Crazy bridal makeup prices!

[Butterbeer22]

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 😂

Gosh this sounds awful, I’d find it very off to be invited to a pre-wedding sales party that meant the bride could get her make up done for free! Very MLM

*Why don’t you explain it to people then?

Also if you market especially to wedding fairs etc you must have a degree of specialism*

I'm not going to explain it to people, because I don't want to get into a conversation where I have to justify my prices. I charge what I charge, which is a fair price for what I do, and I'm not going to get into a discussion as to why the cost is what it is. That just leads to clients trying to haggle, or reduce my price, and I'm not interested in that.

I do specialise in wedding cakes. But regardless, wedding cakes cost me more to make that birthday cakes. So I charge more. How do you know that's not the same for your wedding cake? Just because you don't see the extra cost, it doesn't mean that it's not there. If you weren't happy with the price, go elsewhere.

I looked for am Asian MUA around 6 years ago at yhe same time my cousin paid 1600 for 3 events for her wedding. I got quoted anywhere between 480 to 1200 for my 1 look.

in the end I just paid 320£ for new make up for my day and got one of my talented brides maid we messed around with all the products I brought and found the look I was happy with and I still have some of the make up as I don't wear makeup that often.

I genuinely don't think it was a scam its the same as any industry you pay what you want to pay nobody is forcing you

@ShirleyPhallus like I said, it was a long time ago, 1979 in fact. They were different times. I don't think people viewed parties like this in the same way then. Plus it wasn't a case of being individually invited and feeling obliged to attend. My mum and her friends were all members of the WI, she just issued a general invitation at one of their get togethers and explained the set up. People could come or not as they chose and didn't need to RSVP. Admittedly, it was a very tiny village with not a lot going on, so any excuse for a get together was always welcomed!

Well, to lower the cost of makeup, you can hire a trainee makeup artist who is well known and trained professionally. Just check their work first and proceed with it.

This. Take a quick look at wedding photos of years gone by - beautiful brides who did their own make up or asked a talented friend. It’s an utter scam.

Ultimately it depends how important your make up is to you on the day. For someone who doesn’t wear make up usually, a simple party make up look may look done up for them. For someone who regularly wears make up on an evening out, party make up won’t be the right look

That's a very fair comment, though I do wonder when this degree of self-absorption crept in with brides (I know, I know, social media ...)

Call me an old softy, but to me any happy bride looks lovely, and assuming she's made some sort of an effort I doubt many care about what's been put on her eyes, lips or whatever

Are SM bragging rights really so very important, and aren't they a bit of a distraction from what a wedding's supposed to be about?

Since we had high quality photos?
It's also much, much harder to make someone look 'naturally beautiful', than it is to cake on makeup.
Forget lipstick, eyeshadow, or anything fancy like contouring.
Smooth skin - very basic.
Someone who naturally has it is already halfway there. Just put a light foundation on (maybe with some primer). Job done.
If not... it takes a lot of skill, and time. A competent MUA will select the right product and patiently apply the correct amount, with the correct technique, depending on the face. Again, remember that this is just to make a face look naturally smooth.
By the end both people will look 'natural' ...

I find the before and after photos amazing.

Usually the person is unrecognisable.

I've just gone down a wormhole had a look and they are works of art.

But I wouldn't want to look like that, I'd want to look like me, just a bit more glowing.

Like this one. If she has kids they'd probably look at the wedding photos and go 'who's that mummy?'

I got married in 2014 and was changed £350 for each occasion. At that time more well known mua were charging £500+. Like everything the prices have gone up, they will charge travel too and you are paying for their expertise, they need to do ongoing training , keep their kit up to date, they will set your clothes and jewellery etc. The price for asian mua has definitely gone up but the photos and how you felt on the day are a big part of your memories. Like everything budget accordingly and don't overstretch yourself.

Like any business, a product is worth to the consumer what they are prepared to pay. Take for example designer flip flops as opposed to no brand flip flops. Really designer anything.

How dare women charge for their skill and time!

We're so used to free labour women provide it must seem shocking for one to actually be valued and paid well for it.

Misogyny so deeply ingrained.

There are a fair few male MUAs. 🤷‍♀️

MN’s lost track of what misogyny means.

