Hello everyone,

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I'd like to ask: how do you go about applying makeup to a large group of people (say, 4-6 ladies, without an assistant)?

Would you go ahead and prep their skin in advance? Sorry if it's a stupid question, but I'm curious to know how you deal with situations like this. I'm fairly new to the game and still learning as I go.

Thanks in advance!

Generally when doing a large group for makeup ... I ask that they come with clean faces, just have their skin care done. Sometimes I'll have a client that needs some extra moisturizer or eye cream, but it only take less then a minute to apply and then I move on to the primer and makeup application.

If I do get one of the group that did not remove her makeup before hand .. just ask her to do so while your working on another of the group. I also carry cleanser and eye makeup remover just in case its needed.

Just makeup sure that you allow yourself enough time for everyone ... I usually like to block out at least 45 min to 1 hr per person ... though sometimes I'm done sooner then expected. Its better to get done sooner then later especially if its a bridal clients !

Give yourself ample time for everyone (especially the bride). I find that the average time for a makeup application is between 45 minutes to an hour, but brides can often take up to an hour and a half or more; due to the fact that they're generally talking to other people, discussing issues, etc etc. Sometimes they cry, sometimes they need to step out, etc. SO just make sure to leave at least 2 hours for her.

Have the bridal party arrive with bare faces, as stated above. If you are working with a tight amount of time it might be wise to bring on an assistant. Even if the assistant just helps with foundation, blush, contour, and lips...it's better than nothing.

Thanks so much for both your replies! I've instructed the bridal party to come in with clean faces and I thought about prepping their skin ahead of time. I've given myself about five hours for a party of four, including the bride. And yes, brides do talk a lot and turn their head a lot!

Also training a girl right now to assist me. I'm gonna have her do skin prep and primer while I put makeup on someone else.

Again, thanks so much for the input. Appreciate it!

Good luck with your work. Do tell us how it went and were you able to manage in 5 hrs. Share your brides’ pictures too.
-------------
www.foreverflawless.com.au/bridal-hair-melbourne

Honestly, I think it's bad for ones reputation to put themselves in this situation.  You need help.  I would hire another artist to help.  It's not fair to the client to rush though this many people on your own.  Just my opinion.

I have been doing bridal makeup for about 13-ish years and I send out a prep sheet to the bride to share with her party on how to be ready for our morning together.  I always have them do their personal skincare routine before we meet.  Just imagine if someone had a reaction to an ingredient in even the most mild moisturizer.  I'd rather not take the time or the chance on that happening so then my prep becomes much easier.  Once you get a pretty solid routine down, which comes from just getting your hands on people, you'll find you can get your time down which means you can work on more faces and feel comfortable with larger parties.  I take about 30 minutes per girl (that's of course having multiple brushes and lots of disposables) and then about every third girl, I block an extra 15 minutes to regroup, clean and sanitize the things I haven't along the way (like the brushes I've used...product is always sanitized immediately or dispensed).  I always allow at least 45 minutes for the bride but it never typically takes that long since we have had a trial and we are both on the same page.  At the end, I round everyone up for touch ups and hand them their touch-up packet for later after my departure.  I work alone on a max of ten ladies now just for my comfort and fun.  That takes about 5-6 hours. More than that just doesn't make sense for the group timewise and multiple artists would be better.  I think the buffering time is the most important aspect of it all because like everyone says, the bride is jumping in and out of the chair, someone is crying or forgot their shoes, the flower girl is running around naked refusing her dress and everyone is crowding your chair trying to have a special moment with the bride!  Be organized, prepared and ready to go with the flow

Thank you all so much for the replies! I am in the process of training two ladies to assist me, and they're mostly just going to do skin prep and brush cleaning (if needed) at the venue.

Just wanted to see what everyone's strategy and timeline is for doing a group of people. Thank you all so much and I'm so looking forward to this year's wedding season