How do I do the bridesmaid's makeup?

I am an aspiring makeup artist.. currently in school for makeup artistry. I am going to be assisting a makeup artist (my cousin's friend) for a wedding in June.. she needs me to do 2-3 bridesmaids. I'm just wondering.. typically do the bridesmaids tell you how they want their makeup? Do you just do similar makeup for all of them? ugh.. I am getting nervous as I don't know if the makeup artist will be telling me what to do.. or if I'm all on my own and I'm wondering if i'll need to have my own kit with all sorts of foundation colors. She knows that I'm just starting out.. and I will ask her. just wanted some second opinions.

Do you cleanse the face first and tone, moisturize and then apply primer and makeup or.. just moisturizer and primer... is it just preference of the makeup artist?
 

anita22

Well-known member
I'm not a makeup artist, but I would say you need to use your own judgement on this one. Weddings vary a lot in terms of style. I would be inclined to say that the bridesmaids should not be dictating to you how they want their makeup done, and if they are wearing similar dresses then I would stick with using similar makeup on all of them. You should be prepared to cleanse, tone moisturise etc, as you just don't know what state they will turn up in (they might have a full face of makeup on already, which would need removing). It sounds like you need to discuss this with the person you are assisting though (which you say you are anyway) to work out what her expectations are for the day, what equipment you need to bring, and what has been agreed with the bride in terms of the style of makeup for the bridesmaids.

I am an aspiring makeup artist.. currently in school for makeup artistry. I am going to be assisting a makeup artist (my cousin's friend) for a wedding in June.. she needs me to do 2-3 bridesmaids. I'm just wondering.. typically do the bridesmaids tell you how they want their makeup? Do you just do similar makeup for all of them? ugh.. I am getting nervous as I don't know if the makeup artist will be telling me what to do.. or if I'm all on my own and I'm wondering if i'll need to have my own kit with all sorts of foundation colors. She knows that I'm just starting out.. and I will ask her. just wanted some second opinions.

Do you cleanse the face first and tone, moisturize and then apply primer and makeup or.. just moisturizer and primer... is it just preference of the makeup artist?
 

dinah402

Well-known member
I'm also an aspiring MUA and haven't done weddings yet, but I could tell you what my MUA did on me and my bridesmaids for my wedding. I wanted my bridesmaids to all have the same look that matched their dresses, but was also different from my makeup so I would stand out.

My MUA had a suitcase full of makeup to use on us. Before applying makeup she just moisturized and put primer.
 

Mabelle

Well-known member
This depends on a few things, but most importantly, your client (the bride).

I've done brides maids before where the bride didn't care, and wanted them to have lots of fun with their makeup. But i've also done brides where they want similar colour palettes or the so natural you cant tell im wearing makeup look. Get a clear idea of your bride's vision for her bridal party's look, and take it from there. If she doesn't want a unified look i would ask each bridesmaid.
for the wedding im doing coming up, the bride wants them to do whatever they will like (within reason, no 1920s smokey eyes!), but i know two of the girls NEVER wear makeup, so we're going to go uber natural on that one!

As for skincare, bring a good PH balanced cleanser (i use Philosphy's purity), an exfoliant (nothing worse than flakey skin under foundation!), and a good lightweight oil free moisturizer (i use sephora's instant moisturizer).

have fun!
 
Thank you so much for all the replies! It's been very helpful. I'm going to discuss the wedding with the makeup artist this friday and see if we'll need a demo. :)
 
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