Bridal Make-Up Artists Share Their Most Memorable Wedding Experiences

Weddings are a time of love, joy and endless celebrations but all that comes with a baggage of heavy stress and frantic planning. Emotions run high and there are bound to be experiences that remain etched in our memories, for both good and bad reasons, for years to come.

Bridal make-up artists are more often than not at the frontlines of all things crazy and chaotic on the wedding day. So we decided to ask some of our favourite bridal MUAs to share some of their most memorable moments during any wedding. Take a look…

6 Celebrity makeup artists share their most challenging experiences

When a last-minute fashion emergency almost ruined the make-up

Delhi-based MUA Sakshi Sood recalls one particular incident that had her doubling up as a quick fix tailor too! I’ve had my share of challenges, every event, and every wedding has a challenge to offer. One of the most difficult situations was when one of the brides had finished all her hair and makeup and it was time for her to slip into her outfit. The bride tried doing it by herself and ended up with the blouse’s zip in her hands. She was almost teary-eyed and anxious about what would happen next. There was no time as thebaraatwas on the doorstep. Luckily,  we had a sewing kit in our vanity, so we actually stitched up the bride's blouse completely and that was the only thing we could do at that point in time. She was on the verge of breaking down,  even though the makeup was waterproof,  but I still had to scare her so that things didn’t go down the line. Challenges will happen but one must not be afraid to experiment as experimentation leads to evolution!”

When emotions trumped the power of a setting spray

“Doing a bride's make-up is stressful, especially considering the importance of the day and the pressure to deliver a flawless look to make that day the most special one for her,” says bridal MUA Sapna Vaid. “On one such occasion in a two-tier city up north of India, I had been booked for a bride. Creating a calming and comfortable atmosphere while doing a bride’s makeup is essential to help her feel relaxed, confident, and pampered. I prefer to limit interruptions from phones or visitors as well. But on this occasion, it didn’t work. There were constant interruptions in the hotel room. Family was constantly in and out creating distractions for me to focus on the job. But despite all that she was ready in time. She looked beautiful and I had done my final coat of setting spray to seal the deal. Then there was an announcement from a family member that an aunt had arrived. Everyone was alerted. Then walked in a big lady clout one rarely gets to see. She walks up to the bride and rubs her forehead down to the sides of her cheeks, with both her hands. I literally gasped for breath when I saw the damage! Her lipstick had been wiped and pulled down for the side of her mouth. Then this lady filled with emotions started to loudly cry and howl, and so did the other 10 women with her. This became like a scenario at a funeral!  Everyone was consoling each other and passing handkerchiefs around. At that moment all I was worried about was the waterproof mascara and the bride's lashes holding together.  But no such luck. The minute the bride started to sob that same handkerchief was taken and rubbed on her eyes, smudging all her eye make-up. I almost fainted when I saw this.”

When the lights went out

“My association with make-up began when I was 15 when I began assisting my father who had been working in the Bollywood industry with actors like Preity Zinta. I worked with Mickey Contractor for a decade before I began my freelancing journey,” says MUA, Vardhan Nayak, “One of my most challenging experiences was when I was dressing up a bride and the lights conked off. There was no ray of light at all and we had to make use of our phone torches to get the bride dressed. The entire make-up and the dressing were done in the darkness with the help of our phone torches and got the bride dressed. The dupatta pinning was then done later at the wedding venue ceremony.”

When the MUA had to double up as a medic

“This was a high profile event that I was doing and I remember the bride slept off with her lenses on at night," recalls celebrity MUA Aafreen Petiwala, “She woke up in the morning and she realised that she didn't remove her lenses and now her eyes were bloodshot red and watering continuously. She sat down for makeup, and I started doing eye make-up, but nothing lasted, even  a concealer on her eyelid was not staying, because of the water in her eyes. But the bride said ‘Please go ahead with the make-up’. So I went ahead and used everything waterproofed and got the make-up done. I’m a dentist by qualification and I put my medical knowledge to use I immediately called for some eye drops and I started putting eye drops into her eyes every 15-10 minutes. After an hour of waiting, her eyes finally stopped watering.”

When the make-up bag was a no-show

“I have had the privilege of dressing Bollywood actors like Urmilla, Aishwariya, Malaika, the Ambani's and over 50,000 brides,” says celebrity make-up artist Ojas Rajani, on completing over three decades in the industry “One of the cutest and funniest experiences was when we landed in the cruise and we realised that the bride was supposed to have her signing ceremony (Hasthakshar). Everyone was busy with the checking-in procedure and my make-up bag was the one to arrive. Luckily I carry my makeup bag, which is like a small little pouch, but it has everything from lipsticks to concealers to eye makeup and even a setting spray. With whatever little I had I put my skill and talent to use and in the end, the bride looked like a queen. The art of make-up is all about patience and my message to all youngsters who wish to make a career in the domain is to have patience as mastery comes with time and experience. Make sure to Manifest positivity because only then success is yours.”

When the venue resembled a haunted house

“One of the most challenging situations was when I went to a deserted bungalow to do a bride's makeup, it was very weird because there was no one else in the whole house other than the bride, says MUA, Mausam Gandhi, “It was situated deep inside a very quiet lane and the bungalow, itself, looked like it hadn’t been opened since a couple of years. There were bats and rats in the house and it was super spooky. I somehow gathered my courage and stepped into the house, the aura of the atmosphere was such that it gave me chills down my spine, at that moment I just wanted to finish the look and leave asap. but somehow I managed to finish the bride's make-up and luckily by the grace of the divine, the make-up turned out to be stunning.”