I am getting married in June 2020 and I've gotten all the major vendors picked out for the most par, so now I am looking for HMUA. I am very picky about my makeup because I have sensitive skin and I am actually pretty good at doing my own makeup. And so I want someone who can do my makeup better than me but not pageant-y or too glam. Apparently this puts me pretty squarely in the $400–$500 range (which strikes me as pretty high already). But then these MUA tell me that they require 18%–20% "gratuity" on top of my $400–$500 bill 2 weeks before they even do the work. And it seems like a good 2/3 of HMUA are doing this now. They all say it's so they don't have to charge me a fee for this or that, but that's what that is: It's a fee. It is required and due before the person even begins the work. That's a fee. Gratuity is something you voluntarily give for services rendered where those services are done well.
And the thing that really makes me upset, I understood before I even started looking for a HMUA that I would need to make sure I had an extra $100-ish to tip with--but I thought that was because I was handing cash directly to an artist who: showed up on time, was friendly, finished on time, listened to any requests for corrections, and generally did a fabulous job. With required "gratuity" I am not even sure who is getting that money (if it's going to the woman who actually will help me or what). And at that point, I will have pre-paid $600 for makeup per a binding contract and so the HMUA artist(s) know now that if they are late, not particularly friendly, refuse to change things if I don't like it, etc. it makes no difference because they already have their "gratuity" and aren't expecting anything extra.
So my question is: Is this the norm now? Am I the only one who finds this upsetting/frustrating? Because no other vendor has done anything like this--not even the caterers (the people who should basically be entitled to a tip since they are serving food to 150 people). I cannot imagine how or why this started but is this a thing everywhere? And is everyone but me okay with paying this? Am I just not understanding something about the industry or. . . ?
