Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Crazy bridal makeup prices!

117 replies

Butterbeer22 · 04/07/2022 01:18

So, I've been coming across a few TikToks basically asking the question what's a scam that's become normalised that we don't realise is a scam anymore? And a girl said MUA's bridal makeup.
Apparently some charge from £500 to a grand! And a few people in the comments were trying to justify the prices by saying they have to get up at 4.30, sometimes travelling for hours and have to carry loads of bags and another commenter said the price she was quoted included travel and wear and tear to her car 😲
I've never been married, so I don't have a clue about prices, but AIBU to think that them prices are insane!?

Feel free to add your own normalised scams 😂

OP posts:
Guzy · 04/07/2022 01:52

Yep especially the Asian mua industry. It is absolutely ridiculous prices start from 500 onwards. Plus majority of these makeup artists demand to be paid in cash. It’s disgusting how they charge extortionate amounts.

fallfallfall · 04/07/2022 01:58

i think the entire bridal industry is a bit of a scam. booking a hotel hall/boardroom for work; cheap. claim you're having a few family and they quadruple the price and claim they need to stay overnight in the hotel.

TheDuchessOfBeddington · 04/07/2022 03:04

I know my DH was shocked at the amount I spent on the make up artist and hairdresser for our wedding, but it was for 6 people.

Surely there has to be a minimum charge, and if only the bride is done then it’s going to seem pricey. In my experience the more people getting done the more reasonable the cost.

The artist has to travel to the venue, stay there all morning and perhaps some of the afternoon, forsaking all other clients for that day???

Of course the quote should include wear and tear to the car, they are running a business after all!

If you don’t like the price, don’t book. There is always the option to do it yourself?

The day DH saw the beauty quote on the wedding spreadsheet he removed the Dropbox link 😂.

Lookright · 04/07/2022 05:16

I agree that the Asian bridal makeup industry is insane. The "insta famous" ones easily charge up to £1000. This is for bride only, no one else as they only do bridal.

They don't stay for most of the day, they do as many as four brides a day, up and down the country, so each bride is done in around 2 hours max and each bride pays in cash so it easily adds up during the summer wedding season.

Cosmos123 · 04/07/2022 06:16

The Asian bride would have several events requiring multiple appointments.

Jeez the cost of a bit of slap...

Dowhatdowullywup · 04/07/2022 06:21

Another one of the reasons I am having a tiny registry office wedding. I have hired a mua to do my make up on the morning hair included - £50! Had they known it was for a wedding they would of upped the price by hundreds just for me (x1 person). Absolutely ridiculous when you consider you are receiving the exact same service and quality of make up

SmileyPiuPiu · 04/07/2022 06:22

Is that price just for the bride? Or for everyone in the bridal party?

SmileyPiuPiu · 04/07/2022 06:26

Absolutely ridiculous when you consider you are receiving the exact same service and quality of make up are you though? "Bridal make up" seems to take longer than the bridesmaids whenever I've experienced it, so maybe they take more time perfecting everything? Not saying you're wrong and it's not the same, just wondering if there's something in it I'm missing.

Circlesandtriangles · 04/07/2022 06:28

It's a lot, but they travel to you and do make up for whole bridal party in my experience. The good ones command high prices because they are excellent and make the bride look her best. Given the photos are forever, it's the one time I did splash out for make up and it was amazing. Cost usually includes a trial too.

there are cheaper options like bride travelling to a beauticians that morning or DIY but I don't see anything wrong with expects providing a luxury service charging accordingly for it. Calling it a scam is a bit ott.

TibetanTerrah · 04/07/2022 06:29

another commenter said the price she was quoted included travel and wear and tear to her car

Why shouldn't they? If they're using the car for their business then it needs to be factored into the price. Even when I was a cleaner I did this. It's business.

Everything wedding related gets £££ slapped on. Even booking the same restaurant or venue for a birthday vs a wedding with the exact same people going, the price will be higher for the wedding.

One day we will "scam" all the suppliers back and pretend the wedding is a birthday and you're just obscenely rich and want a lavish birthday bash, venue, food, hair make up, flowers etc. Watch the price halve Wink

ILikeHotWaterBottles · 04/07/2022 08:05

One day we will "scam" all the suppliers back and pretend the wedding is a birthday and you're just obscenely rich and want a lavish birthday bash, venue, food, hair make up, flowers etc. Watch the price halve

People already do this, then complain to the supplier when it's not perfect enough. Suppliers tend to spend more time on stuff for weddings after all, as it's a very special day usually, and sometimes the brides are nuts. If you're happy to pay less, you should also expect less quality work done because they won't spend as much time over it. You can't pay less and still expect the same amount of work.

PuckeredArseFace · 04/07/2022 08:08

It's high because of the demand and their business is mostly at weekends so that limits their earning power

Thehop · 04/07/2022 08:10

I spent loads on my wedding hair and make up but it really was a much ore in depth appointment than when I’ve had hair and make up done as a guest or for a night out.

what I did save a lot on was my bouquet. i went to a florist the day before the wedding and just asked for a hand tied bridal bouquet made with anything in the shop in pretty summer colours. It was £45. I bought 2 buckets of gypsophilia from her too and my aunties decorated all the church pews with that and white ribbon. It looked amazing and cost very little

ShirleyPhallus · 04/07/2022 08:13

The issue with bridal make up is that it needs to last the whole day, needs to look good in person and in photos, needs to be good enough for demanding brides and often needs practice sessions too.

It slightly fucks me off when people say that the cost is “just” a bit of make up, no it’s not, it’s the years of training and expertise behind those few hours. Just like when you’re paying a lawyer or a private doctor, you’re actually paying for their years of expertise not the 30 mins of time they’re giving you.

