Makeup Artist Criticizes Bride For Bragging About Washing Her Bridal Makeup Off To Redo It Herself
It all could have been avoided with simple communication.
Pixel-Shot | Shutterstock According to the knot, the average cost of bridal makeup in the U.S. is $140. Certainly not inexpensive, and understandably so. Makeup artists are skilled professionals. Most brides take the time to find an artist who will be able to create their perfect look by testing different artists and having trial makeup applications. It's no wonder then that a bride faced backlash after she shared a video of herself on her wedding day washing off her make-up in the sink shortly after her make-up artist applied it.
While the bride claimed that she was disappointed by the results, many people, makeup artists included, pointed out that she only had herself to blame. Shaming the artist was certainly not the move.
A bride bragged about washing off her bridal makeup to redo it herself.
In a viral TikTok video that has sparked online outrage, a bride named Lauren said that one of the “core memories” from her wedding day was washing off her make-up and doing it all over herself. The footage showed Lauren leaning over a sink and splashing water on her face as one of her bridesmaids held her hair back, assuring her that she would be able to redo her makeup and that there was plenty of time before the wedding ceremony started.
“I don’t want to see her,” Lauren said of the makeup artist. “I feel bad, but I don’t like it.”
As the makeup came off, Lauren asserted that she felt more like herself. While applying her own makeup, Lauren's bridesmaids were telling her it would look “so much better” in photos. “I can’t wait to make a TikTok about this!” Lauren said as she vigorously blended her makeup.
She was able to redo it all 20 minutes before her first look and was much happier with the results. “No offense to the makeup artist, I just didn’t feel like myself,” she wrote in the caption of her video.
While the bride was well within her rights to change her makeup look at the last minute, many people criticized her for how she handled the entire situation.
“If the makeup artist is watching, it's not your fault she didn't communicate like an adult to you. Don't feel bad, you did great,” one TikTok user commented. “This is exactly why a bridal trial is mandatory for all of my makeup clients,” another shared.
Others believed that the bride’s makeup looked identical to how the makeup artist had done it and did not see why she had an issue with it. The biggest issue commenters had, however, was the fact that the bride seemed to brag about sharing her experience on social media, which many argued gave off "mean girl vibes." Not being mature enough to communicate effectively with a professional you paid for a service but somehow feeling comfortable dragging the artist after the fact in a TikTok video did not garner the reaction Lauren hoped it would.
One makeup artist responded to the bride’s video, pointing out everything she could’ve done differently to avoid this.
“This is 100% the bride’s fault and preventable,” Hannah Rodriguez, a makeup artist from Texas, said in her own TikTok video.
Rodriguez, who has been working as a makeup artist for 6 years, believes that the bride went about the situation the wrong way, claiming that she only posted the footage to get sympathy from viewers. Instead, she should have been proactive in communicating with the makeup artist at the time of the service.
“That just tells me everything I need to know about your character,” Rodriguez said of Lauren.
She also noted how Lauren’s video could potentially impact the makeup artist’s livelihood. “She is either doing this part-time to bring an extra income for her family, or she does this full-time, and this is how she pays her bills,” Rodriguez said. “So whether you tagged her or not, your bridesmaids know who she is and are probably not going to use her; they’re probably gonna tell their friends not to use her either, thus affecting her livelihood. So just think about that for a minute.”
The makeup artists shared an important message for future brides to ensure that they will be happy with the results on their wedding day.
Rodriguez encouraged brides-to-be to schedule a trial session, where makeup artists could showcase different styles and brides could determine which one worked best for them. “This is when you come prepared with inspiration photos, and you tell us exactly what you do and don't like about every single photo,” Rodriguez explained.
Next, she urged brides to be realistic about their makeup look so they weren't disappointed with the final result. “If you are a blonde hair blue eyed girly who wants natural glam makeup and you show me a picture that is ultra-filtered of Kim Kardashian, I'm gonna look at you like you have three heads,” she said.
“You need to come prepared with inspiration photos that look like you. So, if you have blonde hair and blue eyes, find inspirational photos of blonde-haired and blue-eyed girls with similar skin tones and similar features as you.” It's also helpful to do a little bit of your own research to fully understand what kind of tones and specific looks you want.
Bogdan Sonjchnyc | Shutterstock
Lastly, and this was where Rodriguez believed Lauren went wrong, is to communicate effectively with your makeup artist. “I'm almost positive that this bride probably sat silent in the makeup chair and did not tell the makeup artist, ‘I don't like my lip color. I don't like the way that this washes me out. I don't like my blush color when it is a very simple fix,” she said.
“It is not that hard to tell somebody, especially a makeup artist who is doing you a service, what you do and don't like. It does not hurt our feelings. It is our job to make sure that you feel the most beautiful and the most confident. The way that we do that is through open communication.”
While makeup artists can work miracles on your wedding day to make you look like a princess, they are not mind readers. If there is something that you don’t like about your look, let them know so they can fix it. They would much rather your core memory on your wedding day be just how confident you felt walking down the aisle, not how you had to wash off your makeup in the sink and redo it yourself because you refused to communicate effectively.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.