We got the chance to ask this young talented lady, Grace Mahoney, who is the
owner and founder of Blushing Brides some very interesting interview questions!
Please continue reading more to hear her inspiring answers!
owner and founder of Blushing Brides some very interesting interview questions!
Please continue reading more to hear her inspiring answers!
Grace Mahoney
Owner/Principle Designer of
"Blushing Brides"
Q:How would you describe yourself to our viewers who don't already know who you are or what you do?
A: Ha. It's still weird to consider there are people who know me or what I do whom I've never met before. Weird! But anyway, I am the owner and founder of Blushing Brides, the Massachusetts based traveling wedding day hair and makeup service. We travel all over New England, New York City, and Western New York making brides and their bridal parties look and feel like they're straight out of a fairy tale wedding. We specialize in airbrush makeup (the best makeup ever created!) and offer everything from nails services to eyelash extensions to supermodel runway hair and everything in between! We have a large team of licensed and certified hair and makeup artists and not only make bridal parties look amazing but we also do all ranges of photo shoots and fashion events, making every one of our clients look simply magical.
Q: Have you always been into makeup?
A: Yes! My mom is an artist and ever since I can remember I'd watch her in wonder when she would do her makeup for special outings. She always made it look like her face was the canvas and her hands were her palette. It fascinated me - I remember having a Barbie eyeshadow kit and trying to make my eyes look as pretty as my mom's. I'd say that was the pinnacle beginning of my memorization with makeup.
Q: How did you get started?
A: Makeup has always been somewhat of a magical medium for me. I took art classes in high school and again in college within my fashion design major. Though I showed talent according to my professors and teachers, I always measured my work against my mom's which is absolutely breath-taking. For me, this wasn't a bad thing because it encouraged me to branch out and find my own niche that I could be uniquely amazing with.
I found said niche when I was a junior in high school. If you've ever met me, you've probably heard this story. :-) When I was younger I had really, really long hair (past my waist) and my mom, in an effort to keep it long and pretty, refused to take me to salons to have it done. So early on, I learned how to do my own hair for semi-formals, proms, and other dances. I honestly had no idea what I was doing but apparently it looked half way decent because before I knew it, my friends were asking me to do their hair for dances and such. Word got out and by the time I was a junior in high school, I had friends from other high schools asking me to do their hair for their proms and such. I occasionally did a friend's makeup but I really didn't know much about makeup so I stuck with hair as much as possible. Long story short, a friend of a friend of a friend's cousin was getting married and after seeing my friend's hair, the bride asked me to do her hair for her wedding day! I accepted, despite the fact that I was terrified, and did her hair along with her makeup which she threw me into at the last second. When she looked in the mirror to see what I had done and smiled, all my feelings of being terrified went away and were replaced with such happiness and amazement. That was the moment that I new I wanted to make people not only look beautiful, but feel beautiful and happy. That single occurrence changed everything for me.
Q: What would you say to someone just starting out in makeup and is looking for advice?
A: Passion. You need so much passion. That goes for anything that you want to do in life but especially when you are dealing with something so intimate as a person's face and how they are perceived by the outside world. If you have passion, you can be taught anything.
Q: What/Who inspires you?
A: A lot of different things inspire me. Art, people, fashion, nature, buildings, ideologies... life essentially. When I look at a busy street I don't just see cars driving down it and people living their daily lives, I see the contrast and the potential for total and utter creativity to take place. Whether it is in the form of a high end photo shoot or abstracting the rustic vibe from such a scene I'm always absorbing and interpreting life as it goes on. And that's really what inspires me.
Q: Who is your typical client and/or what is your typical gig like?
A: At Blushing Brides we do primarily weddings so our typical client is a bride-to-be. We get all kinds of brides from sweet and calm to extravagant or a little crazy. But all of them are equally thrilled and excited for their wedding day. On the actual wedding day things can get a little hectic between timing everything so no one is done four hours before someone else and that all services are completed to the clients utmost satisfaction. But we burden any of the craziness and remove that from the bride's perception; leaving her and her bridal party feeling as though they are having the best girly time of their lives! Honestly, wedding days are my favorite, no matter how crazy they can get, I live for wedding days.
Q: Have you had to deal with 'Bridezillas'?
