Wedding Makeup Series Part 2: What should I look for in a makeup artist?

If you didn't catch my first post on whether to hire a makeup artist or not for your wedding, you may want to click here! If you're looking into hiring one, read on! Grab a cuppa as it's a long post! I know I won't have covered everything, so if I've missed something, please ask me and I'll help if I can. I’m not as up to scratch on hairstyling, but these questions should work for both.

 

 

First and foremost, look for your artist (duh!). Googling makeup artists in your area may come up with all sorts of artists - for fashion, TV, film, stage, special effects, etc. While plenty work in many areas, not all will be suited for your needs, so obviously look for bridal specific websites or pages on their websites.  Once you've found one you like the look of, take a good hard look at their website or page. They should have a variety of examples that look like they're from different, real life weddings and events (this goes for your wedding photographers as well!). Before and after shots can be helpful when choosing, although this is dependant on their clients agreeing to put the before shots online so plenty of artists won't have these. Make sure your artist is local or local-ish to you before you contact them - a lot of artists will travel to you, but that will almost definitely cost you more.

Before I start on specifics, remember: no one can choose your makeup artist but you! You need to go with your own gut feeling about who will work best for you, and remember if you have a trial with someone and you don't like them, you don't have to book them. I've listed some things to think about/questions to ask below, but a lot of this may be answered on the artists website, so click around and have a read through first! There are a million and one specific questions you may want to ask your artist, but don't be afraid to ask , no matter how silly it may seem to you. It's your money, face and wedding day photos after all!

 

Questions to ask/Things to think about:

What makeup do you use? This is a question that will make most pros roll their eyes if you ask them, but it can be important. The answer you're looking for, unless you have a specific question in regards to allergies or similar, is something along the lines of "I use a wide variety of brands to ensure I get the best results on the day." You are not looking for "I only ever use MAC/Chanel/whatever!" A good MUA will have a wide variety of brands, (often including professional brands that most people won't even have heard of) but trust me, if you like the results you've seen on their website, then it's good stuff! If you're hung up on only using one brand, I'm really sorry but you need to throw that thought right out of the window!  I don't know *any* makeup artist that only uses one brand unless they work for the brand.

 

What do you charge and what is included? Now this is a minefield, as there will be a huge variation in cost for makeup artists and this can depend on so many things - what city you are in, the size of your bridal party, whether you're having hair and makeup, or one or the other. However, your artist should be able to give you a clear breakdown of costs of costs and what is included, for example "Brides Makeup and hair + Bridal Trial (Bride Only) = £XXX, plus bridesmaids/MOTB hair and makeup £XXX each, (wedding day makeup/hair only, no trials)" If it's not clear, ask for a breakdown. Sometimes prices will be listed online, but in my experience, most will give you a quote for your party instead, as putting something like  'Bride + 2 Bridesmaids incl. Bridal Trial = £XXX" online will result in people contacting them and saying 'But it says £XXX! Why won't you do my nine bridesmaids, my mum, my mother-in-law, the Vicar, my cousins, dog and next door neighbour for that amount?!!", so don't be suspicious if they're not. 

And remember - makeup artistry isn't cheap. It doesn't have to cost you the earth, but it's worth Googling and comparing artists in your local area to get a good picture of what you 'should' be paying. I can’t tell you what you should be paying because it varies so much, but don't expect it to be twenty quid, okay? A skilled makeup artist will be worth the money, I promise. Once you’ve set your date, start researching so you can get a good idea of what it will cost and start working it into your budget.

What is this contract? Why am I paying a deposit? Your makeup artist, like every other vendor you're hiring for your wedding, is a business. I will say it again - they're not a person doing it for a giggle, they're a business. It's in their interest to protect their business, so like other things you'll get for the day, you will most likely have to sign a contract, pay a deposit, or similar to guarantee your booking. Like anything else you might have to sign for your day, read it carefully. It will most likely have boring details like cancellation policies, etc.

