Wedding Makeup: How Much $$$ Do You Charge?

FacesbyNiki

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henna_Spirit
I realy do hope your joking there...
I might be a bit weird, but doing this job to rip people of because you are more interested in getting more money that's just wrong...
I do my job because i love it, not because of the money... Are you a makeup artist because you love it, or is the money more fascinating?


Nope, not joking at all. I love what I do also but they are paying for my time, travel and talent. This is a business I am running.
cheerleader.gif
 

FacesbyNiki

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by MisStarrlight
Hehehe, tell her just that....something along the lines of "If you want to bring yourself in your wedding dress, with your hair all done, with your entire family/bridal party in tow, then be my guest, but do you really want to be worrying about traffic and other customers, blah blah blah. When you can hire a makeup artist to come to your house so you can relax and focus on the big day that is ahead of you."
That usually works, but some people are just....cheap...and those are usually the most picky ones. You don't want to do their makeup, trust me.

And you're a manager at Smashbox, right? Go ahead, crank up those prices
cheerleader.gif


You've said it all. Like I just said, they are paying for you travel, time and talent.
 

giz2000

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by MisStarrlight
Hehehe, tell her just that....something along the lines of "If you want to bring yourself in your wedding dress, with your hair all done, with your entire family/bridal party in tow, then be my guest, but do you really want to be worrying about traffic and other customers, blah blah blah. When you can hire a makeup artist to come to your house so you can relax and focus on the big day that is ahead of you."
That usually works, but some people are just....cheap...and those are usually the most picky ones. You don't want to do their makeup, trust me.

And you're a manager at Smashbox, right? Go ahead, crank up those prices
cheerleader.gif



I had one of those wedding parties this past weekend...the bride and 3 bridesmaids came in to get their makeup done at the counter...one of the bridesmaids was the BIGGEST pain in the butt on earth..."the crease color is too orange (never mind that she picked the colors herself...she insisted)...can you line on the lower lashline, right on the hair?? Can you put a different color blush..I want to change the color on my lips." What I wanted to do is smack her...
rofl.gif
! I was so happy when she left (and didn't buy anything...at that point I just wanted her gone).

The other bridesmaids and the bride were super nice and actually bought...it's always the difficult ones that are the cheap ones!!
 

SARAHluvsMAC

Well-known member
i charge depending on how many people it is and how far it is
50-60 per person and 150-200 for the bride

i think i charge an ok amount, ive heard of ppl charging more and less then me
 

FacesbyNiki

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SARAHluvsMAC
i charge depending on how many people it is and how far it is
50-60 per person and 150-200 for the bride

i think i charge an ok amount, ive heard of ppl charging more and less then me


Where in Maryland are you located? I'm in Maryland also.
 

anamarta

Member
Well, I'm not a makeup artist but I can give the point of view from the customer.

On my wedding day I paid €200 (app. $250/£130) for makeup. This included a previous appointment for deciding/testing the makeup (in which we also decided on the lipstick and stuff I would need for touch ups during the day, so that I could buy it and not steal from her), she went to my house, made me up (very, very pretty actually) and she also did the makeup for my sister, who was my bridesmaid.

I paid exactly the same for hair, and got the same treatment (also did my sister's hair). The make-up and hairdresser were already friends and the atmosphere was so great that the four of us became friends. I actually think they did my sister hair and makeup at no extra cost because we were getting along so well.

I don't regret at all paying that money because it saved me on stress and the job was impecable, but they are long time professionals and worked for fashion and opera already. I wouldn't expect to pay less than $200/£100 for a job that requires such dedication and attention but I would expect it to be flawless.

Good luck!
 

.VivaDiva.

Well-known member
Exactly Anamarta great post!

Charging cheap prices won't really help you in the long run. People do still believe that you get what you pay for. If you charge high prices for a high class professional service people won't have qualms parting with their money.

~VD
 

ballerino

Well-known member
Im in Australia, and as a starting out makeup artist, im charging $60 a face, $40 for mother of bride, free flower girl, and extra for lashes etc. Now that i read about the hourly rate for sticking around for touchups, im definatley going to mention that also!!!! what a great idea...
And facesbyniki, i bought something off you when i was in the USA last year! i recognize your face! What a small world....
 

Miss Pumpkin

Well-known member
On my wedding day I paid €200 (app. $250/£130) for makeup. This included a previous appointment for deciding/testing the makeup (in which we also decided on the lipstick and stuff I would need for touch ups during the day, so that I could buy it and not steal from her), she went to my house, made me up (very, very pretty actually) and she also did the makeup for my sister, who was my bridesmaid.

Jesus Christ, I did makeup for a bride in september, in July I went to her house to decide and test everything... I charged €25!!!

So I guess I definitely charged way less than I should have...
 

enka

Well-known member
Well, I'm in Europe and I paid €170 for my wedding make up.

I went there for a test run, where he tried different colours on me, I got a face chard and I really loved what the Make up Artist did on my wedding day!

