12 Things to check with your makeup artist before booking them !

Don't Delay Bookings

1. Ideally one should start calling and enquiring with vendors right after your dates get fixed. Some vendors get booked months in advance so don’t delay and start reviewing the work of various artists and calling them to check their availability and charges.

Meet one on one

2. Once you have shortlisted, its best to meet with them one on one. Many makeup artists offer trials (some charge for them while others offer them for free). Meeting them would give you a good sense of their personality, work style and even help you understand how comfortable you will be having them in close confines with you on your wedding day.

Questions to ask them

3. Ask them about

• Their team: Who will be working on you, who does hair , does the MUA do all the makeup?
• The products they use
• The time they will take to get you ready
• Do they allow photographers to shoot while the makeup is going on.
• Other booking they have on the same day

Services to Include

4. At whatever price that they quote, you should ideally be getting:

• Hairstyling
• Nail paints
• Draping
• Eyelashes
• Maybe even a shampoo (if you are at their salon)

so that you don’t have to look for anyone else’s help to get completely ready. If you aren't getting this, then get a quote which includes all of this.

Discounts vs Haggles

5. It's one thing to ask for a discount or a package deal, but another to haggle. Please understand asking once is alright but it's never a good idea to push too much. Trust me you don’t want them to cut costs in the quality of products or services they offer for that might just become a painful experience!

Advance Deposits

6. Like any other vendors, makeup artists too take an advance deposit which is not refundable. The balance needs to be paid by the date of your wedding! Makeup artists who are thorough professionals reach the location on time, deliver on the look that was decided and put a lot of physical effort in getting a bride ready and to make her look more beautiful than ever. You should also hold your end of the deal and make the payments on time. No negotiations on that!

Other Bookings

7. If hiring a freelancer, find out if they have any other bookings on that date and make sure you get ample time from them for yourself. In such cases it is important that both you and the makeup artist stick to the pre-decided timelines.

Family Members

8. Once you have booked them, please specify in advance if you have other members of your family and friends who would like help in getting ready and exactly what services they need. The makeup artist will plan ahead and keep the products and resources available to meet your needs and in such a case please be ready to pay extra for the services at a pre-decided/discussed charges. Ever go to a restaurant and say my main order is butter chicken but I would like thoda sa palak paneer or bas itna sa rajma? No you don’t! So why here? A makeup artist will do what they are commissioned to do. If you want to request them to handle some extra people on an ad-hoc basis, ask them first and be ready to pay for the services!

Delays

9.  Delays have become synonymous with so many Indian weddings these days! It's hard to keep everything in control and make sure its all going as per schedule. So be real with the vendors. Keep in touch with them on the day of your functions and tell them the status in advance. That’s better than having them wait half a day burning their time and energy at your venue! If visiting a salon, you might get a time slot from them when you can come in and get dedicated time with your makeup artist. Try and be there on time and if in case you can't, be patient and wait a bit before the artist can start with you. At that time even though it might be getting very late for you, there is no time to rush and panic. Take a deep breath, inform the artist that you are short on time and let them do their best!

Cancellations

10.  In case you cancel for absolutely any reason, be prepared to forgo the advance amount that you gave them to block their dates for you. In case the makeup artist cancels (which ideally they shouldn’t but since they are humans too, cancellations may happen due to sickness or any other emergencies). There is no harm in asking for a back up plan. If a makeup artist is cancelling for any reason, they should be able to provide you with someone else to fill in for them and save the day. The charges too that you pay in that case can be negotiated based on who the back up artist is.

Outstation Makeup Charges

11. Normally if you hire a makeup artist for a wedding outside of their city, chances are they will charge extra. They will be dedicating their entire time to you along with their team. It is also a norm to arrange for the travel and stay for the artist and the team. I understand that you may want to cut costs at times but please make sure the artist or anyone from the team is not having to share their room with any of your guests! Its NOT because the makeup artists aren’t flexible/don’t want to mix with your crowd/Don’t appreciate your hospitality and your ever-growing comfort level with them. It is because they are there to WORK and they need their rest!

Communicate

12. While they are actually getting you ready, be free to tell them what you like and what you are not comfortable with. You should be happy with the way you look on the best day of your life!

Makeup by Simran Kalra★ 4.9

Lastly, and this is important!

We makeup artists have handpicked our teams from the hundreds out there to form one where each member is highly skilled at their job, extremely hard-working and highly motivated to give you their best. It is this team that makes us tick. They are the unsung heroes without whom all the beautiful pics you see on our profiles would be impossible. We come across such different types of people. Ones who show immense kindness and also the ones who are downright rude to our teams the minute we turn our backs.

Don’t forget, that person getting you water or painting your nails is a human too and can make mistakes. They work countless hours and through the toughest days to make your day amazing. If you aren’t happy with anything, there are plenty of ways to tell them politely without being rude or raising your voice. Let them know nicely and chances are they will go an extra mile and put in more than what’s expected to make your day extra special! They will not give up until you are satisfied with the results. Be rude to them and you will not only lose their respect but ours too.

“A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money” - John Ruskin

Good luck with all your wedding preparations! Be kind and be beautiful!

Getting married soon? Book your favorite makeup artist today and that too in your budget!