W.E.D. Talks - S1E15 - Minimonies & Makeup Artist Jennifer Viveiros

Jess, Evan, and Mike talk a bit about their recent "minimonies," then chat with makeup artist Jennifer Viveiros about her business, tips and tricks to look best on your big day!

Hi everybody and welcome back to W.E.D. Talks.

Hello. Yeah. I'm Evan. I'm Jess. And I'm Mike. Today, we're gonna be talking to a makeup artist, which is great, but first we're gonna talk about our coveted weddings. I. I'm all over the map with my emotions. What's new? I obviously missed floodings and the adrenaline of the day and just running around the full wedding, but I also really love these laid-back four hours. 

No schedules to adhere to no sit-down dinner. We just get to. Have a good stress-free day. Yeah tell so I'm about your wedding last weekend. I I shot on the cape last weekend with Natalie and Collin Mike and Evan shot for Lena Marisola photography. They shot video for for one of Lena's Brides, so we've split the team last weekend. 

But I was on the cape with Natalie and Colin at his parents' cape house and it was so nice. There was no stress. We had no timeline no sit down dinner we could just, Get ready to the first look Okay we're gonna do your ceremony their parents had a tent in the backyard. 

They rented tables and then they had a clambake and I was like, this is great like 25 people this is perfection with these little smaller weddings, we actually been having more time for photos like Natalie Colin we have tons of time just run around on a beach and everybody knows that's my favorite fucking thing. 

So, yes, we just got to run around on the beach and it was gorgeous and I couldn't be happier with that wedding honestly. In the middle of summer having a shorter wedding is fantastic so Mike and I were with Lena last weekend and it was hot Barry and it was one of those days where it could rain at any moment, but it didn't it's just so humid and gross and having a shorter wedding on the daylight bath was fantastic. 

We did a lot of running around which was difficult for us. Yeah, mostly driving from place because they had a church wedding and then they had some formalities in the park, but that part of it. Was great. So they were able to do a first dance and parent dances and even a little cake cutting in this park and then have their friends and family come and they were able to social distance in the park and still be part of the the festivities. 

So yeah, they just brought like a really nice Bluetooth speaker played the songs that they wanted to play for their dances and yeah, there's nice. I think that people. Are coming more and more creative as we go and I hope that by sharing some of these smaller weddings and other people's ideas that it opens it up for other people to be more creative so that you know God forbid me here things aren't better you still can't have a dance floor or a bar in Massachusetts, you know, it doesn't have to compromise your entire day we can still come up with a plan that's beautiful and gonna be awesome yeah who's to say that even after 12:00 is is vanquished or somehow goes away if that ever happens and who's to say that you can't. 

Do something similar anyway the lecture we've always considered these more or less elopement style weddings, but I mean, they're so intimate and so cute and you get so many photos and so low stress like I see it as an option for a lot of couples yeah it's like a hybrid allotment / wedding yeah that's and that's kind of how I say nailing Colin's was because it you know, we did have the tent and the tables and they got to focus more on their details, so you know, she's from the Bahamas so. 

They wanted to recognize that their dogs a huge part of their life they made that a part of their detail on their glasses and I feel like sometimes you know, maybe not having spend all your money on the venue but more on like so your details and us so we're gonna capture your details in here memories forever then you can just have an awesome clambake of oh yeah some seafood on the cake like it's so good, of course, we're wearing masks yeah so that would made a little bit hotter a little bit more sweat on the face from. 

Me at least but I'm a sweater oh yeah no me too my upper lip was like dripping into my mouth yeah and of course, um, it muffles your voice a little bit too so you have to shout even louder yeah I need a bullhorn but you know beyond that it's pretty much your business is usual the mask is is the key to staying healthy and washing your hands and keeping the same hand sanitizer but the shooting has been the same yeah that part yeah, so it was in Dana's wedding last week. 

And they were kind enough to provide single use towels and waters for us and hand sanitizer to make sure that we felt comfortable and safe but no that's much a peace appreciated and I think that that's something that you should think about even on your day is keep everybody safe and that includes your friends and family it sucks that some people at the wear masks we don't expect that our couples to wear masks, but you should. 

Consider it for other people yeah especially in if you're going to be having a pre-ceremony getting ready space which is typically inside and a smaller space you can't do the full socially distance thing like at the ceremony outside and apart so the fact that they provided those things for us was something I didn't really like expect or think about or when we were getting there but then when they said they oh we have this stuff for you like oh wow that's like really thoughtful and a good idea and they were blasting the AC, so that was nice yeah. 

