Bridal Makeup Artist Shares Tough Experience with a Challenging Client

Selena Marchand.
Credit:

Courtesy Vicki Bartel

NEED TO KNOW

• Selena Marchand has been a makeup artist for over 20 years.
• On her social media accounts, Marchand shares skits inspired by real-life moments in her work.
• Now, she discusses her most “traumatic” experience with a bride.

Selena Marchand, a seasoned makeup artist with over two decades of experience, has amassed a wealth of stories from her time in the industry. With 1.5 million followers across her social media platforms, Marchand creates engaging skits that reflect her real-life interactions with brides and clients.

One particularly “traumatic” experience stands out for Marchand. “She had come for a couple of trials, and at her first trial, she just brought up my Instagram and said, ‘I don’t like anything that you do.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, why are you here?'” she recalled.

During the second trial, the bride and her mother expressed dissatisfaction with all the looks presented. However, on the wedding day, Marchand felt they had finally settled on a look the bride appreciated. Yet, when the bride saw herself in the mirror, her reaction was far from positive. “She told me she ‘absolutely hated it,'” Marchand said. The scene escalated as the bride began running around the house, crying dramatically, much to the embarrassment of everyone present.

“Makeup is so personal,” Marchand explained. “When someone says that they don’t like it, I don’t mind, but when they’re making a big commotion about it, it’s like you feel very small and you feel like crawling into a corner and just withering away.”

Despite the chaotic situation, Marchand tried to remain calm, reminding the bride, “It’s makeup, so it can be changed. It’s not the end of the world.” After about an hour and a half of adjustments, she managed to alleviate the bride’s concerns.

Selena Marchand.

Courtesy Vicki Bartel

Reflecting on the incident, Marchand noted, “It’s not that big of a deal. I leave time for those sorts of situations.” Interestingly, the bride has attempted to book Marchand again multiple times since, but she declined.

In another ironic twist, Marchand encountered a bridesmaid from that challenging wedding during a subsequent trial, a moment that she initially found overwhelming. Fortunately, the wedding was eventually canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sparing her the task of redoing the bridesmaid’s makeup.

This particular incident is just one of many stories that Marchand reenacts in her online content, including scenarios involving brides with bad sunburns and those who arrive half-asleep. “Ninety-nine percent of my videos are from my own experience,” she stated, although she occasionally takes creative liberties with her content.

Marchand believes her videos resonate emotionally because they draw from genuine experiences. “I really think back to that moment of how I felt, and that’s what I try to portray,” she explained.

With her growing online presence, brides often reassure her before the wedding day that they won’t behave like those featured in her videos. However, she finds that the reality often differs. “Most of my clients are respectful, but some will say that, and then I show up on the wedding day, and they’re still asleep or acting crazy,” she remarked.

Marchand acknowledges the intense emotions that wedding days bring, recognizing that stress can lead to behavior that surprises even the calmest individuals. “Wedding days are a very specific day where it is stressful, so things do tend to happen,” she explained, adding that those in the wedding industry can often attest to the unexpected occurrences that unfold.