If people don’t like the prices they don’t have to pay it. Supply and demand innit.

coffeecupsandfairylights · 04/07/2022 08:14

Of course it's high.

They're doing the make-up for someone's big day - imagine how badly they'd get slammed on social media if it all went wrong?

They have to get up early, travel, sit around and do a lot of waiting, so the make-up for bridesmaids and bride and often end up in photographs too.

Then there's travel time, fuel, insurance, make-up, equipment, knowledge and any training they've been through on top of all that.

Plus it's normally a weekend which is a premium slot, and they won't be able to take on any other work that day either.

If you don't want to pay those prices you're free to do all your make-up and stuff yourself - I did 🤷🏻‍♀️

MistyRuins · 04/07/2022 08:26

If you were employed as a make up artist, and used your own car to get to a venue, you would expect to be paid mileage (which is calculated to cover all costs, including wear and tear). Why wouldn't someone that's self employed charge for the same?

DomPerignon12 · 04/07/2022 08:29

ILikeHotWaterBottles · 04/07/2022 08:05

One day we will "scam" all the suppliers back and pretend the wedding is a birthday and you're just obscenely rich and want a lavish birthday bash, venue, food, hair make up, flowers etc. Watch the price halve

People already do this, then complain to the supplier when it's not perfect enough. Suppliers tend to spend more time on stuff for weddings after all, as it's a very special day usually, and sometimes the brides are nuts. If you're happy to pay less, you should also expect less quality work done because they won't spend as much time over it. You can't pay less and still expect the same amount of work.

It would be more acceptable if suppliers itemised what exactly this supposed ‘extra work’ involves.
Instead they just use the bridezilla excuse to charge everyone triple.

There was one supplier thread where a caterer claimed he sent his ‘A team’ for weddings, and ‘B teams’ for other events. Shouldn’t all his staff be equally capable?

Others have also said that it’s because a wedding requires more communication, sending emails etc.

I’m currently planning a wedding and am not super bothered (don’t care what the chair covers, ‘theme’ etc look like I just want pretty flowers lol). But if they’re going to charge me on the assumption that I’m a control freak I’ll definitely be one! I want my money’s worth :)

DrManhattan · 04/07/2022 08:46

Watch a couple of YouTube tutorials and save some cash. Say no to pantomime

LunchPoems · 04/07/2022 08:50

Anything wedding related is a massive scam, in my view. If you just booked for a party the prices would be much less.

everythingssogrey · 04/07/2022 09:22

TV license. In North Korea, the propaganda is free.

Gensola · 04/07/2022 09:29

I am getting married in August - asked for quotes for makeup from 4-5 local makeup artists and all had minimum spends of £350-900, even though I am getting married in the evening so they wouldn’t have to hang around all day and I don’t have bridesmaids or anything. The next one I contacted I asked for makeup for a black tie event and got quoted £60. No minimum spend. Same location, same make up, same face. It’s a total scam!

JudgeRindersMinder · 04/07/2022 09:34

Absolutely bonkers, but they’re charging it because people are paying it!

coffeecupsandfairylights · 04/07/2022 09:38

There was one supplier thread where a caterer claimed he sent his ‘A team’ for weddings, and ‘B teams’ for other events. Shouldn’t all his staff be equally capable?

It's not necessarily about capability - but weddings generally require much more planning and coordination so it makes sense to send the staff with more experience.

Others have also said that it’s because a wedding requires more communication, sending emails etc.

It's also the case that if you get it wrong with a wedding, the fallout is potentially huge, whereas some minor mistakes at (for example) a work conference or something isn't going to ruin someone's day and end up with you being blasted on social media.

MaChienEstUnDick · 04/07/2022 09:42

I charge at least £500 a day for my particular skill. I'm freelance, so I don't get paid holidays, sick pay, or any other benefits, and I have to pay tax and NI out of that. I can work remotely, but I would charge travel on top of that, and travel would of course include wear and tear on my car.

I don't need much kit to do my job but if I did, I would also have to factor that in - make up kits are expensive and need topped up constantly.

I can also work seven days a week, if my working hours were limited to weekends and Fridays I'd have to increase my rates to cover that too.

If I only work a half day for a client, I charge them for the full day because I can't 'sell' the other half. Oh and I only work for one client at a time, I don't walk into a room to see 6 different clients all with their own particular brief.

So I think it's a bargain, actually.

Do people think it's expensive because it's a predominately female role, I wonder?

TyneTortoise · 04/07/2022 09:47

coffeecupsandfairylights · 04/07/2022 09:38

There was one supplier thread where a caterer claimed he sent his ‘A team’ for weddings, and ‘B teams’ for other events. Shouldn’t all his staff be equally capable?

It's not necessarily about capability - but weddings generally require much more planning and coordination so it makes sense to send the staff with more experience.

Others have also said that it’s because a wedding requires more communication, sending emails etc.

It's also the case that if you get it wrong with a wedding, the fallout is potentially huge, whereas some minor mistakes at (for example) a work conference or something isn't going to ruin someone's day and end up with you being blasted on social media.

What extra ‘planning and coordination’? It’s a buffet line. They just have to stand and serve the food, set up, tidy, same as any other event. And I don’t want any extra decoration or anything.
Unless everyone gets food poisoning (which actually happened at a wedding I attended) I fail to see what requires extra charge to not screw up, different from a normal event.

Also entitled people will blast vendors on social media for ANYTHING. Even if the wedding went perfectly.

Like I said - why don’t they itemise what specifically costs extra.