3 Artists, 1 bride: Finding the right Makeup Artists
Trust your instincts & find the right tribe to get you ready! | August 24, 2023 | 8 min read
We were planning our wedding with only an 8-month window from when our venues were locked, and we were competing with those who had weddings postponed due to Covid in 2020 and 2021 as well. So the moment we locked our dates I jumped on trying to find makeup artists for myself!
Given our schedule spanning a few days I knew it was unlikely I would find the same artist to get me ready for each of our main events, so I cast a wider net to a few makeup artists I had been following & admired the work of!
On that note - makeup artists are always in demand tend to be booked up quite in advance, almost as early as photographers & videographers are, so make sure you invest time in booking yours as soon as your dates are locked!
To this day I maintain that I LUCKED OUT with the 3 amazing MUAH artists who got me ready for my big days - and I highly recommend all of them!
I was in awe with Sylvie’s amazing work getting so many brides ready in gorgeous koorai sari (Traditional Tamil Hindu bridalwear) looks! Although I wasn’t planning to wear a Sari for my ceremonies I really wanted Sylvie to get me ready for my Church ceremony, because I loved the ethereal looks I had seen her do on other clients, and wanted that light, glowing look for my wedding dress look too!
Sylvie was the first makeup artist I booked for myself and spent a great deal of time advising me on my desired looks for the wedding, and recommended various ways I could improve my skincare routine and start prepping my skin for the wedding. With her guidance I invested in monthly facials for the lead up to the wedding, and it truly helped with the healing of some old acne scars I was conscious of! I also discussed the pros and cons of things like microneedling with her, and further consulted with the technicians at Pure & Simple for my personal skin journey to the wedding.
I decided to use my wedding trial with Sylvie for our engagement photo shoot in May, and loved the look she helped me create for our unique photos. And then on our wedding day - Sylvie perfectly executed the old Hollywood glam I envisioned for my church look! I still receive compliments to this day!
More than anything, Sylvie was extremely kind & calming and really helped to make me feel at ease through any pre-ceremony jitters. She also went out of her way to climb up on chairs & make sure her 5 ft 9 bride’s veil looked just perfect for pics!
I came across Mehek’s profile through some fashion editorial work I had seen online! I loved the range of makeup looks I saw in her portfolio, and particularly her work for The New Delhi Company.
I initially reached out to Mehek to inquire about her services for my bridal party as well as myself for my Mehndi, Sangeet and other events. But I eventually decided to keep her for myself! I loved Mehek’s energy and kind spirit that was evident even through email and messaging! I immediately felt like we clicked well and appreciated how prompt and professional she was with her communications right from the get-go.
When we finally met on the day of my Bridal Shower we quickly bonded over my desire for her to make me look as close to J-Lo as possible. Since then - I felt like I was getting dolled up by a friend rather than a vendor I had found.
Not to mention, Mehek also introduced me to the amazing Amal Qureshi, who joined her for my Mehndi & Sangeet to help get my mom ready as well. My mom & I absolutely adored both Mehek and Amal, and were so happy that they were the ones to get us ready for the first wedding events, and kick off celebrations in our home.
Everything happens for a reason. There was a reason why other artists I had decided to work with were already booked up for the dates of our Hindu ceremony and Reception, and there was a reason why other artists I reached out to were either not available or didn’t strike me like the right fit for what I was looking for, for those days.
And there was a reason why I happened to bring up how stressed I was about not yet finding an artist for those 2 days for myself to a particular videographer we were considering - Sachin of Cinematic Films. Sachin kindly listened to my woes on an initial call and then suggested I contact his wife’s makeup company ‘Elan Artistry’. And then he went out of his way to put in a good word for me, so that she would prioritize my call, knowing how stressed out I was!
When Raman and I first spoke I immediately felt relieved. She was bubbly, sweet and energetic - and exactly the kind of person I knew I would need to be surrounded by when starting makeup at 2 am for our Hindu ceremony.
I used my trial with Raman for our e-video shoot in the summer, and she created one of my most beloved looks to date: Beyonce inspired glam, during which we bonded over Bollywood, and chatted as though we had known each other for years (apparently it has to do with our astrological signs)!
Raman even advised me on my jewelry purchases for my Hindu ceremony look & helped to bring together the ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ type milieu we were going for. And then through the night she worked her magic and made me look and feel like a true regal Rani for our Hindu ceremony - perfectly complimenting my red-on-red custom made lace lengha from the New Delhi Company. And she made it last! My biggest concern for my makeup and hair, especially on the day of our Hindu ceremony, was whether or not the makeup would last, or if I would sweat it off. But Raman made sure I looked good even till late that evening, so that my makeup looked fresh even 12 hours later at our post-ceremony photo shoot in the hot sun!
And then she repeated her magic and brought her phenomenal energy to the day of our Reception and gave me a look that worked for both my yellow sari for our cocktail hour, and my shimmering gown, which lasted literally all day & night, as I danced till the morning!
NOTE: I also created my own personal “Bridal Lookbooks” (1-2 slides in Powerpoint with notes and pictures!) for each of my looks and shared them with my artists ahead of time so that we could plan in advance!