We all have different aspects of our lives, one of mine happens to be that I have been an on-counter makeup artist for almost 3 years. I have made probably hundreds of ladies more beautiful for a range of events, mostly birthdays, weddings and other special occasions.
As much as I have loved this work, I have dealt with the mighty spectrum of clients from the most beautiful and kind hearted to the picky-est of women.
So to help you prepare you for your appointment, and help out my fellow makeup artists, here are my top things we want you to know before getting your makeup done.
- Arrive on time – Or better, 10 mins early.
Remember to allow enough time for traffic and parking, especially on busy saturdays, and be happy to wait a few minutes until we are ready for you. If I manage to finish my previous appointment early and you are waiting, I can then spend that extra time on you. We understand that you expect perfection since you are paying an expert, but if you are late you may not get what you are entirely after. We allow a certain amount of time for our appointments, and if you are late, we will not jeopardize our other clients and the running of our day because of your lack of punctuality.
Also if you cannot make your appointment, do not just skip it, call us! We can give the appointment to someone else, or more likely will be able to eat food and go on a break which is a rarity for us on busy days.
- Do not come to the appointment with a full face of makeup.
Especially waterproof mascara. Spending time removing your existing makeup cuts into the purpose of the appointment that is to make you look perfect for your event. We understand that you may not feel comfortable walking around barefaced, but try to stick to light makeup that is easy for us to remove to save time.
- Follow our directions.
If I have to tell you multiple times to look in a certain direction, I will not take blame if I cause you discomfort. As makeup artists, we learn how to move the face to make our job easier and make it comfortable for you.
If we say look up or down, we normally mean with just your eyes not your entire head. We need your face to stay where we can easily apply makeup while the skin around your eye is taut.
Also if we tell you to stay looking down while your lashes dry, do not look up! Your falsies will end up glued to your lid… I have had this happen before.
- If you don’t like something, tell us ASAP.
It is a lot easier for us to change or correct something when we are doing that step than at the end. Communication is key! Don’t be shy and fix it when you get home, we want you to be super excited when you leave, bringing joy to clients is one of the reasons we do this job.
- A ‘smokey eye’ may not be what you think.
Almost everyone comes in asking for a smokey eye, and we learn VERY quickly that they don’t really mean a smokey eye. If we did a smokey eye that we learnt at beauty school, you would not get what you asked for. Try to talk about the colours you were thinking, the outfit you plan on wearing and any insecurities (if any) when in consultation.
- Makeup is NOT plastic surgery!
Many clients bring in photos of makeup inspiration (which is encouraged!) but get upset when it doesn’t look like the picture. Everyone has different face and eye shapes with unique features that need to be taken into consideration. We can create illusions of a slimmer face for example but we cannot remove the creases that come with age or sun damage, or change your face shape entirely.
Also if you show us another picture of a Kardashian, we will be dying internally.
- Treat us nicely.
Shocking, but we are actually human?! And if you talk to us horribly, we will not be accomodating. We understand that some people’s personalities are blunt but kindness costs nothing. We can try our hardest to fit you in close to what you are after but no matter how many times you ask, that appointment that you asked for will not magically appear, you are not the queen.
- Book WAY in advance.
Talking about bookings, try not to leave them to the last minute. The most popular time slot is about 3pm, so if you know the date of your event way in advance, book that shiz in! It is better to have a booking and cancel than not getting your ideal time and be rushed on the day. Especially with school balls or massive fundraisers where it seems that most of the city’s female population is getting their makeup done, get in early.
- As much as this might seem like a whinge session, we absolutely love our job!
Making clients look gorgeous and boosting their confidence is our bread and butter, and is why we do this job. We meet some incredible and inspiring people (including how I met the lovely ladies of The Volte), we learn just as much from our clients as they do from us and we wouldn’t want to change it for the world.
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