It was worth every penny and although my wedding wasn't a big event I wanted to look best...
 

Kisbee

Well-known member
I was getting pretty consistent quotes from people for £35 for the test and £45 on the day for the bride and £35 on the day for anyone else..
 

Henna_Spirit

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kisbee
I was getting pretty consistent quotes from people for £35 for the test and £45 on the day for the bride and £35 on the day for anyone else..

I'd say that is about the average for 'english' wedding makeup, roughly £75/£90 (incl. trial). 'Asian' wedding makeup average is about £150-£200 for just makeup (trials are usually on top). But most makeup artist in the asian bridal world do hair and makeup, where as the english makeup artist tend to work together with a hairdresser.
 

Henna_Spirit

Well-known member
On my wedding day I paid €200 (app. $250/£130) for makeup. This included a previous appointment for deciding/testing the makeup (in which we also decided on the lipstick and stuff I would need for touch ups during the day, so that I could buy it and not steal from her), she went to my house, made me up (very, very pretty actually) and she also did the makeup for my sister, who was my bridesmaid.

Quote:

Jesus Christ, I did makeup for a bride in september, in July I went to her house to decide and test everything... I charged €25!!!

So I guess I definitely charged way less than I should have...

was that just for the trial? or for the trial and final thign on the day? if so, then yep you didnt charge enough lol
 

Miss Pumpkin

Well-known member
Quote:
Originally Posted by anamarta
On my wedding day I paid €200 (app. $250/£130) for makeup. This included a previous appointment for deciding/testing the makeup (in which we also decided on the lipstick and stuff I would need for touch ups during the day, so that I could buy it and not steal from her), she went to my house, made me up (very, very pretty actually) and she also did the makeup for my sister, who was my bridesmaid.



was that just for the trial? or for the trial and final thign on the day? if so, then yep you didnt charge enough lol


That was for both!
lmao.gif
Oh god, and to think of how bad I need money
ssad.gif
 

Villainiss

Well-known member
Based on my experience, I think that there are several things to take into consideration when drawing up your fee schedule for weddings and special events.

1. How long does it take you to do a makeup?
2. How much do you think your makeup talent is worth, per hour?
3. How far do you have to travel?
4. How much product will you be using?

Based on these questions, when I was trying to get my foot in the door, I charged $55 for the bride, and $35 for each bridesmaid, mother, etc. For little girls (flower girls, ring bearers, etc.), I charge $20 each. I also charged a sliding travel fee for anything that was more than 15 miles away from my house, because gas here in California isn't cheap. It was agreed upon that any parking fees, tolls, etc., were to be paid by the client. Of course, I also charge a fee for staying on for the entire event to do touchups - about half of what of what I charge per hour for makeup (so based on the scale above, $30/hour).

Nowadays, because I've got a higher demand, and other jobs that I could be doing, I charge $125 for the bride, $65 for each bridesmaid, and $30 for the little ones. I am a firm believer that you should get paid what you're worth, and as a beginner, you should charge less, as what you gain in experience is worth more than the dollars you charge.

One other thing to think about: You want to build a good reputation; if you're new at this, and your bride is expecting a seasoned professional, you're not going to get very good recommendations for overcharging and making beginner mistakes; then you're out of business before you even get a chance to get started!

It takes a while to get yourself onto a fee schedule that's
a. competitive (meaning not over or under priced),
b. keeps your rent paid, and
c. gives the bride the sense that she's not getting price-gouged.

I hope this helps!
 

Marci

Active member
Quote:
Originally Posted by giz2000
it's always the difficult ones that are the cheap ones!!

Sooooo True!!
 

martygreene

Well-known member
Bridal makeup is a very difficult business, and requires very different skills from straight photographic or runway makeup.

As others have mentioned, there are a variety of things to consider when drawing up your rates.

  • what are the going rates for other artists in your area?
  • what is your skill/professional level?
  • what services are you rendering?
  • what is the duration of your work expected to be? will you be staying for touch-ups?

these are just a few. Also, many charge separately for the demo and the final application, some deduct the cost of the demo from the final application if the bride chooses to utilize your services for the wedding. Others will do discounts for bride plus mother of the bride, or bride plus a certain number of bridesmaids, etc. Some people stick with the industry standard of half and full day rates, which opens things up for the client a bit more (any number of people they wish to have done, within the time frame, for a flat rate) and allows you to know very clearly what your time frame expectations are.

Your best bet is to look at what others are doing in your area, and remember not to undercut your colleagues. Undercutting other artists in your area is a fast way to gain a poor reputation in your region. Likewise, don't charge more than your level of professionalism and experiance dictate. If you are a novice building your portfolio you won't be charging the same as a hollywood professional.
 

*Luna*

Well-known member
This has been very informative. Do you ladies charge seperate for trial make up, is that charge deducted from the total fee on the day of? I am new and self taught so I know I have a lot to think about here but this has been a great help!
 

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