It's not too often that I splurge on getting my makeup done. Actually, professional makeup…read moreapplication is usually reserved only for weddings. And intended to match some frothy, overdone bridesmaid dress. As in some derivative of plum on my lips to match my eggplant dress. As in overdrawn lip liner which results in a Pamela Anderson-esque look. I flip through magazines and study the page when I see a M.A.C. cosmetics ad. Bright pink eye shadow, feathers, glittery eyelashes... scary stuff. Haute couture makeup has its place, but not parked on my face. Ladies, you saw SATC the movie, right? Think Carrie on her wedding day with the crazy dark lipstick and the bird-thing on her head. Not.for.me. So, I felt like looking pretty one night for no particular reason. Makeup artiste extraordinaire Laura Black and her big back of tricks made a house call to my apartment! Even though I cringe at the thought of someone being so close to my eyes with sharp tools such as tweezers and eyelash curlers, Laura put me at ease. She has a soft, fluttery touch. Really, I was so relaxed I almost fell asleep! Laura is professional and friendly, and talks just enough. Everyone knows a stylist that talks so much that you feel tired when it's all said and done. Beauty treatments should be relaxing, and my makeup application was exactly that. Please don't take this as vain-- but when I saw the girl in the mirror looking back at me, I was impressed. Slightly awestruck, I kept looking... this was a much better version of the usual me, but still me. I like that. I never wear base, but Laura's expert application was so feather light and natural that I just ended up with a flawless canvas. I had somehow developed cheekbones I didn't know existed. My lips were tinted a glossy, sexy, nude-ish shade--a shade which I previously believed I was unable to wear. My eyes, however, were my favorite part. Smoky, sparkly and sexy without the vamp. The sparkle? Courtesy of a super-cool M.A.C. pigment powder. My green eyes popped! I took the show to the road that evening. Upon seeing me, one of my male friends immediately remarked "Oh--I'm so casual, and look at you!" I was only wearing jeans and a tank, but he knew something was different. Then I ran into another acquaintance, one that I had not seen for over a year. His take? "Wow, Jelena... I don't know how to say this, but you look amazing... not that you don't usually [insert foot in the mouth], but, um... you look really different... hot!" The makeup lasted all night, alas a "bombshell" for only an evening. I was even a little sad to scrub the beauty from my face when I got home. As I kept telling Laura... thank you, you're a goddess. What else would you call someone with such incredible transformative powers? Whether you're getting done-up for a wedding or just a night on the town, Laura's your girl.

I always walk away from makeup counters with a teeny bag full of overpriced crayons that I never…read moreintended on buying and a lump in my throat imaging the credit card receipt that I just shoved to the bottom of my purse. But hey, at least I got that free gift. The bright lights that make my skin look terrible and the gay guy at the counter that has better makeup on then I could ever dream of, make me feel like there is so much more that I could be doing with my face. I was beginning to feel especially inept with a makeup brush and guilty about all of the great products I had purchased over the years that barley made it out of the packaging. I decided to take action and I booked a makeup lesson. Enter Laura Black. Laura came to my house with her makeup case (which was about the size of a trunk you might pack for a month long voyage) and a fierce looking apron with every beauty do-hickey known to woman kind tucked away in its rightful pocket. With patience and excellent explanations Laura went to work on my face. She talked me though everything she was doing, from the motion in her wrist when applying color to the crease in the eye, to the reasoning behind dotting concealer on my lips. Now, I don't want to give away all of Laura's beauty tips here.....but you can be sure that she has plenty of them. From the colors to use for my face tone, to the sure-fire way to perfect blush.......I learned more from Laura in one hour then I have from reading thousands of makeup articles in Cosmo. And the best part? Laura used almost all of my own makeup and I didn't walk away from the lesson with a long list of "must buy's." When Laura was finished I hardly believed the reflection in the mirror. I didn't see makeup or colors, what I saw was a fresh-faced gorgeous version of myself. In my own best daydreams about my wedding, my sold our concert, and my Oscar acceptance speech, I've never looked that good. Since my makeup lesson, I have added a few minutes to my routine in the morning and I leave the house feeling more put together then before. But the best part is that now, when I am getting ready for a big night out, I actually look forward to spending time doing my makeup. What a difference it makes when you know what you're doing! Just the other night a friend told me how great my eye makeup looked. I started to tell her how I'd perfected the technique, then I thought better of it and just referred her to Laura Black.

Working with Danielle Dettore has been such a pleasure. She made me feel so comfortable and look…read moreamazing. Throughout the whole shoot, she was very attentive and had a very gentle approach. Her knowledge around application, beauty and hair styling is bar none. My goal was to achieve a clean, fresh look and she knew what to do right away. If you're looking for a knowledgeable, fun make up and hair artist, Danielle Dettore is the right artist for you. -Kristen Nuñez (Model/Actress)

Danielle is the most sweet and talented make-up artist. She helped me, mom, and sister get ready…read morefor a family wedding. She somehow knew exactly what each of us wanted even though we didn't do a great job of explaining! It just shows that she knows how to make her clients look and feel their very best. Our makeup lasted all night, was the exact level of glam we needed, and we got tons of compliments. Thank you Danielle!

Dani and her team are fantastic! If you're looking for skilled, kind, and attentive makeup artists,…read morereach out to Dani! Her makeup style is tailored to your liking and she has a range of capabilities from full glam to more scaled back natural looks. She's very good at listening to what you like and executing on it!

We booked Dani for a photoshoot and could not be any happier. She was punctual, professional, and…read moreperformed a quality job. Her pricing is also very competitive and he work justifies the pricing. We will 100% be booking with her again for future events.