I, Of those people who even before covered I could never have enough to hand in Santa I have like lip balms. I have like a car lip balm and then my desk lip balm and then my bedroom lip balm so I'm the same way with Hannah's advertiser so I think that thinking creatively you can even like hand sanitizers can can be you know, put your dogs photo on and make them cute and fun and have them scattered all over like get creative with with what we have to work with these days, yeah embrace it yeah embrace. 

It and we're always full of suggestions and God knows Mike and I've been our two creative very outside box people sometimes so if you need suggestions let me know and I'll lend Mike an oven to you we already suggested in the last episode doing a custom masking yeah stay tuned yeah. 

I mean, that's the thing there masks and you can have your hands down to put your engagement photo on her. Yeah. Don't like or a logo design like a logo of your names or something but Evan loves designing logos. I love you we could be hired for logo design just let us know oh my god you did our wedding logo of us it's now framed and hanging yeah that was us. 

I'm not a graphic designer. I try he tries and he's good at it honestly we kind of talked about it when we were gonna sit down and talk with Jennifer now because we can socially distance and where. Our masks but for somebody like a makeup artist. I felt like wow they have to be right in somebody's face putting on makeup, so we're gonna talk to Jennifer and learn a little bit more about precautions that she's taking and just all around how makeup artist impacts your wedding day. 

My name is Jennifer my bear. I am a makeup artist my studio is an adelborough but I probably everywhere literally everywhere. I have gone to Florida. I'm going to North Carolina next year, hopefully and but mostly I take care of Rhode Island Massachusetts knowing when it's done on New Hampshire that type of thing so I'm just traveling makeup artist for events mostly weddings, but I also do corporate. 

Ski and things like that. I was gonna ask if you did anything other than weddings, but then I was like who else needs like do corporate people need makeup done but I guess they do yeah, so we. 'll some people need headshots for corporate they when they're like revamping their website and stuff like that. 

I also do commercial stuff so there's a really beautiful jewelry designer based out of Newport hope so I do a lot of her advertisements for her launches and stuff like that, that's what they're definitely the majority of my business is for sure weddings and events and like gosh showers and things like things of that nature for sure yeah, so what made you kind of get into the makeup industry? 

I was one of Be lucky ones I basically knew what I wanted to do straight out of high school. I knew where I wanted to go. I knew that I kind of wanted to make people feel good because I mean my whole journey came from a really ugly place actually like when I was in high school I struggled with acne and it was kind of a necessary thing at that point it was kind of like I just wanted something to cover it make me feel better feel make me feel more confident and when that turned into fun when you know wasn't just shameful, you don't. 

Try to cover everything up and it started to something else it just turned into something oh I kind of like this and then I started kind of exploring other things eyeshadow color and realized the power that I can give internally as well as externally and so by the time I was a senior in high school like this is what I want to do, so I was kind of I was very lucky there's a lot of people take that time to really explore a lot of times they don't know what they want to do yeah, so I was able to get into this industry pretty early on so if that I've been doing this for professionally for 15 years now, wow that's Awesome and you have a studio too. 

I didn't I didn't realize that so that's great yeah. I have a studio literally just having the October not exactly the year. 

It happened and it was a long time coming it was getting to the point where I was getting busy enough with individual appointments and also just have a place for my brides to come or trial because it was getting to the point where I was kind of driving all over knowing when personal appointments and not. 

Exactly. So I finally got one literally I could walk to it if I wanted to put my house so it's it's great it worked out just the way it was. Subtract over that's perfect that's good so you do rides and bridesmaids the day of the wedding how long do things usually take because I know that's one of the questions that our brides usually ask is like, oh how long do I schedule for makeup and I'm like I have a idea like we're usually not there for a very very beginning yeah all that process, right? 

Every makeup artist. And this is kind of where I sit as well is that each bridesmaid will be about 45 minutes some people do last subject people do more it's an hour and then it's at least usually about half hour, but I've said the 45 minute mark and then we usually get the bridle. 

This won't be able to take. I mean, I've seen makeup artists take up to 10 people in that but that's at their time since they're really short because that's gonna be a long day for. Including the bride yeah so typically for me personally, I take. Six people by myself and then first the ones we get to the seven eight, nine, seven eleven for whatever oh and forward. 