I have scars/pigmentation/scalp issues/tattoos/allergies/another skin issue/tattoos I want covered. Can you help? This won't be relevant to everyone, but if you do have an issue, it's better to let your makeup artist know straight away so they can look after you to the best of their abilities. If you're looking for them to do makeup on other people in your wedding party and one of them has an issue, make that known as well. A good makeup artist should be able to cope with any of the above 'issues', but it does make it a hell of a lot easier on them if they know beforehand, and you know any concerns you have will be looked after. Win-win.

With regards to covering tattoos or large birthmarks, etc., this is often a service you'll have to pay extra for, so make it known before you get your final price - no-one is going to do it on the day for you if you haven't told them first! It's time consuming, a different skill and using probably different products - that's why it'll cost more.

How will you ensure my makeup/hair will last on the day? Again, every  artist will have different ways of ensuring this. All artists should be able to tell you they'll use thing such as long wearing foundations, setting sprays, layering techniques, or a combination of these or similar techniques to ensure a long-lasting look. Someone MUAs will build a little touch-up kit for you to take with you (often these will have powder or blotting paper, q-tips, a lipstick or sample of the lipstick you're wearing, breath mints etc.), some will purchase a lipstick on your behalf for you for you to take, and some even have an option where they will charge extra for them to stick around and do touch-ups after the ceremony, etc. Again, this is something that’s probably going to be on their website, but it may be worth talking about in your initial consultation if you have concerns. It's certainly worth talking about if you're getting married in a different climate than you're used to, or in a particularly hot/humid time of the year.

 

What happens at my trial? Lots of people don't understand why you have trials for your wedding, but they're for lots of reasons! Basically, it's to make sure you'll be happy with your makeup on the day – you’ll be discussing your skin/hair type and how to care for it before the day, your dress style and colour scheme, what style and colours of makeup you like, what you'll need for touch-ups – everything! All of this also cuts down on time on your wedding day when you'll feel like every second counts. Your artist will talk you through how they do their trials, but they can be really fun as you get to see your ideas come to life! Your artist may ask for a photo of you before your trial too, so they can see your skintone/hair type, etc. At the end of the session, you most likely will have seen your final look - squee!

Do you have references? If a makeup artist gets good feedback, they'll probably be shouting about them anyway on their website or Facebook page because they're great for their business, but if not and they're something you feel comfortable seeing, feel free to ask!

What qualifications do you have? In some countries/states you need qualifications to practise makeup or other cosmetology/aesthetic services, but in some you won't. Make sure if you have local laws requiring qualifications that your artist is legit and has what they need to work, but remember that regardless of this, the persons work should speak to you instead of what school they went to. You can be qualified through the roof but that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily any good. You don't need to ask what school someone went to if their work speaks for itself.

How do you chose what look to go for? Can I send you pictures? Gathering makeup looks that you like can be really helpful to your artist – much like when you go to the hairdresser! Sending them a link to your Pinterest board with 1,001 totally different images on won't help them work out what you're looking for though, so try to narrow it down and if you can, let them know what it is you like about the look, i.e., "I love this colour eyeshadow," "I like the pin-up vibe here," “This hairstyle would suit my dress.”   Bear in mind one look may look totally different on different people, so if your artist tries to explain how to change something to work for your skin tone or eye shape, please listen to them!

I’m a person in black/Rainbow Brite Impersonator and I wear crazy/heavy makeup day to day. Can you still help on my wedding day? I know lots of people who wear ‘non conventional’ makeup still want help on their big day. If you normally wear a lot of makeup or a certain style of makeup, mention this to your artist and/or show them photos and stress you want to look like you! They may even ask you to wear your usual style to your trial so you can nail your wedding look together. If you do wear this style of makeup and your artist won't listen to what you want and work with it, don't book them. It's a simple as that. There will be someone out there who will help you make a 'bridal' version of you, I promise.

 

Keep hygiene in mind!

