Check out the website... the before&after magic is FOR REAL! I contacted Karen something like 2 weeks before my 6/25 wedding, and I was really lucky that she was available at all (turned out that she was fully booked on my ridiculously popular weekend, but two brides changed dates last minute). I met with her at her home studio in Azusa where I showed her some picture ideas of hair/makeup looks I wanted, she told me not to cut/trim my hair 'til after the wedding, and I signed the contract. I was seriously only going on her website and the three reviews on Yelp, but that's what I get for procrastinating; no regrets though, because I ended up looking amazing.
Throughout the two weeks from first contacting her, to setting up the intro appointment, to deciding on a time for the wedding day, Karen was super responsive to emails, phone calls, and texts. She really treats her work seriously and is really professional about it. At the beginning I tried to get her to give me a discount, but her prices are firm and now I know why - she has tons of experience working with way pricier artists, and her prices are actually pretty low for how good she is. You could save $50-120 hiring someone without the extensive experience and portfolio, but at the end I just don't think it's worth the risk.
On the day of the wedding, Karen showed up early to make sure we had enough time to figure out my options, since I hadn't gotten a trial done. She spent extra time re-doing my lips and eyes when I wanted her to tweak the color. I was nervous when she started with a dark brown gel on my light-ish skin, but she explained that it was for contouring and it did end up looking really flattering and natural. After I got my dress on, she re-touched everything just to make sure, and stuck around for the "getting ready" pictures with my photographer.
Karen chatted with me during the whole process to make sure I wasn't too nervous. You can tell she's generally a more reserved person, but she's putting herself out there to help you feel comfortable - and that sense of caring and compassion really helped start the day off right.
Karen layered on the makeup pretty thick, which looks cakey up close, but makes for really awesome pictures. Everything stayed put for the day except for the lip gloss and false lashes, but she provides a little touch-up kit for that. I'd suggest having a bridesmaid bring a much stronger eyelash glue though - my lashes just wouldn't stay put and fortunately one of my girls had a different kind of eyelash glue that stayed on for the rest of the night.
Overall, hiring Karen was a huge success. She transformed me from a washed-out nerd on too little sleep into a gorgeous, graceful bride. Totally awesome, and every picture looks great. read more