I'll have an artist for every six people so I do have artists that work on my team with me it either assists me or when I am not available for wedding or if I have another wedding already that I have books. I have teams that can go out and do it for me and they're amazing let's just say I'm doing six people by myself. 

I that's about five hours up. So we've a little bit of time at the end because I think a lot of rides don't keep this into consideration sometimes I'll ask them when do you need to be ready but they'll give me the time for maybe to help the door not necessarily done with makeup and I really want to make sure that I always stress that whenever emailing them make sure you're giving yourself at least 45 minutes or getting ready pictures and getting into your dress is that's a time frame you don't want to rush so always leave that buffer at the end for sure for just getting excited and getting dressed your girls or whatever. 

The case may be it's a very precious time and you don't want to brush that yeah that's really helpful for us because we do find that sometimes where it's a bit of a rush yeah getting the dress on and trying to like oh now we have to scrap the first look with a dad because we have to get to the trash yeah something like that yeah I think rides don't think of that at all like they just like when you ask them when you need to be ready, they tell you literally when they need to be ready and that's why I always tell them to contact their their photographer if they have a wedding planner. 

I always say to them. Photographer the wedding planners the boss, so you tell me what they say and usually if you'll be surprised at how early you actually do need to get ready because the photographer will pretty much say the same thing like at least you don't wake up that's. 

I really encourage them. To conversation because you want to make sure yeah the course thing ever is rushing on your. Verbal it's not the best feeling ever. I'm not like a day you really want to enjoy goes so fast anyway, you know the things that I also try to tell are couples to keep in consideration when they're picking their bridal party is that if you have eight people you have to be there for eight people getting ready which is eight hours, so you're starting at four the morning sometimes so you know, it's one person right so like maybe to kind of. 

Because I just you know, I love big bridal parties because they're fun and and make for great photos but it's obviously when we have you know, four bridesmaids it's like that's like the perfect ideal number to me, yeah. 

Maybe is like, Exactly what you said, you know, we're between four and six. I think is that's enough, you know, yeah, I don't even know eight people to be friends. 

I think now I mean, I had a small part of party myself, but I like if I was getting married again. I have like my sister yeah, yeah. I'm like I don't I'm told that a squad. I do find out with the older more mature brides like going into their like they return that's like a term boyfriend like. 

20 is like early 30. S I feel like they're bridal parties are definitely more caregial you see that in there in just a way of they live life already yeah yeah, do you ever get a chance to like do grooms do groups ever want makeup done? I have done that a handful of times but it's very it's more off because they walk in they're like, hi can you cover a zit and they're really shy about it and I don't know why it's absolutely something that I wish that more I website and I really should add it on is like a chrome service and I do have some makeup artist actually had that on their website as a service, but typically typically when I get up when I literally get a husband, it's more just literally just as in and I'm not gonna charge them to cover is it yeah. 

Okay rare that they want to hold to do it's more that they come in like hi she's gonna kill me and it's fine and I just cover that zip but for the most part there's nothing for it, yeah. I want I want to try normalize, you know grooms being a more intricate part of the wedding day just because everybody's always like, oh it's all about the bride it's all about the bride and even when we're shooting I can get wrapped up in the bride, you know, they have the dress and the bail but it's like important that we don't forget about our guys this is their day they want to look. 

And so yeah you should like more normalize guys you can get your makeup done like you can agree I think that it's one of those things that when there's that alone time and like focus on the groom because sometimes I feel like they can be accessories yeah and I'm like at the end of the day, they're getting married to is like a big deal yeah and I'm just like yeah, I definitely feel like incorporating them more into the wedding not just treating them as accessories definitely important that's definitely something that I will definitely add on to like a service because I feel like they do get overlooked and I don't want them to feel like they're bothering me. 

Yeah and they're coming up to me and ask me it covers it like yeah dude like that service. I've arrived. And you have to feel good to it's not it's not just the bride being beautiful it's him being handsome and so yes for someone like me who knows nothing about makeup if I was to come to you how would you start with the consultation with me because I know nothing like literally like I have a skincare routine which is I probably learned off tick-tock and same. 

But yeah when it comes to makeup I'm literally maybe just like some mascara because I I personally don't like very heavy like smoky art things like that, so how do you go about like consulting people with their looks for their wedding day, so you. Actually might have a full clientele so my rights usually for the most part I would consider my style natural glam so I'm not no makeup makeup but I'm like an enhancer not yourself. 