This is probably the most important part! A quick Google of 'how can I tell if my MUA is hygienic' should tell you all you need to know, but if your artists kit looks dirty, smeared or dusty, if their brushes don't look clean, if they double-dip products (i.e., use the mascara brush that comes from the tube when it's not a fresh tube that they will only use on you, apply lipstick straight from the bullet without disinfecting before and after, applying lipgloss from the tube), have dirty nails, don't have disposable mascara wands, if they don't sanitise/wash their hands, any one of these is a massive red flag. Run away, run away, run away. You might feel comfortable sharing makeup with a friend or sister (I may share a lip balm with my sister for example, but my professional kit is cleaned both during and after each shoot or client, and I make sure they SEE me doing it!) but a professional needs to keep clean at all times -risking giving a client pinkeye is not even thinkable and that is NOT something you want to deal with on your honeymoon. Seriously, hygiene is so important in a professional for health reasons, plus people who don’t clean their kit usually don’t take care of it in other ways – dirty brushes don’t blend as well, unsharpened pencils won’t get as crisp a line, etc., so you won’t get as nice a result anyway!

Disposable mascara wands.

My mate’s doing my makeup!

What about if you want a non-professional to do your makeup? A friend, a cousin, etc.? This is sometimes awkward, because we're all awkward talking about money with friends and family. If they're good at makeup, whether they're pro or not, and they're close to you they may well offer, which is great! Someone offering to do your hair or makeup is a really nice gift, no? However, whether they're a pro or not, you should still ask them to do a trial, and you shouldn't take them up on the offer if you're not 100% confident they'll do a good job. If it's someone close to you, things can get pretty awkward if the result is not what you were expecting. You don't want to hate the makeup on the day and associate those feelings with your friend! You can always use the 'I'd prefer you to relax and enjoy the day,' line which is pretty legit, and lots of people do genuinely feel that way about people offering them services on the day. However, if you do want someone close to you to do it and they don't mention it, ask them what they'd charge - they may give you a good rate, and you won't know if you ask. If they do offer it for free, it's nice to maybe give them a gift if you can, but at least make sure you shout about your makeup to everyone you know and help promote them a little.

Generally speaking, if someone doesn't offer, please don't ask them to do it for free , especially if they're a pro and that's how they make their living. It's not a nice conversation for them to have and you won't get the answer you want. It's their business, after all! Too many makeup artists and hairstylists get people crawling out of the woodwork when their wedding comes around and it's very frustrating. This goes for all services – cakes, photography, etc. I don't mean to lecture, but it's a bit of a pisstake.

 

 

Phew! Well, I hope that helped someone out there! If you can think of anything I’ve missed, please let me know! I'm going to be addressing those of us who are doing our own wedding makeup in my next posts, as well as putting together an inspiration gallery for bridal makeup.

Rounded Cut Crease and Glitter Tutorial

First of all, sorry for the terrible photo quality! I did this on a very dark, rainy Sunday afternoon and… well, with this English weather at the moment you kinda have to take what you can get photo-wise or you’d never blog at all! Anyway, not really sure what inspired me to do this look, but I really like this rounded cut-crease shape. It’s a little fiddly to do on my lids which are full of creases, but where my eyes are ever so slightly hooded, I find this shape much easier to do than a traditional cut crease look as I find it easier to make it look good on the outside corners  of my eyes, and keep the look cohesive. If you’ve got creasy lids or struggle with blending eyeshadow in cut crease looks, this might be worth a try as you only  need to blend the eyeshadow on the outside of your eye – there’s not really any belnding on the lid at all.

Here’s the look we’re trying to achieve:

1: Get your base down! I’m using Maybelline Color Tattoo in Pink Gold, as I’ll be adding a pink-ish glitter later. Choose a base that’s the same colour as your glitter, but keep it relatively light.

2: Take a dark matte brown eyeshadow – I’m using one from Sleek Storm - and softly define your crease, keeping it quite high. It doesn’t have to be super neat as this is really serving as a guideline for the cut crease, and it will aid the blending of the black eyeshadow we’ll be using later on,

3: Start to line your lid, and go about 3/4 of the way across. I’m using a pen liner from Collection2000 as I find I can do detail much better with a pen! If not, use the thinnest brush you have. I recommend trying a loose eyeshadow mixed with something like Duraline as you can get a really fluid consistency which will make it much easier.

