Lets Talk: Wedding MakeUp!!
Whats Up Y'all!! Ok I am getting better with the Blogs the breaks aren't as bad but I will get back to be as consistent as I use to be lol. Anyway y'all I am back this week with what I what I know you all have been waiting for!! My Makeup Artists from my wedding!! Yes I said artists!! So lets dive right in cause baby I had a ball with both the ladies I chose for myself. Yet I also had some other some other lovely ladies working on not only my ladies but my guests.
Before I share the ladies lets really talk about Makeup budget for weddings. I am in a lot of these bridal groups on Facebook and I see alot of brides saying " why is makeup so expensive?" or " I am not paying $100 dollars or more for my makeup just for one day" and guess what that is fine for them but wedding makeup is in fact different than just regular makeup. As a tip I say Hair and Makeup are two very important things that you should actually ensure you budget well for. Why you ask? You want your hair to last all day and your makeup to last through heat, tears, photography flash, drinks, and of course dancing!
We have to understand that these vendors are artists and when you book them they close their books for the day and travel to you so yes their pricing will change for your big day. Now some artist do offer in studio options for bridal parties and that may make the cost cheaper but remember you are now adding travel to them to your schedule. You are also not going to be their only priority for that day so keep that in mind. You deserve their divided attention on one of the biggest days of your life! So yes PAY THE MONEY!! Now I am not saying go over your budget, that isn't what I am saying! What I am saying is, find someone in your budget and pay them! It will be worth it and your pictures will reflect. The saying is true, you get what you pay for!
I budgeted $500 for two days of makeup just for me alone and that worked for my budget. Both Artists that I worked with allowed for me to make payments and travel was included into their fees. The artist for my Nigerian Wedding traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina. The artist for my American wedding traveled to Raleigh from Durham, North Carolina. Travel for both Artist was about $200 which again made sense due to the distance and the fact that they were with me for about 10 hours. The price for both artists for Bride was $150 and their trial fees were $100 as well. My Bridesmaids budgeted $140 for makeup for both days but I covered the travel fee and a percentage of their makeup as my thank you to them for being part of my day. I also covered the make up for my mother, godmother, and mother-in law. This was my choice you do what works for you and your spouses budget! Both artist required full payment a week prior to my wedding and wanted one person to pay so I did that to make life easier for everyone.
Look I get it, it seems like you say wedding and prices jump but remember you get no do overs on a wedding day like you do on a photoshoot. My makeup lasted all day through tears and baby I cried both days!! My photos reflect the great work of the artists so I will say money well spent. You also have to remember flash photography and cell photography are NOT THE SAME!!
Now that I have said all that let dive into the artists and where to find them.
Traditional Wedding
For my Traditional Wedding I had a vision of how I wanted to look. I wanted my eyebrows on fleek, my lips nude, and my eye shadow popping. Many American Artists do not do the look that I was looking for when it comes to weddings. This just not the norm for weddings here. Folks normally want soft glam. There is nothing wrong with that but in my opinion not for Nigerian weddings we do full glam. For me I needed the drama minus the colored contacts. Yet I searched high and low and couldn't find an artist that could give me what it was I wanted. If I was getting married in a location that had a large Nigerian population I would have had no issue finding a MUA to achieve the look I wanted but I wasn't.
A girlfriend of mine Koko who was also a bridesmaid and a MUA herself recommended Pricilla aka @AttractionsGH earlier this year. She knew what I wanted and said I should give Pricilla a call. I contacted her and scheduled a trial. I had a shoot in Winston and decided that would be a perfect opportunity to see if she would work for me. We spent the entire time talking and I felt like a friend was doing my makeup up. She asked about what worked and didn't work on my skin before, she asked my vision, my fears, and even make up no gos. The shoot with her actually went viral lol. After my trial I actually worked with her again for my boudoir shoot and then another shoot after my wedding. She not only did my makeup but did 4 of my bridesmaids, my mom, and my sister in law as well. She knocked it out of the Ball park! If you are ever in the Greensboro Area Look sis up!!
Some of our Looks together...
American Wedding
For my American wedding I knew I wanted to look like a black barbie princess. I wanted the eyebrows still on fleek but not as dramatic. I wanted my lips nude as always, slight golds on my lids and a sleek finish. I was originally suppose to have a different look but when I chose my new dress I hit her up immediately and let her know. Now I never did a trial with Amber aka @erbodyluhgrannie but funny enough she actually did my make-up for my college graduation. Ooh and that's not all I had class with her sister!
Amber made my American Wedding day makeup a breeze. She booked Two other artists that serviced My mother, My bridesmaids, my sister in law, my sisters, my aunts, and a few guests all with time to spare. Her team included @dare2bdiva (Who is an Oscar nominated MUA baby!!) and @teahchinnmua (Who actually taught me how to use MAC paint pot and other MAC products while I was still in college so I was so excited to have her be part of my day). They also had the Jams following and it was a vibe!! I wasn't able to get all the looks I wanted on both days so I booked amber again and reshot some looks about two weeks later.
some of our other work together.....
I also had a lot go guests who wanted services done on both days so I helped out and got two great local artist as well who came in and saved the day.
First there is Imani aka @Imanidarnea stepped in and serviced half of my 10 bridesmaids as well as my mother in law, my aunt, and some other guests of mine. I am so appreciative of this artist and
highly recommend her. Her looks normally start at about $65 a look and go up. She is Located in Cary, North Carolina and she does Travel.
Next Artist was Paris aka @PSW.ARTISTRY she isn't local to Raleigh but she does travel. She stepped in when all theater artists were booked and I still needed slots for my guests and everyone was totaled happy. I truly appreciate her and her service was 100 from what I was told! Her faces start at about $55per face and go up. Her travel fee is about $40 dollars as well.
So y'all as you know I kept the crew all black and they were ready to slay!! I hope if you are in the area you check these ladies out!! They also do non Wedding related looks so look them up for your other events as well.
As always love on those that love you, stay safe in these streets, fight for justice, buy black, and wash those hands
love