You know what being in the makeup industry for last 20 years, let me tell you after reading some comments on here it completely pisses me off and fucks me off that when i work my backside off to get to wear I am. I will only speak on behalf of my brand and my business and not others. But I am qualified l, accredited and insured. Not to dismiss any muas but if you are finding people from Facebook marketplace then you need to understand it costs thousands to advertise in other avenues in which i do. I have my own studio with rent just shy of £2k a month, insurance cover, bills, makeup upgrades because there is always something bloody new on the market! I work as an Asian bridal specialist and I kid you not there is a massive difference between my services which I be very frank about. My brides takes 3 and half hours because I am not doing that within 2 hours hell no! My 2 hour clients are bridesmaids/ mother of bride etc. and my 1 hour and 15 mins are for basic hair and makeup someone in there teens or late 60s that don’t want too much done or for an English look- simple! Each are completely different. This is how I run my business. My prices start from £150 for simple look with brides ranging around £650 on average. If I’m travelling out of my vicinity approx 1 hour then I will charge for my time to get to the bride- that includes petrol, maintenance of car, mot, tax, and my bloody time. If it takes me 3 hours there then it’s taking me 3 hours back that’s 6 hours!!! So that £650 has now hit £850 plus… going 4/5 hours then expect to be charged £1000 plus! If I am travelling for destination wedding then I will charge for my flights, accommodation, breakfast, transfer and the service which will be higher than the normal rate! My time equals money in business because I cannot work on the 3/4 brides people on here claim! As someone noted you are paying for a service, just as you go to see a doctor for 30 mins or do a private operation which takes 1 hour but costs £900 it’s the same thing. You don’t cry wolf when you have to take out your wisdom teeth privately and get fillings done which can cost £1000 but you have the nerve to say that to a mua who is also working with their skills and knowledge. As I said I will not speak up for the rest in the industry. Because there are too many self made makeup artists who have no clue about the skin in depth, it’s one foundation for all. They don’t hold insurance because they are not qualified and I will tell you some of these big names in which I have seen first hand - working backstage, working in shoots and clients with no hygiene whatsoever, it’s shocking!!! I am ocd in hygiene because I have been trained and been taught it correctly. I do not take cash, I am a registered business and I prefer bank transfer and pay my bloody tax! Now I run my own academy and I teach students the right way how it should be done and change the standards in this industry because right now it’s in shambles still! I train students with accreditation so that their certificate are worth something not just a piece of paper but they will become insurable. I can only offer accredited courses because I’m fully trained in the field and done my years of training! So for you who seems to think it’s just a bit of makeup, either do the makeup and hair yourself or don’t complain about the hard working ones that are genuinely out there. Not many but I will proudly say I am one of them. I will not give my details on here because I may come across on here arrogant but damn right I will be because of years and experience (in real life I’m genuinely a nice person). But fellow muas on here you already know who I am. Because there’s only a few handfuls in UK who run business like I do. I’m not arrogant, I’m proud I can finally change this shambles of the industry and make it the way it should be and you should also strive to do the same and set the bar! Brides to be you should be asking your muas - what qualifications do you hold, do you have insurance, show you pics of unedited rubbish TikTok or Snapchat whatever it is filtered rubbish. I came from a background where social media was non existent and makeup was done perfectly for camera. Which also pisses me off because the amount of rubbish available to trick people it’s insane! As I said I’ve come from that generation where there was no need to filter! Also ask you mua does she take card payments and should be happy to take it. If not then go find a reputable business and not one off rubbish instagram!

Just to add I do not do any services if it doesn’t meet my minimum threshold of £300 , and for those who try to go for party makeup on their wedding day and not tell, I will walk out, why??? Because my name is on my work! If I am doing a basic makeup look which is fine but not for camera ready I will not want my brand tarnished. You pay for what you get, but if you are having a wedding and paying for basic look it’s not happening! Basic look is a basic look! The moment you start asking me to add contour, highlight etc this does not become basic look. There is much more work involved if I am doing an hour and 15 mins basic look to a 3 and half hour look. There is no way on earth anyone can try to manipulate the look they want and pay peanuts. The moment you start asking for glitter etc this is not basic look. There’s such a difference in all the looks it’s hard to go in depth. But there clearly is a difference with the time taken to achieve a bridal look with the makeup and hair.

I read somewhere further up that one lady was getting her makeup done for £140 and after she finished she realised her guests were coming and it was for her wedding she the mua tried to demand and extra £200 plus because it was her wedding. Well that’s just completely unprofessional , she’s done the makeup and paid for that service. She should not be charging her anymore now! However, the integrity of the client with not being honest should also be discuss here.

I would just say I’m so sorry I will need to take the whole makeup off and you can keep the money. The bride has not lost out so there should be no complaints here, instead the mua has actually lost out because of her time. I’m not having my name on this makeup look- the bride was not honest in the first place. Now if the mua done a full bridal look and charged £140 well then she’s just like a lot of these cowgirls that don’t know how to run a business and that’s completely wrong to just demand after because of the word “wedding”, that’s totally unprofessional and I would side with the bride on that.

if you think I’m unfair for taking her makeup off I would like to know why?! Even though I would be the one at loss since the bride hasn’t lost anything financially as she would not need to pay, and I’d be at loss for wasting my time to come and do a makeover in the first place. Don’t be a cheat and then not expect to not have the face taken off since you cheated the mua in the first place and lied. Another point I will raise is that why do us muas are made to feel that we can’t run a business when we make money and work hard in our services? You are happy to spend thousands on dresses, jewellery, gold, venues, hire cars, food etc but feel like our job should be less valued. Well no, all eyes are on you when you walk that aisle. You can have the best dress and jewellery, but if your face is not looking good then God help you girl, everyone looks at you from all angles love and especially your face too! It should be given the highest priority more than anything else if you ask me! No one cares about the red carpet you put down or whether you had 5 spoons or 1 spoon but will note what you look like, rest assured the focus is on you on that day. So book a reputable makeup artist for your wedding day. Amen to my long rant x