4: To make your curve, extend the line up toward your brow slightly, as if you were beginning drawing a very thick winged liner. Then draw a curve from the top of this line, and extend it across your lid, tapering down slightly on the inside. This is the hardest part as the line can’t be thick at the end of the curve. You can see where it curve doesn’t go above the brown eyeshadow at all.

5: Now your curve is done, colour outwards slightly from the line. Don’t take it past the end of your eye socket, or too far above the top curve as we’re going to need to blend it out.

6: Ok, so now it’s time to make it look smoky! Blend some black shadow all around where you drew your liner – the brown shade you added earlier will help you blend the black out. You can see here that you’ll be able to tell where your liner has stopped. When you’ve finished blending it out and you’re happy with that, take your blackest black on a small paddle brush, make it so the ‘c’ shape on the brush matches up with the corner of your eye and sweep the black in toward the liner and the join should disappear.

7: Glitter! Easy peasy, take your adhesive and apply it to the non-black half of your eye. I used a small fine flat brush to make sure I got around the curves of the liner and then simply patted the glitter on. I used Darling Girl Stardust glitter in Prometheus.
I then took a little of the brown shadow again and just ran it along my lower lid.

Well, you’re pretty much done! I filled in my brows, added highlights (MAC Gesso, MUS Stardust) and lashes (Perfect 10’s) and a quick swoosh of cream liner on the waterline to finish the look.

On my cheeks I’m wearing a touch of Benefit Dallas and Make Up Store High Tech Lighter in Stardust, with MUA Juicy and Jordana ASAP on my lips.

Hope you enjoyed and that my step-by-steps are making sense!

Step by Step: Wet N Wild “Shimmer The Night Away” Look

Christmas and New Years are long gone, my annual ski trip has just ended and the rest of January is looking miserably dull and grey, grey, grey. So I have a cute, shimmery tutorial for you, hurrah! All shadows are from the super cute “Shimmer The Night Away” 8 pan palette from Wet N’ Wild (thanks Wendy!) Here’s the look we’re going for:

 

 

1: Apply your primer. Brush the white ‘browbone’ colour all over your lid and inner corner, and then work the silver “eyelid” shade in your crease with a fluffy brush, starting from the outside in, taking care not to go below the crease.

2: Using a small brush, take the silver along your lower waterline, making it a little thicker on the outside corner. Then take the pinky-purple “eyelid” shade on one side of a small, c-shaped brush and sweep it about a third of the way across the outside of your lid.

4: Add more of the pink-purple to build up the intensity, and when that’s done, take the black “definer” shade on the left hand side and define your crease line and lower lashline.

5: Take a blue pencil eyeliner and line your upper lashline, then go over it with the blue “definer” shade.

5: Make a wing with black eyeliner as usual, and link it up to the blue liner. Add liner on the waterline, if you like, and blend out any harsh edges with your face powder or a matte skin tone shade. Then do your brows and mascara/lashes, et voila! You're done….

The lips are MAC Pink Nouveau (thanks Rachael!) with my old favourite, GOSH Light N Shine no 5 gloss. I fancied something really girly to go with the eyes.

 

I love wearing makeup that my blogger friends have sent to me, it make me think of them whenever I look in the mirror!

Are you brightening up January by wearing bright or funky makeup?

Blue and Green Jewel Toned Smokey Eye Tutorial (For Rachael!)

I said I’d do this tutorial for Rachael and I’m not a liar, so here it is.

 

 

First, use your blackest base and apply that over your lid, lower lashline and waterlines. I used Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Perversion, because it’s awesome. Just so you know, this step was my total makeup routine circa 2001. No lie.



Set that with a matte black eyeshadow  (I used Sleek) and smudge out the edges of the pencil.



Next, take a metallic navy and really build that up in the crease so it looks vibrant. I used an Inglot shade.



Do the same on the lower lashline…

…and join up the colours on the outer corner. I used a pencil brush for this and the last step. Take a little more black eyeshadow near your waterline if you got the blue eyeshadow too near it.



