Vendor Reviews Round Four: Hair & Makeup

Let’s look at my hair and makeup vendors today.

Hair: Beautycalls: The Mobile Stylist/Bene
Rating: 4 out of 5

I have to admit that I was a bit worried about this vendor. While my hair trial was OK in the end, it did have some bumps. Bene, the hair stylist assigned to me, was 30 minutes late and it did take us a bit to find something that worked (though to be fair, I did have some ideas that didn’t work). The owner of Beautycalls, Charlene, also repeatedly mentioned how she was worried about me because she couldn’t reach me by phone the night before (I had confirmed the appointment by email) and I found that rather odd.

But on my actual wedding day things with Bene went great. She gave me the exact hair style I wanted and while it didn't last all night, it did at least make it through the photos and our ceremony.

 Things were a little bumpier with my sister (her first hair style was huge) but then she didn’t have a trial. Thankfully, Bene works really fast and soon my sister had great hair too while my mom had a nice blow-out.

Price-wise, Beautycalls is quite reasonable and because Charlene employs a number of people, she can likely find someone for your date. Compared to some vendors out there she is quite organized and even phoned me up post-wedding to see how things went. That’s something more vendors should do.


Makeup: Kim Martin
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

I really wanted to give Kim five out of five because she’s got a great personality, is excellently priced and does do a wonderful job. It’s just that she’s a bit on the slow side.

Now, this is Kim’s first real year of doing bridal makeup and I have no doubt that in a couple years time she’ll be quite speedy but for now, I would only use her if you had a small bridal party.

My two-hour long trial should have been a tip-off that Kim’s a bit on the slow side. But then we were playing around with false eyelashes and a few different looks and post-trial Kim did send me a face chart complete with colours/products used so I thought that would really speed things up. And while I’m sure it did, things could have been faster.

Bene, my hair stylist, also does makeup and I could see her watching Kim at one point and she didn’t look impressed. But once Kim was done, both my sister and I looked great (my only issue was that I could have used a touch more under eye concealer though my eyes did look fine right after she did them) and our makeup did last all night.

Kim doesn’t have a website but if you email me (wedtoblog[removethis]@gmail.com) I’ll pass her contact info over to you.

Wedding Hair Inspiration

Looking for wedding hair inspiration? Well, you could flip through a bridal magazine (or maybe even one of the special hair-only bridal magazines), scan through the appropriate wedding board posts or spend hours trying to put together your own creation in front of the mirror.

Alternatively, you could just head over to Google’s image search, type in “wedding hair” and get hundreds and hundreds of hair ideas in one quick, easy move.

Add in a modifier like “long” or “curly” to help narrow down the results (though note that this won’t strictly return long hair pictures, for example) or get even more specific by using a phrase like “curly bridal hair flowers”. You can even sort by colour, if for some reason that would be helpful.

I typed in “wedding hair long wavy”, “wedding hair long” and “best wedding hair” to get some ideas on how to wear my hair on Saturday (my second reception). While a lot of the results weren’t quite what I was looking for, I was able to get a few ideas that I think might work.

Kim's Contact Info

A few people have been asking me for my make-up artist Kim's contact info. If you'd like it, please send me an email at wedtoblog[remove this]@gmail.com and I'll forward you her email address.

While Kim lives in Toronto, she is willing to travel though I believe she does charge a bit more for jobs that are further out. She'll also do make-up for any special occasion, not just weddings.

My Makeup Trial

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I had my makeup trial done on Saturday.

It went pretty well though it was long, two hours long. But I think it was worth it because I loved the results and even better, those results lasted for a long, sweaty day (more on that later).

I found my makeup artist, Kim, through a friend (you can read more about her over here) and thankfully she was as friendly and personable in person as she was over email. She arrived right on time and was fully stocked with everything she needed. After chatting a bit about what I wanted, she got to work.

Kim was very thorough and gave me plenty of chances to look in the mirror and give feedback. She was also a bit of a perfectionist, definitely a trait you want in your makeup artist! For example, despite my best cleansing efforts, I still had old mascara on my lash lines that bled out onto my just concealed under eye area. Without any prompting from me, Kim wiped the area clean and started again.

Another thing Kim did was let me see that my ideas weren’t also the best. I really wanted to try on false eye lashes and so she glued them on, then took them off when I decided that I hated them. She then explained that she’d never had a bride who actually went ahead with the fake lashes, something that I would have dismissed prior to putting them on and seeing just how costumy they were.

