Top Five Things to Look for When Hiring A Hair And Makeup Artist
As a bride-to-be, you might feel an amounting pressure to appear captivating on your big day. This pressure to look “picture perfect” can add to your stress and make the whole experience of getting married a less than enjoyable one. An easy way to reduce the burden of looking good on your wedding day is to hire a professional stylist and makeup artist who can make you look stunning and feel confident about your appearance. With their keen eye and myriads of makeup techniques, they will ensure you look naturally flawless in person and photos.
However, as there are several hair and makeup artists around Toronto and Vancouver, it can be tricky to choose the right one. You need to meet with them and have a pre-trial run of the makeup look or hairstyle you want. Also, you must check if they have a portfolio that showcases their expertise and if they adhere to hygienic standards.
To help you pick the perfect stylist with these essentials in mind for your important day, here’s a list of the top five things to look for when hiring a hair and makeup artist.
1. Personal compatibility
You will be spending quite a bit of time with the person doing your hair and makeup, and they will be up in your personal space. So, think about how you feel interacting with this person. Determine whether they put you at ease and make you feel calm or if they put you on edge or make you feel uncomfortable.
2. Personal and kit hygiene
Hygiene applies across several categories, and two of them are personal and kit hygiene. A hair and makeup artist will use different tools and their hands to style you on your wedding day. But, before you, their equipment would have been used on several clients, so you want to make sure that their kit is clean and hygienic. To verify this, ask them how often they clean their tools after usage.
A few red flags to look out for during the makeup trial are:
a. Double dipping into any cream or liquid products. Makeup products should be dispensed onto a clean palette or a similar surface using a clean spatula.
b. When using the applicator in the tube of mascara, lip gloss, or liquid lipstick, a disposable applicator should ALWAYS be used for these products, particularly for mascara, because bacteria can be transferred from the eye to the tube unless a disposable applicator is used.
c. Using liquid eyeliner with the included applicator. Whether it is a brush or a felt tip, these should never be used directly on the skin for the same reasons as mascara.
d. Using a beauty blender or similar sponge. These CANNOT be properly sanitized! A disposable, one-time-use wedge sponge is the only hygienic type of sponge to use.
One exception to the above rules is if the artist is using a kit that is just for you, or is using your personal products.
3. Look for a portfolio which showcases vast experience
The makeup artist you hire must be able to work on a variety of skin tones, ethnicities, hair types, etc. They should also be able to provide evidence that they can pull off the look you want. If someone has no makeup images of brides in their portfolio, then they probably won’t do an excellent job as a bridal hair and makeup artist. It’s not just that they may be incapable of the style you want, but they will be less familiar with the requirements of a wedding environment. For example, salon hairstylists, while capable of bridal hairstyles, may not have the correct temperament for the unique stresses and pressures of a morning wedding.
4. Hire a professional makeup artist and not your friend
Your friend may be good with their own makeup, but that doesn’t mean they know how to work with your face, skin tone, skin type, etc. They may not have the products that your face requires and may be able to give you a look that is not specific to what you want for your wedding day. And, then there’s the problem of being able to tell them that.
Imagine it is your wedding day, and your friend just did your makeup, but you don’t like it. Are you able to tell them without it making the rest of the day awkward and casting a shadow of awkwardness over both your wedding and relationship with that person? How long would it be weird with that friend if you did say something? Or for how many years would you hate your wedding photos if you did not say something?
The great thing about hiring a professional is that it will not hurt our feelings when you want to change something. It is our job to give you what you want, to the best of our ability.
5. Handling feedback
A professional artist is someone who works with you to come up with a look you are happy with (as best possible, given your features). Let’s say a look did not turn out how you imagined. So you say, “I would like my X to be more X.” A professional artist will agree and work on the look you want. Followed by, “is this more what you were imagining?” And so on, until you are happy.
Not only are they open to your feedback, but they also welcome it and request it. After all, it’s all about us making you happy! As best we can. Based on how much a particular look suits or won’t work with your features, it is part of our job as professionals to recommend an alternative.
If you’re looking for a professional hair and makeup artist in Toronto and Vancouver, reach out to Michael Fels Beauty | Hair | Makeup. We are a mobile beauty team and also provide onsite hair and makeup services. We specialize in weddings and any special events. We love what we do and want you to have a look that is stress-free and gorgeous.
To learn more about the services we offer, please click here. To get in touch with us, please click here.