Looking straight ahead, apply a metallic green in the centre of your lid…

… and the centre of the lower lashline. I used a colour from a since defunct indie company, but tons of companies make a shade similar. Then, take your favourite shimmery blue or green highlight and apply this to the browbone and inner corner of the eye. Again, I used one from a now shut-down indie company but I’d recommend something like Sugarpill Lumi instead.

Now add brows, lashes and winged liner if you need too and you’re done!

 

Because Rachael wanted to wear this look with Face Lace, here’s the look with some! I just blended the blue colour a little further up the crease so there was more of a gradient inbetween the gaps in the applique.

And I also kinda liked how it looked once I’d taken it off, ha ha!

Many thanks to Charlotte from Lipglossiping for the Face Lace – you can see another look I did with it along with some other awesome bloggers wearing different versions here! Face Lace are really strange to wear… having some stuck over a fairly big mobile part of skin is a really weird sensation, but you get used to it! While I do think they’re expensive, now I’ve tried them and seen that they’re not necessarily a replacement for creativity and that you can indeed wear awesome makeup with them… I’m kind of a fan!

How To: Cream Blush

I love me some cream blush, I really do! I know most of you reading this will be up to speed with them and already know how to use them, but I’ve realised that a lot of non-makeup nerds aren’t sure how to use them. I love them and think they look beautiful so I thought I’d write a guide to them for anyone who wasn’t so sure. It’s a bit long, so grab yourself a cuppa and a biscuit first!

The product:



L-R: Silk Naturals Cream Blush in Tickle, NYX Blushables Crème Stick in Pink Flash, Darling Girl Sweet Cheeks Blush in U*SA*HA*NA, Inglot AMC Cream Blush in 80, Max Factor Soft Touch Creamy Blush in Soft Pink, MAC Cremeblend Blush in So Sweet, So Easy

Cream blushes are made by SO many companies these days –  you can see from above everyone from indie companies to higher end brands produce them.  If you click to enlarge the picture, you can somewhat tell than the formulas all vary; some are thicker and creamier than others, some may feel greasy, some have more shimmer, etc., so they’re just like powder blushers in that they differ so much from each other. They come in all type of packaging, from tubs to sticks to typical blush pans.

They are what it says on the tin – blushes with a creamy formula as opposed to powder blushes or cheek stains. While my particular favourites are the Inglot AMC Cream Blush range, in the UK street you can pick them up from Topshop, Max Factor, MAC, Bobbi Brown and Revlon as well as the pocket friendly Collection and MUA. So they’re very easy to get hold of these days!

L-R: Illamasqua Cream Pigment in Emerge, MAC Cream Colour Base in Move Star Red, Milani Color Perfect Lipstick in Rose Hip

Above are a few multi-purpose products that aren’t billed as blush but can easily be used as one! I had to include a lipstick because most lipsticks that aren’t matte will make a great cream blush! If you’ve never used cream blush and are not sure if they’re for you, pull out one of your lippies and give it a try.

Why use a cream blush?

Cream blushers melt into the skin as opposed to sitting on top of it, like a powder. For this reason they look can give a much more natural look and a lovely “skin-real” finish. Because they are creamy, they often give a nice dewy glow as well because they don’t dry down, so they’re perfect if you’ve got drier, older or dull-looking skin that needs some help radiance-wise. They’re best applied with (CLEAN!) fingers in my opinion as the heat of your skin really helps to work the product in to your face, so they’re great for travelling or if you know you’ll need to touch up as you won’t necessarily need to take a blush brush with you. Just as lipsticks can double up as cream blush, cream blushes can double as lip product too!

Is a cream blush right for me?

Sadly cream blushers can suck in that they often don’t wear as long as powder blushers because they often don’t set or dry down fully, so if you have particularly oily skin, they may not work for you – they’ll slip off your skin. It sounds obvious, but if you can test the product in store, do! If the blush is more of a cream-to-powder type, that may work better for oilier skins as it will set somewhat. If the blush feels very sheer or greasy, you know probably it’s not going to last well on you no matter what your skin type! Conversely, if you have very dry skin, a cream-to-powder formula may highlight any dry patches as much as a regular blush might, whereas while a more creamy one still may not last well on you, it may look better on your dry skin.