At the end of the trial, I had Shawn take a few pictures of my makeup while Kim jotted down what she had used. She says that she’ll create a face chart for me that will break down exactly what she used where. It’ll speed up makeup application on my wedding day so I won’t be looking at a two-hour long application process then.

The reason I did my trial on Saturday was because we had a wedding to attend that afternoon and I figured, hey, might as well get my makeup done on a day where I can show it off.

Well, I did more than show off that makeup, I put it to the test by spending probably close to two hours under the hot sun (it was an outdoor ceremony that we arrived at early because Shawn was an usher). Though I was definitely sweating, my makeup didn’t budge.

So my recommendation to you is to really “try out” your makeup post-trial by getting out there, moving around, and seeing just how long your pretty face will last.

A few other tips:

• Avoid wearing makeup the day before, particularly eyeliner or mascara
• Find out how your artist wants your face to be prepared prior to the trial (yes moisturize, no moisturize)
• Wear your hair in a style similar to your wedding hair so that you get the full effect
• A makeup artist can require a lot of space to set up on so consider using your kitchen table instead of a cramped bathroom
• Make sure you’re also set up in a space with plenty of proper (ideally natural) lightning
• Have ideas but also be opened to suggestions and seriously ask yourself if what you want really looks good now and in the future
• Don’t be afraid to speak up and say you don’t like something/want to try something else; you’re paying this person to make you look good after all
• Find out if your artist provides you with any touch-up products for your wedding day or if you should pick these up separately (Kim is providing blotter papers and whatever she used on my lips)
• If your artist is doing your wedding party’s makeup, find out what you/they can provide in advance to speed up their makeup application (some artists require that the wedding party members provide their own foundation)

My Wedding Hair Trial

Since I want my hair done at home on my wedding day and I don’t want to pay $200 to get it done, I’m going with a company called The Mobile Stylist. It’s run by a woman named Charlene and she assigned me a hairdresser named Bene. Since it’s cheaper for me to go to them for the trial, yesterday I headed up to Charlene’s condo in North York.

To be honest, I was a bit nervous about the whole. Though I had photos of what I wanted done and I was assured by Charlene that Bene knows what she’s doing, I was still worried that I was going to end up blowing $68 on shitty hair style and then I’d find myself in a desperate search for a new stylist.

Last night I had my hair trial done.

Thankfully my worrying was for nothing. Both Charlene and Bene were quite nice and

during the appointment they talked about their business and previous jobs in a way that reassured me that they are true professionals who show up on time, stay late if needed and get the job done properly.

Bene was great at taking criticism and suggests, from both me and Charlene. She nailed the back of my hair on the first try but the front wasn’t looking quite right. So she played with it bit and we figured out a way to make it look much better.

She also took lots of photos on both mine and her camera so that we have something to look back at on my wedding day.

So overall I think things went pretty well and I’m quite happy with the end results.

Some general hair trial tips:

1. Figure out one or two stylists that you like and then bring images of those styles
2. Bring your veil and any hair jewellery you plan on wearing
3. Wash your hair the night before are you normally. Blow drying it with a paddle brush is fine would but don’t style it or put any products in it
4. The morning of your trial just brush your hair and leave it loose, free of any products and heat

My (Probable) Hair Stylist

Question: Why does this city have so many at-home makeup artists but so few at-home hair stylists? I guess it’s easier to move makeup supplies than hair styling supplies but still, the ratio seemed way, way off.

Through the magic of Google and the wedding boards I was able to get the names of a handful of people who will come to your house to do your hair. Three or four of those names were quite pricey, like over $200 pricey.

Now maybe if I wanted some super-elaborate style or my hair was super-difficult I would consider paying $200. But no, I want my hair pulled back in a fairly simple style that I am not paying $200 for.

A few others were located outside of Toronto and I didn’t really want to have to worry about them getting stuck in traffic and showing up late or charging me travel fees so I skipped them.

And then there were the people who did hair and makeup. My original plan had been to find one of these vendors but then I started talking to Kim and she seems so nice and such a good deal that I didn’t want to not use her.

Thankfully I was able to find someone who would just do hair. Well, actually I found a company called The Mobile Stylist, which specializes in at-home makeup and hair stylists. So far my dealings with it seem fine. Charlene, the woman who runs the company, gets back to me quickly and answers all of my questions. While she is a stylist, she won’t be the one doing my hair, it’ll be another woman who I’ll meet in April when I have my trial done.

