheap.

Assessing your Makeup-up artist after the first phone call

Well, all that glitters may not be gold. It is a very near possibility that the artist you thought is going to be the best one turned out to be the worse. Things that you must watch out on the phone call..

• Did they sound professional and excited to speak with you?
• Did the actual makeup artist speak with you or the receptionist continued the conversation. It is very important that the Makeup artist speaks to you over the phone no matter how famous she/he is.
• Did the makeup artist make notes, asked everything in detail? A professional will create a complete itinerary for your wedding
• Finally, did you feel comfortable talking to her? This is very important because if you are uncomfortable or not getting great vibes then you must just drop the idea of hiring that makeup artist.

Do’s – Things that you must discuss on your first call

It is very important that you are very clear in communicating what you want on your wedding day. Below are the points that you must discuss with your Makeup-artist

• Inform the date , venue and number of sessions
• Discuss your vision of makeup , What kind of makeup you like
• Show some reference photos which is in your mind
• Ask for final estimate and Trial

Understanding your affordability

If you want the best then it will not come cheap, Please do remember this! If you are walking into the best make-up artist in the town then chances are the price they quote will be higher than average and why not ?

Wedding although festive is a very stressful affair with a lot at stake. If you are comfortable to experiment with someone average to save few bucks go right ahead. However if you are critical about your day and can afford then we will always recommend you to go with the best.

Remember everything else will be forgotten except your photos, your wedding look will be locked forever. Hence we highly recommend to hire the best makeup artist even if you have to stretch a little. If you just cannot afford that kind of price then you cannot but if you can then do not save the cost with your bridal makeup artist.

Makeup Trial

I have written several articles about makeup trials for both clients and makeup artist. Please do understand that you are not going for a makeup artist for a trial to test the skills but to decide what will look best on you. Of course there are many things that needs to be addressed during a makeup trial like the cleanliness and hygiene, Customer service, temperament, Products and many more

You can read in details about Makeup trials here

Don’t’s

• Makeup trial usually has a protocol, your artist will do a half face makeup to compare both sides of the face with makeup and without makeup.
• If you want elaborate like real event makeup trial then it will usually cost you good
• Makeup artist works with several makeup product brands, do not insist them to work with single brand.
• Do not expect to look exactly like the reference photo you are holding in your hands, these photos go through post processing and are color managed.
• Your face shapes, eyes, skin tone decides what style of makeup will look good on you. Do not continuously insist on a look which your makeup artist says No to, as they are saying so because of a reason.

My closing comment is to treat your makeup artist as an artist and not a Grocery store owner. An artist always expects recognition and respect. Negotiate but don’t overdo it. Hire when you feel comfortable with that person no matter how big the artist is.

Happy wedding !