Make up lessons - London?

So we're not getting married close to where we live, so going and doing a trial in the weeks before the wedding isn't really an easy option.  I also don't wear a lot of make up and so I don't want to get loads on the day and not look like me iyswim.  I thought an alternative option might be to get a make up lesson so I can do it myself.  It also might be nice to have anyway!  I don't know if it's better to go to a department store to a single brand (my make up bag is a real mix - although mainly filled with elf due to costs!) or to get a lesson some other way.  Has anyone tried this?

Hiya,

I'm planning on doing the very same thing! I'm going to the Benefit shop in Spitalfields at the beginning of August to get made up - I already the sort of look I'm going for so I'm hoping they'll be able to work with that. My bridesmaids are coming with me so they can really study what they're doing. We'll then do run throughs in girly nights in so will be so much fun! MAC do bridal lessons but for £25 (I think).

NicolaAngeles:

Hiya,

I'm planning on doing the very same thing! I'm going to the Benefit shop in Spitalfields at the beginning of August to get made up - I already the sort of look I'm going for so I'm hoping they'll be able to work with that. My bridesmaids are coming with me so they can really study what they're doing. We'll then do run throughs in girly nights in so will be so much fun! MAC do bridal lessons but for £25 (I think).

I was a bit worried about being sold lots of stuff if I went to a store.... Probably just paranoid!  I'm not having BMs but so far sister and mother have said they are not remotely interested in getting their make up done on the day (which felt a bit like a slap in the face after I offered to sort out us all getting done on the day!).  So it will probably just be me..... and on the day I think I'd sooner get ready with the OH, which is probably completely wrong! (family behaviour over the wedding is a whole separate can of worms!)

im booking in with estee lauder, they give free makeup lessons and this week i brought a nice selection from them for the wedding. I have a few more things id like to get but i want to try them first and see if they even suit me so i will be able to use the lesson for that. the lady was really lovely and had a really good knowledge of the range and was helpful to help me choose makeup specifically for the wedding even advising against certain products that wouldnt be camera friendly :)

i forgot to add, at no point did i feel pressured to buy, but i did go to buy so maybe that was why. I figure im not spending the money on one single days worth of makeup by a pro, im buying a 'kit' of treats for me to use again and again, some of which by the looks of things will last me a very long time. I never have very nice makeup, its usually stuff from boots, which is nice for everyday but for the wedding i wanted a treat :) hehe even if no one else notices, i will still feel it lol

Have you got a mate that'd be able to go with you? My bridesmaids (my sister and best mate) aren't getting their make up done there, they've kindly offered to study how the beautician applies the make up. Also just remember you're under absolutely no obligation to buy

Alternatively, I learnt how to do a pretty good smokey eye effect from youtube tutorials. I didn't have the make up kit that the make up artist did but used what I had and adapted.

If you feel under pressure to buy just fob them off by saying you want to wear it for a while to see how it stays on.. say your go away and come back later on...then you can go back at your leisure if you decide to buy any of the products.

Hmm, I personally am not a fan of getting make up lessons at a department store. I've had it done twice before - once at Lancome, and once at Bobby Brown - and I really didn't like what they did. I'm pretty sure the guy at Lancome didn't quiet understand that the clown look really wasn't my bag, and then the Bobby Brown lady was much better. She taught me things that I hadn't tried before which was good, but the way she put on my make up wasn't really very good. I didn't like the way it looked and it didn't look natural at all. Really caked on. But, was much better experience than the other.

So I'd be up for make up lessons if I knew it was a decent place! I've found make up trials and on the wedding day to be so expensive, I'm also pondering doing my own!

ive opted to do my own because I feel like a clown when someone else does my makeup, every single time. I know my lesson at a department store will not provide wedding results, i will almost definitely feel like a clown lol (baby wipes at the ready lol) but hoping to learn a few more things, free of charge. Im pretty confident to do my own, i suppose using the lessons as a chance to freshen up and ask as many questions as i can, the idea of Youtube vids is good too i hadnt thought of that cheers!

I cant comment on make up lessons but I can on make up counters, in department stores.  Recently, I was working with a MUA who worked for MAC too and she said all MAC girls go through quite a strict selection process, they need to have recognised qualifications, have 2 years in the professional industry (fashion) as a MUA and they don't work on a commission basis.  She works for MAC because she gets a great discount, so she can stock up for her own MUA business.

No worries re the youtube tip! I learnt how to do smokey eyes with a Kandee Johnson tutorial, she was a Hollywood makeup artist for years and has LOADS of vids up dating back about four years, I think. I definitely recommend her. But there are so many videos, I think they're so useful as they're really good for perfecting technique.

Need to practice a lot but that's half the fun