I will be going up to Charlene’s salon to have that done (cheaper than having it done at home) and the location’s a bit of a hassle (way up on Bathurst) but the price is right ($65 for the trial, $88 for the wedding day) and she tells me that my stylist has tons of experience and is really talented. I’m hoping she’s right!

I’ll make sure to post about how my hair trial goes and share any tips I pick up.

My Makeup Artist

I knew early on that I wanted to have my hair and makeup done at home; it just seemed quicker and easier then heading out to a salon and back. But of course that convenience comes at a price.

I started my search for a make-up artist online and while there are plenty of options out there, most of them seem to fall into two categories: super-talented and expensive and not-so-talented and more affordable.

Thankfully a friend told me about her friend, Kim, who does at-home bridal makeup. I contacted Kim and she gave me a price that while not a steal, is reasonable: $125 for my trial and wedding day make-up.

Kim was able to offer me that price because while she has done a few weddings, she’s still a fairly new makeup artist and currently she just does it on the side. I know that her level of experience might make some people nervous but I saw Kim’s portfolio, my friend vouched for her skills and personality and she gave the right answers to the questions I asked her.

And here are a few questions that you want to ask you makeup artist:

1. How many weddings have you done?
2. What other kind of events have you done?
3. Do you have any non-wedding photographer shots of your work you can show me? (because wedding photographer photos are often touched up)
4. What kind of makeup brands do you use?
5. Will you take photos of the trial’s end results?
6. Will you make a face chart?
7. Does your price include fake eye lashes? (if you want them)

Your makeup artist should also ask you a few questions, including:

1. Wedding date & time
2. Location
3. Theme/feel/etc.
4. Any skin concerns/sensitivities you have
5. Whether or not you want to use your own foundation
6. Whether or not you have any ideas or inspiration photos

Kim currently doesn’t have a website up but I will post the websites of a few other makeup artists I came across in a future entry.

Looking For Hair & Make-up People

Anyone out there have any recommendations for an amazing make-up artist and a patient hair stylist who do at-home wedding hair and make-up? The lucky people would also be doing my sister’s hair and make-up and probably my mom’s hair and make-up as well.

The make-up artist and hair stylist can work as a team or not and while I of course want people who are great, I’m fine with them being fairly new to the world of bridal beauty.

I do want people who will come to my house and do our hair and make-up there because getting to and from a salon just seems like a hassle that can easily be avoided. Also, my hair hates being styled so the less time between the curling iron and the camera the better (yes, we’re doing our photos before the ceremony, more on that later).

So if you have any recommendations, leave them in the comment section, Facebook them to me or email me at wedtoblog[removespace]@gmail.com. Thanks!

Some Wedding Articles

Today’s edition of the Toronto Star features several-wedding themed articles (because of Valentine Day???) but while there are quite a few pieces, most of them aren’t very useful. Some, like this piece on flowers, don’t really contain any practical details while this piece on bridal fashion reminds us that the bride should be dazzling since it’s her big day.

Then we have the story of Marco and Christine’s elegant, laid-back wedding at a castle in France. It does sound like a lovely wedding that completely suits the couple and, since the bride grew up near the castle, makes sense geographically for them. But it’s not really a story that most Toronto brides are going to find useful.

Thankfully there are a trio of articles that are worth your time. Photo booths are the big must-have element to have at your wedding right now and if you want to hop on that trend, you’ll want to read this piece on where you can rent one.

This article on bridal beauty contains some useful tips (do wear make-up but skip the tanning booth) as well as info on Gee Beauty’s customized skin-care regime for brides (I wish I had the extra cash for that).

Then there’s this story on Twobirds Bridemaids. Twobird dresses sound amazing so it’s too bad that no local shops sell them and that the designer, who’s in Toronto this weekend, is fully book with appointments. Well, here’s hoping her plan to open a store in Yorkville this fall comes true.

Best Spas in Toronto

Need a break from planning? Or maybe want to treat your maid of honour and bridemaids? Then consider taking them to the spa. BlogTO’s listed the city’s top 10 over here. A warning: Many of their picks are pricey.

If you want to check out a place that’s still great but is a little more affordable, check out Ritual 2, down on King West. There’s another spa down there that I’ve been to that was also well-priced and now I’m completely blanking on what it’s called. I think it’s something like “Blah and Blah”. Anyway, once I remember, I’ll be sure to post its name.