Hey,
Just got back from my wedding (11/10/13) and wanted to review Makeup in the 702 on here since I saw that Desert Glamour cancelled some dates. I will write a full reviews on all my vendors sometime this week.
Prior to wedding Megan was really great. She was pretty quick with e-mails and she assured me that everything would be great. I knew what I wanted in terms of hair, specifically for a hair do that could be done so that it was up for ceremony and down for reception. She told me it would be fine, no problem. I also let them know that me and my mother were WOC and wanted to know that they could handle us. She also gave me reassurance.
Me, my mom and my mother-in-law had hair and makeup done by them. We needed to be ready at 11 AM, but MIT 702 said we should aim to be ready by 10 AM. They would come at 7 AM.
They were prompt. Literally at 7:01 AM the doorbell rang. I had makeup done by Celina and hair by Courtney. I had my m/u done first. I showed her various pictures of what I was looking for. I had my makeup done the day before for free at Sephora since I'm a rouge member and had showed that makeup artist the same set of pictures. She did a great job and I will admit that the bar was set high because of it. As for Celina's work, I don't think I looked like any of the sample pictures, nor did I like my look at all. I didn't get a good look at myself because right after she finished, I went to the hair chair. It was only until after that I noticed that:
a) my got tons of glue on my lower lashes
b) my foundation was uneven
c) my blush and eyeshadow weren't blended perfectly, so there were harsh lines
spectacular.
d) some of my eyeliner was sparse and moving
I did the airbrush foundation. I didn't like it. It looked like a lighter coverage that what I normally use and that's tinted moisturizer. It didn't rub off on my clothes.
MIT 702 makes strong claims about how they are the "only" company that does a lot of things, so I want to be clear on what they do provide.
They offer a touch up to go kit. Yes, but this kit consists of a sponge for face, an eyeshadow applicator and a free lipgloss. I don't use powder regularly and she recommended I use powder to keep my face looking good for so many hours, so I had to get my cousin to make a quick trip to sephora.
Regarding the lipgloss, it wasn't a color I would have chosen, but literally she had a dozen tubes of this "universally flattering" lipgloss that she gave to me, my mom and my mother-in-law. My mom actually refused to wear it because she felt awkward having the same color as me and used her own lipstick instead. The lipgloss definitely wasn't 15 hr proof, it was gone after I had my first glass of champagne in the limo and in 90% of the pictures, I have nothing on my lips.
As for the lashes, I used my own because the ones they had were super long and looked fake. (FYI - I used MUFE Gwen 152 lash, very natural). Re the lasting of the makeup, I was done at 10:15 and got home just past midnight. My eye makeup was still on, but had caked, my blush and foundation looked a bit sloppy. I did have a long day, sweated, etc.
My mom, also a WOC, hated her makeup. She said that the one time I did her makeup looked a lot better than what they did. I didn't think my mom looked any better than when she normally does her makeup (and she is hard of seeing).
My mother-in-law (anglo) looked great. Celina seemed hesitant to use lashes on her bc her natural lashes are so blond and she has light hair, but she was excited about them, so used them anyway. She looked good. She didn't look over the top or anything, a very natural look, which is similar to what she normally wears.
Hair
My mom has thinning hair and I had e-mailed ahead to let them know this. She usually uses a product to add fullness and forgot it in NY. I also emailed ahead about this. The stylist (Courtney) emailed me back telling me to check out Sally's for the product but we didn't have enough time. She did was she could, but unfortunately the product she had was grey and my mom had light brown hair with dark low lights. Considering the circumstances, her hair looked good and held up throughout the day and night. She wanted to add some brown, but the makeup artist said the only way would be to break an eyeshadow and she didn't want to do that because she didn't think it was worth it. She also said this after going on about how she buys all types of things and writes them off on her taxes. It isn't how I would have acted in her position, but completely understand her stance, though she could have been more professional in her wording and demeanor.
Despite telling me she couldn't do my hair in the fashion that Megan had told me was a go, she still did a good job. My hair held well throughout the day and I was able to work it a little into what I wanted for the night.
My mother in law's hair was fantastic. She had beautiful, thick, luxurious and plentiful hair, so admittedly was a great canvas to work with, but her hair was great and lasted the entire day.
My only commentary regarding the hair is that we all had the same colored bobby pins used on us and given to us for "touch ups," yet my mother in law has blond and red hair, my mother has light to medium brown hair and my hair is jet black.
Overall, these girls were both on time, super chipper and friendly. I would rate hair an A- and makeup a B, at best. Another additional commentary is that Celina, the makeup artist was done before Courtney the stylist was done. She collected the money and said she had a day full of bookings so had to be on the go. This is why I wasn't able to point out issues with my makeup to her. Courtney stayed about a good 30 mins after that. I thought this was weird and unprofessional.
I would definitely recommend Courtney for hair, but would suggest a different makeup artist. If you have the time (I didn't), I would even suggest Sephora (Claudia helped me) as an alternative.