I'm like the more formal version of you so it's not something you're gonna go to target but it's something that you'll feel it'll match your hair in your dress you're wearing the most formal dress you've ever wanted your entire life yeah for the most part so you definitely want to reflect that but I just don't want you to look like a completely different person. 

I don't want you look like a porcelain doll yeah, so that's kind of my client. I want general and a lot of them wear little to no makeup on the daily and I'm very lucky. I have to say I have the most beautiful brides on the planet like literally makes my job so easy and it's sad because sometimes they don't even realize it what society does to women and that's so part of makeup artistry that I don't think these talk about it's not about making you more beautiful it's just kind of enhancing what's already beautiful about you and I just don't ever want to you know, put that out there as like you're not pretty let me. 

Make you pretty I had the most beautiful eyes on the planet inside and out and it's just kind of enhancing that I'm making an match the background kind of and then it could be accessories and all that so what I usually do is I put them down we just talk about everything we talk about the aesthetic of their wedding we talk about the colors we talk about what they normally use we talk about what they hate because that's important as well, maybe they've had a tribe before they just weren't a fan. 

I want to break that down, why do you like it so I don't want to do that again because at the end of the day what a smoky eye is to them. Might not mean what a smokey eye means to me yeah that's where pictures come in pictures are huge. 

I definitely recommend pictures that make it like red carpet pictures smooth you're usually a little bit less edited so not I don't want any Instagram because I want like legitimate beautiful red carpet looks because I feel like that's my that's my look anyway, yeah, so they'll come in with pictures, so at least we're on the same page and then we just go from there we just start I usually start with the eyes and I'm always checking in with the brothers no surprises unless the Bride specifically says to me. 

I want to be surprised. I don't want to be surprised I mean. You go through the entire process I'll have her take a look we'll adjust we do the eyes we take a look we adjust if we need to and I just go step by step so by the end they already know what they're getting it's not a surprise they're happy with the result and it's really like a collaboration more than anything. 

I like how you you talk about enhancing their beauty because that's kind of the same way that I tell people about my photos. I don't photoshop, you know, you are are beautiful where body positive and our team and so I am just enhancing the photo to make you look the best. 

That you can be on that day, you know as opposed to doing like all the photoshops and things like that so I feel like that's really important. I think for a photography standpoint to I think it's like because there's been times where I've seen it gallery after a wedding. 

I'm like that's not even what the makeup look like yeah and I'm just playing all your work gets away yeah like, Even what it looked like at all and it that heavy photoshop ruins everything I think for everybody yeah that's the florists with everything because it's not looking what it really looked like in real life, so it's not a perfect representation of what everything looks like that day for everyone yeah, so what would you say to people who are considering not having professional makeup on their day of their wedding and trying to do it on their own well, this is a touchy one. 

So I am going to have to disagree because for a lot of couple different reasons. I know that some people will want to because they are scared and that's really the only reason I've ever seen. It's not so much anything else other than they're scared and they've been jaded. 

I had a really bad experience. The reason I don't think it's a good idea is because like I said before you're wearing the most formal dress you've ever worn in your entire life. Now if you're doing in the backyard and you're literally wearing like a t-shirt jeans and like, Even then though I just feel like in photographs, it's so much different and every single time I take a picture while I'm riding even on myself trial and I show them in that moment what they look like on camera. 

It's like a whole different quality and like so when you're doing your own makeup, you're only doing it for you in the mirror not necessarily you enough photographs. It's so much different a photographs and so what you you might put on all this blush and you feel like all made up and then in a photograph you look like. 

You're just rolled out of bed. It's so so so different. You need a little bit more makeup than you normally wore lashes are huge. I tell all my brides get lashes, but I've never not once had it bride hate the lashes, they always are like can I keep these corruptions? 

So there's something that we can do for everyone even the most natural ride but to do it yourself, it's just not the same unless you have that knowledge of photography and lighting already then it's just a whole different ballgame really tried to walk the line of it. Looking good in person, but also looking good in pictures. 

Yeah, and I feel like that's why not a lot of people know how to walk like I said, unless you know a lot of time. Lighting in that light thing I like that you kind of brought that up because I I noticed a difference obviously in in photos and I think that that's a thing that a lot of couples and brights don't don't notice that there's gonna be a difference between what you see in the mirror and how it photographs. 

