FAQs

Welcome to my FAQ’s page. Hopefully here you will find every answer to every burning question you have about The Makeup Chair. If not then fill in my contact form here and hit me with the hard questions!

1. ​​WHO IS THE MAKEUP CHAIR?
2. DO YOU DO HAIR AND MAKEUP FOR ANY EVENT OR JUST WEDDINGS?
3. DO I NEED A HAIR OR MAKEUP TRIAL?
4. ​WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO PAY A DEPOSIT ON MY WEDDING DAY BEFORE I HAVE HAD A TRIAL?
5. ​HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO I NEED TO BOOK A MAKEUP ARTIST AND/OR HAIR STYLIST FOR MY WEDDING OR EVENT?
6. ​WHEN SHOULD I BOOK MY TRIAL?
7. HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY HAIR TRIAL?
8. ​HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY MAKEUP TRIAL?
9. ​WHAT IS AIRBRUSHED MAKEUP AND IS IT BETTER THAN HAND APPLIED FOUNDATION?
10. WHAT PRODUCTS DO YOU USE?
11. DO YOU USE CRUELTY FREE OR VEGAN PRODUCTS?

​1. WHO IS THE MAKEUP CHAIR?

Hi. I am Pippa and The Makeup Chair is essentially me. When you make a booking with The Makeup Chair, I am the principle artist looking after you from enquiry through to your trial and your booking day. I have a large and fabulous pool of talented and lovely artists that I can call on should your booking requirements be more than I can manage on my own. 

2. DO YOU DO HAIR AND MAKEUP FOR ANY EVENT OR JUST WEDDINGS?

I love to glam you up for every special event in your life. From Christenings to Christmas, engagements to divorce hearings, body building competitions to beauty pageants, birthday parties to drag parties, school formals and Debutants, racing carnivals to footy awards nights, The Brownlow to the Logies and absolutely every other event where you want to feel your best. Oh and yes of course I love weddings!

3. DO I NEED A HAIR OR MAKEUP TRIAL?

I wrote a whole blog post about this very subject and you can read it HERE. But in a nutshell if you are a bride then I strongly advice you to have a trial. While all of the stylists I work with are certified superstars, a trial just ensures that everything runs more smoothly on your important day. Even the most effortless simple style requires the right products, equipment and technique to ensure it is achievable which is often more determined by your hair type than the actual style. All of this and more gets decided at your trial. And don’t forget the most important part….you get to meet me, your stylist to make sure that I have just the right personality to help keep you calm and happy on the day.

4. ​WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO PAY A DEPOSIT ON MY WEDDING DAY BEFORE I HAVE HAD A TRIAL?

I absolutely understand this. You want to make certain you are happy with the trial before handing any cash over.
But I hope you will understand that as a freelance makeup artist I, and my family, rely on me being fully booked to maintain a stable and more importantly, predictable income. When a date is on hold, no other bookings can be accepted for that same date. That means I am saying no to other potential bookings. The deposit simply protects me from loss of income.
If you are at all worried then please book and complete your trial more than 3 months before your wedding day so that if you are unhappy for any reason you can cancel and get a full refund of your deposit and I have enough time to secure another booking.

​5. HOW FAR IN ADVANCE DO I NEED TO BOOK A MAKEUP ARTIST AND/OR HAIR STYLIST FOR MY WEDDING OR EVENT?

It’s best not to leave booking any stylist to the last minute. Popular dates such as long weekends, Valentines Day and the Melbourne Cup book out early and some brides are super organised and lock in their favourite artist more than 12 months in advance. 

6. ​WHEN SHOULD I BOOK MY TRIAL?

4-5 months before your wedding date is a fantastic time frame to have your trial. It gives you plenty of time to decide on and find any additional accessories or products you might need or even to have another trial if the first wasn’t quite right for you.

Some people are super organised and like to have their trial as soon as possible and that really is just fine but there are a few points to consider. Having a trial too far out, say more than 6 months, allows time for you to change your mind about your style and while as women it is our prerogative to change our minds, you may not have budgeted for a second trial. Then of course there is the difference in colour and length of hair that 6 months to a year brings which can have quite a big impact on how your style looks and even if it is still achievable or not.

On the flip side having your trial closer than 2 months doesn’t really allow you a lot of wriggle room to change your mind about your stylist if you need to.

​7. HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY HAIR TRIAL?