Rachel is amazing. I'm not a make-up-y kind of person - I'm typically happy with a coat of mascara…read moreand some blush - so the idea of finding a make-up artist that I loved, that my bridesmaids loved, and that my future mother-in-law loved was incredibly daunting. I tried a couple of other artists prior to discovering Rachel and was unimpressed - I wanted to look like me, not some dressed up, glam-rock version of me. Rachel listened, kept it simple, and I looked stunning on my wedding day, my bridesmaids looked stunning, and, most importantly, my mother-in-law looked stunning... We looked fabulous all day and through the night. Rachel was an absolute pleasure to work with, she's funny and down-to-earth and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had such a talent take part in our wedding day.

Rachel Reiman is incredible! My husband and I got married this past weekend and she did the make…read moreup for all my bridesmaids, the moms, grandmas and myself. EVERYONE loved their make up even my bridesmaids who are picky and usually do their own make up. My mom who NEVER wears make up was reluctant to get it done in the first place. When I showed her the pictures of my make up that Rachel had done for our engagement shoot, she was right on board with getting it done. Rachel is kind and patient and she listens to what type of look each girl wants before she starts. She makes you look natural - like yourself but better! When I thought about what I wanted to look like on my wedding day the first thought that came to mind was still looking like myself. I don't wear tons of make up on a regular basis so I didn't want to start on my wedding day. Rachel was the perfect person for the job! I would recommend her to anyone and will have her do my make up for special events in the future!!!

Taking a makeup lesson with Traci was one of the best investments I've ever made. She elevated my…read morespecial event makeup look SIGNIFICANTLY! Traci is a true professional: her setup is immaculate, and she has a keen eye for tailoring makeup to your unique features, while making sure the overall look is very modern. She's also incredibly kind and encouraging; she will leave you feeling beautiful and empowered. I got the video lesson and it's worth it to review the placement of all the makeup in detail, as there are many steps to looking great! I highly recommend her!

My sister and I booked Traci for makeup lessons and it was more than a lesson, it was a truly…read moreamazing experience. Traci arrived at my home on the dot, and brought absolutely everything needed, including a friendly and attentive approach! She explained and showed everything in detail, offered tips and customized the experience to what we wanted and how much time we want to spend, etc. Wellll worth the money to get tips on how to actually use what we buy. The lesson instructions were so detailed and reminded us of tips she had shared in her lesson. She was sincere, professional and had a down to earth vibe. Loved this experience!!!!

Loved working with Tracy and Crystal for my wedding! They did a phenomenal job with my makeup and…read morehair as well as all my bridesmaids. We all loved the airbrushed makeup! Very responsive to emails and answering questions. Definitely recommend for your upcoming event!

I found Tracy through Chicago Wedding Facebook groups and I am so glad I came across her business!…read moreFrom the beginning she was straight forward with prices and what is included or not. We rescheduled our wedding twice due to COVID and she was super responsive throughout. I ended up booking a trial and so glad I did! From the trial to wedding day we made some tweaks to hair and makeup, she got it all spot on! It is so nice to have someone that does both hair and makeup so well. On the day of we also had Ashley to help her and she was just as lovely and talented! We had 12 services and managed to be done early despite starting a little late. They have their work dialed in, you could show them any hair or makeup style and they did it just as requested! You will not be disappointed with Tracy's work and professionalism. She helped make the day perfect for me and my gals!

Maria was my makeup artist for all my wedding-year events from June 2018-March 2019: from my…read moreearly-morning engagement photo shoot, my bridal shower, and my wedding and I was 100% happy with the process and results. I got so many compliments on my makeup at each event. Maria is so nice to talk to, too, and is flexible and always willing to make any changes to meet what you like. We did a number of makeup trials and as long as I spoke up, Maria was great at adjusting the makeup to get my desired look. It is very important to her to make you feel great and she doesn't take any adjustments personally. She also went the extra mile before my wedding and brought me amazing skin care samples to use-- face scrubs & masks-- to help me really glow on the big day. On the wedding day, she was fantastic, as was her talented assistant. She was on time and she and her assistant got through the 5 person bridal party (4 bridesmaids, 1 bridesman who got male grooming with Maria, and 2 moms, and of course me, the bride), smoothly. Everyone was thrilled with their looks and so happy, and we all looked like movie stars! Her pricing is extremely reasonable, too, and good value for the work. I wish I had more events and excuses to work with Maria again!

Let's start with the good: Maria was very nice and accommodating…read more Unfortunately, I was disappointed and frankly shocked at how bad the makeup itself was. For eyes, the eyeliner lines were incredibly shaky (and not even a true black!!!), the requested blending was either nonexistent or very shoddily done (with streaks), and the lashes were noticeably plasticky with no mascara to mask the artificial texture. The blush technique and shapes were ALL wrong, concentrated all on the apples, and not in a good way, with almost no blending. The lip color was for one of the models was very unflattering! NO eyebrow definition. Also, I paid for some hairstyling, but she didn't even bring a curling iron. To be fair, we were rushed with one of the models, but one had PLENTY of time to be worked on and turned out like a clown due to the very poor attention to detail. Maybe I caught her on a bad day. The makeup I did on myself in literally 4 minutes was better than the end result. While I enjoyed her company, I STRONGLY advise you to stay away if you're looking for more avant-garde looks.

I've never felt more beautiful than I did for my wedding because of Paige and her makeup skills! I…read moreshared some inspo pictures with her and she went above and beyond to make it happen for me! Paige is incredibly sweet, professional, and easy to get along with which made getting ready even more fun! One of my favorite wedding vendors by far!