If you’ve bought cream blushers that don’t do it for you on thier own, I’d suggest setting them with different powder blushes or highlighters to get new colour combinations. They’re normally natural enough that you can do this without clownface happening.

How to use a cream blush:

First, get your foundation on. I’d recommend a foundation that wears pretty well and that will set on your face. If you’re using something like a BB cream or a tinted moisturizer that you have to set with powder because it feels tacky on the skin, I wouldn’t recommend wearing a cream blush with that foundation. It’s just going to mix up on your face, not blend in very well and make a gross mess.

Apply a small amount of your blush. I’m not an ‘apples of the cheeks’ person and prefer to apply my blush more on the backs of my cheeks, but put it directly on where you want your final flush to be!



NYC Blushables Crème Stick in Pink Flash.

When it’s on, start blending it in with your clean fingers until you’re happy with the colour:



The colour level is about where I want it, but the edges look a little bit harsh.  Take your foundation brush that you used to put your foundation on, and start to blend out the edges of the blush so there are no harsh lines. The foundation that’s left over on your blush is going to make blending it in super easy. If you’ve applied a bit too much colour, don’t panic! It can take a little bit of practice to determine how much you’ll need, so just pick up the excess with a clean sponge and carry on blending.

And you’re done!




This is why I love cream blush – it just looks so natural and slightly glowy. (It showed up a little brighter in real life – i was hard to capture on camera!) While I’m all about crazy eye and lip makeup, I want my skin to look good and I really think cream blushers make it look awesome.  Whether you powder or not is entirely up to you – it will make it last much longer, but it will take away the dewiness:



Inglot AMC Cream Blush in 81.

I’ve powdered over the swatch on the left – you can see none of the dewiness is coming through at all. I do often powder over cream blushers because you will still have the natural-looking flush and I don’t always mind sacrificing the dewiness – just make sure you pick a powder that is nice and light and not cakey (Which, you know, I recommend doing generally :/ Illamasqua’s Loose Powder in 010 is really awesome and smells like sweeties). If you want a little shimmer, try mixing a tiny bit of sparkly loose, pigment in with your powder when you’re setting it – something finely milled and not chunky. It won’t have the same natural glow but it won’t look flat either.

I realise not everyone will want to apply makeup with their fingers. Lots of makeup artists don’t like to use fingers on clients for hygiene reasons, some people might be germophobes or not want to get product on their hands.  Personally I keep a little bottle of hand sanitizer on my makeup desk, so I’m not bothered at all. But of course if you prefer, you can use a brush! Make sure you use a synthetic brush – they’ll soak up less product than a natural bristle brush so you’ll use less and it will be much easier to wash your brush! You can even use the brush to transfer the product to your face and then blend it in with your fingers so you’re keeping your hands from contaminating your product.



It’s even harder to tell how much to use when you’re using a brush, so just touch it to the product like I did above. That gave me this result, so it was plenty for this particular product:

MAC CCB in Move Star Red

What NOT to do:



Inglot AMC Cream Blush in 81.

See that? That’s a cream blush that I’ve blended in. It looks gross, right? What’s happened here is that I’ve put it over my foundation and powder. All this is going to do is make a nasty paste that won’t rub in any further! I’ve heard lots of tales from MUAs and online of people doing this, and I’m guessing it’s because they think it will last longer. If you must use powder, do it after you’ve applied your blush.  If you prefer a powder foundation, cream blushers may not work for you, although you can apply your blush first and then your foundation if you’re so inclined. If you’re not sure, make sure you’re hygienic when you’re testing your blush at home and then if it doesn’t work with your skin or preferred foundation routine, you can at least give it to a friend or women’s shelter instead of binning it!




Any questions, please just ask! I hope someone out there found this helpful and sorry to everyone who knew all this already ;p