Empathy And Calm Is The Key To A Great Makeup Artist – Or Any Other Wedding Pro
Recently, Eric Herod sat down virtually with wedding makeup artish Jeet Bahra, and to be sure, Bahra shared a lot of great makeup tips. You can see for yourself what a talented makeup artist she is.
But most of what Bahra has to say transcended makeup and evinced a humanity and a level of wiseness not seen enough in wedding professionals today.
More than anything else, Bahra is trying to keep her clients as calm, relaxed and taken care of. She doesn’t even wear makeup to a lot of her appointments, which seems counterintuitive, until she beautifully explains:
“I don’t wear makeup a lot of time when I go to work because I think for me, I just like them to know I am just like you. If I show up with these long eyelashes and all this stuff, and they’re just like (mocks looking intimidated and taken aback) ‘I’m just completely underdone right now!’ It’s just more about them than what I’m there doing.”
That’s one way to keep a client at ease. Another way is to take care of the crucial details before the wedding. In this way, she can help the bride relax in ways that go beyond her job description but speak to her affability.
“I try to ask brides ahead of time, to minimize the chaos the day of, what kind of makeup look are they looking for? I try to get all the details beforehand so I’m not trying to juggle any of those kind of logistics,” says Bahra. “It’s more about, ‘Girl, do you want a mimosa? Let me go get you one from the table that’s sitting there,’ because a lot of times, brides are so involved with everything else going on, they won’t even go grab stuff that’s set up for them.”
In short, Bahra says, “I have a knack for being sort of like a calm intermediate while other thing that’s going on, so that kind of helps me,” and that’s something you should be looking for from ALL of the wedding professionals you hire, not just the makeup artists.
If this skill comes naturally to the professional, so much the better.
“I’ll play 21 questions with anybody,” Bahra explains. “I love talking to people. I love learning about them. It takes their mind off of what’s going on at hand, like, “Hey, I’m about to go walk out in front of 500 guests and get married.”
But y’know, since she is a makeup artist par excellence, you do want some makeup related tips from Bahra, I got you.
*Pinterest, with Instagram a close second, is the best resource for finding examples of the makeup look you may want. Their popularity means you can search and find anything on these sites, no matter how specific.
*To keep your skin looking its best, drink lots of water, put on moisturizer in the morning and at night (the morning version should be SPF moisturizer), and don’t get a facial done before the wedding – they bring flaws to the surface.
*Search for makeup artists by skill set rather than by price. If you want a makeup artist that can do killer wings, and you hire the cheapest makeup artist who, it turns out, doesn’t know how to do wings, you’re up a creek.
*Pass along to your makeup artist the portfolio of the photographer you have chosen. The photographer’s preferred shooting style, particularly as it pertains to lighting, has a big impact on the proper way to do your makeup.
All of this is important. But the most important thing is a wedding pro who is actually interested in you and what you have to say. Bahra understands this.
You can find Jeet at https://www.glambyjeet.com/
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