Covid is changing most everything we know about weddings, and that includes makeup!
A makeup artist is the one wedding vendor that you will likely have the closest physical contact with (including your photographer) so you’ll want to make sure you are working with a professional who is up to date in the latest sanitation and application processes to help make your experience as safe as possible.
To find out what wedding makeup looks like now in the age of Covid, we spoke with Traci Fine, a Chicago makeup artist and hair stylist at Fine Makeup Art & Associates, which provides on-location professional makeup services for weddings, television, photography, and corporate events among others. Read more from Fine, below!
Walk us through how the process works now for you and brides getting makeup done for their wedding?
Prior to arriving at the bride’s location, all makeup, tools, and brushes are sanitized and sent through a medical-grade UV-C sterilizer. This process is used in hospitals and kills 99.9% of viruses. I arrive at every location with alcohol spray and wipes and am wearing a medical-grade, certified N95 mask and eye protection
Upon arrival, I wash my hands, then I do the following:
- Set up a portable air purifier with a Hyper Hepa filter. The same unit is used in the Swisshotel in Zurich. It cleans the air within a 25 ft. radius of client and makeup artist and purifies it, removing 99.5% of all particles down to 0.003 microns. As we are learning, good ventilation is important.
- I may set up my equipment in front of a patio door, and have the client open it if they prefer.
- I have always done eyes first, so the client can wear a mask for half of the makeup application. (35 mins)
- All makeup is scooped out of its original container with a stainless steel spatula onto a stainless steel palette, so it is sanitary, and for one-time use only. No cross-contamination.
- If the client prefers, I can use disposable brushes. But I do use a medical grade brush cleaner that kills 99.9% virus and bacteria. It dries rapidly and evaporates, so no chemical touches the client’s skin. I have multiple sets of brushes on hand for multiple clients.
- Products like lip pencils are sharpened and sprayed with sterilizer before each use. Lip color is also scooped from the original container onto a stainless steel palette to prevent cross contamination. No eye pencils are used. I use a waterproof gel liner that can be scooped out onto a palette.
- The new generation makeup products are made of gels and creams for sheer coverage and long wear. These are squeezed from a pump onto a stainless steel palette.
- Airbrush makeup is avoided due to aerosols that can carry virus from the air and be inhaled by the client. I use foundations for HD film that offer invisible coverage, are waterproof and designed to last for many hours under hot lights.
Click here for more on the Fine Makeup Art & Associates sanitation process.
Is makeup safe?
Most people don’t realize that makeup itself is made with ingredients that prevent bacteria and viruses from growing. That’s why you don’t hear many stories of women getting their makeup done at a department store (who do not use the same rigorous processes as a pro artist) and becoming ill, or getting any type of infection. If makeup did not have these ingredients we would hear these stories all the time, and we don’t.
Makeup itself is FDA- approved and must not allow bacteria or viruses to grow in it, or it would not be sold in the US market.
SEE MORE: 7 Things Your Wedding Hairstylist and Makeup Artist Need You to Know
Have you noticed a different trend towards the type of makeup brides are getting for their weddings now that they might be smaller?
The trend, even before Covid, is clean, fresh, skin-focused makeup.
Our services are for the bride or immediate family for an intimate wedding celebration, either at home or outdoors. Makeup artists leave before the ceremony starts to allow other vendors to enter at staggered arrival times, so as to practice social distancing and have a minimum amount of people in the room.
Many couples are opting for micro-weddings and having a larger wedding reception at a later date. You can get creative and stream wedding ceremonies online, using flower walls in your living room, or beautiful outdoor settings. Share champagne toasts, exchange rings and eat mini wedding cakes on camera!
Reach out to Traci Fine at Fine Makeup Art & Associates for more information on getting your makeup and hair done for your upcoming wedding!
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