How many makeup artists to message?

I messaged a few in the beginning before I picked someone. I wanted to get quotes and see how responsive they were thru emails. I’m very type A and dislike waiting too long for responses especially when I will be paying for a service

View Quoted Comment That's how I am as well. I got tired of waiting days to weeks in between replies.

Any vendors who did that to me were off the list. I feel it’s unprofessional and they must not have a good work ethic. Good luck

My personal approach when I was looking for vendors was a "scorch the earth" approach. I typically sent an inquiry to at least 10-20 vendors, if not more depending on the number of vendors in each category. This helped me determine a good average cost for the service, plus who was more responsive than others. A week is about as long as I would wait, then I would move on. I would also take into consideration the time of year, holidays, etc. Call if your emails are going unanswered. It is possible she isn't getting them for some reason.

Response times is how I narrowed down vendors. For hair and makeup I reached out to about 25 salons/artists.

I'll say have a back up makeup artist

Update: I messaged two and both have already messaged back. I'm in talks with scheduling a trial with one now. Her work is even more impressive than the original. Feeling some relief!

I contacted six through the vendor tool. Of those six, i scheduled trials with four of them (and heard back from five of the six). I met with one so far and ended up choosing her because...
1) She was very responsive (while the others took several days just to get details about my wedding and what i want. Even sending them questions i could see that they read it and still took days to respond)
2) She uses only all natural/organic products (i have combination oily/dry/sensitive skin so this was pretty important to me)
3) She got my hair to hold a style (my hair never holds anything lol)
4) She set up a skin care routine to help me with my skin and how I can improve my diet to clear my skin.

Responsiveness was a HUGE factor when it came to hiring our vendors. That’s why it’s so important to reach out to multiple vendors.
I’m glad you’re setting up a trial with someone who actually got back to you. You didn’t sign a contract with the original artist anyway (and, I’m really glad you didn’t- you should NEVER book a HMUA without having a trial first!!)

I reached out to about 6 it 8 for pricing. I reached out via text / website inquiries (i found them through Instagram. )
i called one person and ended up booking with her almost on the spot. She was excited about my day, went on and on about the bridal suite she has and all that kind of stuff. I looked at her work AFTER I contacted her (i do my own makeup for photos really well. I do my friends for any events too, so I’m confident in my skills, so i was only looking for a hair person). I might do my own makeup, I haven’t fully decided yet, I’ll decide after my makeup trial. I booked her based on price and knowing her work is fantastic!
i suggest finding people on Instagram. My person is very responsive!

Thank you all! I have a trial booked with one who is so kind and I love her work! She also waived the minimum person application rule she has because my getting ready location is so close to her shop. I'll post pics after my trial which is when I would sign her contract. I have an amazing vendor team that is incredibly responsive. I didn't want to have to worry about a makeup artist ignoring me for weeks.

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I always looked at multiple vendors at once because of this. i would rather be playing phone tag with someone who will call me back at a reasonable hour than someone who wont even give me an email back in a week.

i would definitely start looking at new MUAs if you havent hired this person yet. you're not bound so you have the freedom to "shop" elsewhere. there are plenty of talented ones out there!

I had a similar experience with the first soft booking i made with a HMUA--after we had tentatively agreed to work together she was totally incommunicado. i ended up walking away and booking someone else. if you haven't signed a contract, i think you're ok to keep looking--good luck!

Have you tried calling her on the phone? You keep saying "message" so I'm assuming you're only texting or emailing her. When dealing with vendors, the actual telephone is generally most effective. That said, it's fine to reach out to other MUAs, especially since you haven't even had a trial yet.

View Quoted Comment I was just messaging her, not calling. She was responsive when I first reached out a few months ago, but had since took about a week each reply. I am really excited about the other lady I have a trial with. She does facials and everything as well. I'm going to talk to her about a better skin care routine for wedding prep