I prefer my clients to have super clean and dry hair ready to be styled. The old idea that dirty hair holds better is no longer relevant as we have plenty of gorgeous products that will ‘dirty’ the hair up without loosing any of the vital bounce or shine. Oil just weighs the hair down and makes any regrowth more obvious so if your hair is super oily then it is best to wash on the day otherwise the evening before should be fine.

If possible I ask that you refrain from using any heavy products or hot styling tools other than your hairdryer before your trial as these can interfere with my products and tools which can make results unpredictable.

Pictures, pictures and more pictures. I am pretty sure Pinterest was created by a bride to help plan her wedding because it is so awesome for this very reason. Pin styles you like, pin styles you don’t like and pin styles that you would never wear but kinda love anyway. All will help me to work out the most perfect gorgeous style for you.
Expect your trial to take a little longer than it will to style you on the wedding day as I try to nail the perfect style. Also the trial style may not always be to the exact same standard as you will get on your wedding day especially if we have tried a few different styling techniques to get it perfect. It’s also for this reason that we don’t usually use the same amount of bobby pins or hairspray. If you are planning to go out with your trial style then please let me know so I can ‘reinforce’ it properly.

I will need access to power, a table or bench space and a chair. If it is your good dining chair then please drape a towel over to protect it from products and sprays.

​8. HOW DO I PREPARE FOR MY MAKEUP TRIAL?

Clean faces please. You won’t want me wasting precious trial time trying to remove last nights mascara. If you follow a daily skincare routine then please do that as per normal and if you have a trusted exfoliator then definitely give that a whirl. Clean healthy skin radiates all on its own without the highlighter.

Ceiling lights and lamps usually have a yellow tint so I need as much daylight as possible that isn’t direct sunlight. On overcast days set us up in front of your biggest window and open the curtains as much as you can. I also need a surprisingly large amount of table or bench space to lay out all of my products and access to power.

Again…pictures, pictures, pictures. While your wedding day is usually not the time to try a complete makeover, the trial is a pretty safe place to try something a little new. Start with a softer look and then build it up. Its always easier to add more colour than it is to remove it. And at the end of it all try a bold lippy. You may just surprise yourself.
I often get asked “Does makeup need to be heavier for the photos?” and the answer is a loud and clear No!! The old rule that makeup needs to be plastered on died along with its best friend film photography. Todays photos are all digital and they are super clear and sharper than the old shutterbugs. Everything, including the makeup shows up on those babies. If you don’t normally wear a lot of makeup then please don’t be pressured by well meaning friends and family to go the full Kardashian. On the other hand if Kardashian is too boooring for you then feel free to highlight, lowlight, bake and strobe it up!! At the end of the day what is most important is that YOU feel amazing on your wedding day and can look back at your photos and think “Darn I looked gorgeous!

​9. WHAT IS AIRBRUSHED MAKEUP AND IS IT BETTER THAN HAND APPLIED FOUNDATION?

This is purely dependant on your artist. Just as Van Gogh preferred oils over Monet’s watercolours every makeup artist has their own preferred products and techniques. 

Airbrushing is simply a method of spraying on a fine liquid makeup using a little air compressor.  Like a mini version of a spray tan. The result is a super fine, natural and even application that can be as sheer or full coverage as you need. Hand applied is just that, a liquid, creme or powder applied by hand with a brush, sponge or fingers.
As for which method is best, when applied correctly using the best possible products, both methods will stand up to the test of blubbering tears and sweaty all night dancing… which really is the most important thing. For more information to decide if it is right for you read my blog post HERE

10. WHAT PRODUCTS DO YOU USE?

I choose only the best quality products for the required job and only purchase cruelty free brands.

Here are just some of the brands you will see in my kit.

MAKEUP

• Charlotte Tilbury
• Iridis
• Urban Decay
• Stilla
• Hourglass
• Kryolan
• Too Faced
• Viseart
• Anastasia Beverly Hills
• Elemento

HAIR

• Kevin Murphy
• Paul Mitchell
• White Sands
• Davroe
• DeLorenzo

​11. DO YOU USE CRUELTY FREE OR VEGAN PRODUCTS?

It’s now easier than ever to be cruelty free with more quality cruelty brands popping up each year. Heres a little blog post I wrote about it … Cruelty Free Makeup

My entire kit is Cruelty Free but not entirely vegan (yet!) If you wish for me to use Vegan Only products please ask before your booking day.