Kristel Yap Makeup Artist: Genie the Wedding Guest

With my second client we agreed to put simple hairstyle work in the package. I don't have that much training in hair yet but thankfully I was given a peg in advance and we worked on it.

As a wedding guest, Genie requested a simple look with a perfect base. Something beautiful, yet respectful of the bride's big day. Her skin was quite complicated but thankfully we had a trial session and I was able to work the kinks out before the actual wedding day. Her skin tone appears quite fair but the color undertone is pretty intense and most foundations don't suit this condition. I found myself having to mix and layer different foundations to best match her.

With this job, I learned something about compromise. I really wanted to use thick and full lashes, but after I applied them I noticed the client kept checking on her eyes. At first, I thought it was a matter of sensitivity as she had warned me about it earlier. Then later on, with the look complete, the client confessed to being really uncomfortable with the lashes and tore them off. YUNG PUSO KO, GUYS!!!

She felt they were too big and ostentatious; not her style. I thought she had big, beautiful round eyes and the lashes made her look so doll-like! But seeing the client in so much distress, I chose to yield my professional opinion and didn't try to convince her to let me stick the lashes back on. Sometimes there will be "irreconcilable differences" with the client as for what finishing touches are well-suited or not. It's a hard choice to give up especially when you have pride in your own training.

Yet ultimately as an artist, the challenge for me is to leave the client feeling happy and confident in my work. If they disagree with my finishing touches, I must find a way to blend their desires with my technical knowledge. In the end, we agreed on long, but thinner lashes. For me, it was still something visible, elegant and complimentary to her eyes and for her, it was something she agreed was beautiful enough, but not too strong of a fashion statement to make her feel self-conscious or out of place.

As a side note, I really love how MUFE Star Powder picks up light! It's so discreet yet definitely, visibly there.