So, you know, I noticed when when we're doing some of these, you know brides of maybe done their own makeup that there's like maybe you don't see it in the moment, but when I'm going into edit, you know, there's a smudge that there shouldn't be there and then it just takes me a little extra time to have to edit something like that. 

But right which is which is fun but it was just you guys out too Yeah but it's just like I I like that you're pointing out the difference between looking in the mirror and like I said, there's no shame to anyone who wants to do their own makeup, but for the most part from what I've seen it's more because they're scared and you really shouldn't be scared just do your research. 

There's so many amazing makeup artists with me. I add very different styles. So just because you don't like one makeup artist doesn't mean you might not like another one because there's so many different styles from full glam to no makeup makeup that you can find now across. The board if you do one search on Instagram, you will find someone that fits your style. 

I never want anyone to think that there is there's only Instagram there's only huge makeup that. Exist in real life real working artists will do the job. And if it's a study with all of these covid changes, you know, we've had to go about changing how we shoot and do business and things like that, but I feel like out of all of the vendors you probably have. 

The part because you're right there close up in people's faces, how is this changed the way that you do business and and protect yourself while protecting your clients it really hasn't and it's I know that's surprising here and most people are surprised to hear that but as me I would say, you know in a range of group a couple people together makeup artists and types already had. 

To have such a high level of sandation already it's just it's really just adding very simple things like the temperature checks in the mask and stuff like that this directly are related to covet but for the most part we've had to do all of these things already yeah. I'm so as far as like how it's painted the way my daily stuff works it really hasn't I'm still using disposable ones. 

I'm still cleaning my brushes with soap and water. I'm still cleaning my brushes spontaneity my brushes with a brush cleaner that kills 99.9% of Them scraping out cream products and putting them onto a sanitized metal palette I still have a gallon of alcohol in my studio there's nothing that I don't already have been doing and if you are getting an insured quality makeup artist, they should have been doing all this like I got a really cool sanitation like box kind of so then when people come into my field they can sanitize their phones, they are keys, I can sanitize the handles of crushes that type of things so it's like this extra level that's been added on but for us it hasn't what's been really interesting is that. 

At the beginning of this I literally was like crime every day yeah I'm sure every vendor was doing the same thing like literally ripping their hair out getting it started like all of that got all these inflations and then all of a sudden I got to start getting booked up again and it's like a whole another wave of weddings that I'm getting with you clients and it's it I think there's this resiliency and there's creativity that I don't think I've ever seen before it's actually quite refreshing and like you were said earlier like I actually really liked these small intimate weddings, it's been quite refreshing and I just, Love how resilient all of these clients have been and just kind of like, you know what doing it anyway, yeah it's been great and they've been really working around it and so it has effected my business in terms of the amount of people that I do in one wedding it's obviously affected image half of the weddings but like I'm actually surprised on how books we've been considering the situation. 

I got a cubic waiver, this is a protective and to protect myself, unfortunately. I think it's behind the chair that put out the statistic that actually, Lost. Seats have fun up and because people are blaming hair stylists with like they'll go to get a haircut and then get coveted and then blame them when really can't really blame anybody I could get it from anyone but so I do have a waiver so that's been an added thing but like I said, the daily stuff other than a little added nuances everything has been the same and like I said, if you have a makeup artist a make sure they're insured you make sure they have that training. 

I'm with our website training. I'm also in us it's my business since 2002. So I've already had that background and a license so you just use a little thing as you might want to look into not all makeup artists need to be license but you definitely want to and I think everyone going forward is gonna be very mindful of what they see in front of them as far as the cleviness of the kid. 

I think before it was kind of like an afterthought yeah what has happened through this which I think is a positive thing is that everyone's been a lot more mindful of sanitation and it's so when they're looking at their makeup artist kit and what they're doing, they're a lot more in tune with that, so if you see something that you don't feel as safe call them out on it, please. 

I know what's on. Comfortable but like it used to be done especially in times like this so if they're using dirty brushes if they're kit looks like a mess if they're brushes don't look anything other than brand new then that means they're not doing what they're supposed to disqual these things clean and so so important and not just with everything yeah, of course well thank you so much for doing this there's no problem thank you happy thank you so much. 

I appreciate you calling me thank you for taking the time no problem, hopefully work with you guys soon. I'm awesome games you stay safe, yes you too bye.