A: The show makes that term a scarier concept than it actually is. I'm extremely thankful that I never watched that show before getting involved with the wedding industry otherwise I don't know that I would have gone through with doing weddings, let alone starting my own business! As personal clients of ours, we have experienced a couple pickier brides who may spend a little extra time tweaking their hair and makeup looks with us on their wedding day. But honestly, its the biggest day of their life, a little pickiness is to be expected. And, truthfully, those "picky" brides have turned out to be some of the sweetest, nicest people when they are not in the wedding planning environment. Planning a wedding can do crazy things to you, even if you're the nicest person in the world.
Q: Have you ever had someone NOT like their makeup on their wedding day and if so how did you handle it?
A: Out of 150 weddings with Blushing Brides and over 250 weddings in my time in the industry, I have had only one bride dislike her makeup on her wedding day. I can't tell you how sad it makes me, despite the small percentage that is, that even one of my brides was unhappy with how she looked on her big day. After our team left our very happy bride and bridal party the day of her wedding, the bride's makeup began cracking around her chin and was unable to be fixed by her bridal party members due to the waterproof nature of the airbrush makeup that we used. After speaking with me over the phone and telling me what was happening, and nothing I suggested over the phone making a difference, I offered to drive to her ceremony location myself at no charge and either fix the makeup before she went down the aisle or, if there wasn't enough time, redo it after she said her "I do's".
I felt so awful that she was experiencing this, for lack of a better word, makeup fluke that had never happened to me before and that I couldn't solve it over the phone. The bride, being so upset already, understandably so, decided they didn't have enough time for me to fix it even if I did meet them at the ceremony. I felt just terrible about the whole situation and all the distress I had caused my dear bride and apologized over and over, offering numerous times to drive to the ceremony or reception and finished the conversation by letting her know if she changed her mind to call me and I would be there as quickly as my car would take me. Because I felt so horrible about everything, I offered her a refund for her services that day, which she accepted and received. I can honestly say, to this day, I don't know what went wrong with her makeup and it has never happened to any of the other hundreds of clients I've worked on. Regardless, I still feel terrible and would make it up to her in an instant if I could. Fortunately though, that is the only experience I've had like that in my wedding career.
Q: Do you prefer doing makeup or hair?
A: I love makeup and hair equally but completely differently. I certainly go through phases of preferring to do one or the other. But on any particular day I could wake up preferring hair or makeup. Lately, because I've been working day and night on the makeup curriculum for Blushing Brides Education I've been really into exploring new makeup looks and styles. However, I'm almost positive that will switch once I start in on the hair curriculum.
Q: How many clients do you usually have a week/month?
A: Because we have a very large team of industry hair and makeup artists (Designers, as we call them), we can handle as many as 5 weddings a day on a given wedding weekend. Our "work week" is typically from Friday to Sunday, (when wedding bells are ringing!) so we can have up to 15 weddings a weekend. Now, obviously, that doesn't happen every single weekend, thankfully! I don't think we could make it through the 10 month long season if it did! During peak season (from May through October) we have on average of about 4 or 5 weddings a weekend. At each wedding we can have anywhere from 1 bride to 16 bridal party members including the bride, averaging around 7 or 8 clients per wedding. So that's somewhere around an average of 30 - 40 clients per weekend. It adds up pretty quickly, that's for sure!
Q: What's your favorite makeup brand?
A: Oo, good question! I would have to say it's a tie between Sei Bella makeup (formerly Nicole Miller) and Kett Cosmetics Airbrush Makeup. Sei Bella is an all natural makeup brand with the pigmentation of MAC but with the color blends of everyday wear including day, night, and some dramatic colors too. In short, it is PERFECT for brides!! I have been using Sei Bella for 5 years now and it has never failed me. The other makeup brand I love is Kett Cosmetics - my all time favorite airbrush system that produces just absolutely amazing, unmatchable results. The makeup itself is vegan based and therefore is excellent for hypersensitive skin including skin issues like rosacia, eczema, supremely oily skin, you name it! It also has guaranteed 16 hour wear and 100% waterproof, sweat proof, tear proof, and transfer proof making it amazing for weddings! And to top it off, it doesn't look or feel cakey on your skin. You end up looking like you, only radiant and flawless! For any bride-to-be out there, you must go with airbrush and Kett Cosmetics is the best!
Q: Have you ever had any strange requests?
A: For hair, yes, makeup, not so much. One bride of mine, when I was still freelancing, wanted to do a 20's beehive for her bridal look. Now, a beehive inspired style can look quite glamorous when done properly but this particular bride wanted straight up beehive that towered a good 6 inches over her head. And to top it off, she wanted all of her bridesmaids to have the same look just not quite as high. There was no talking her into altering that style for her wedding day so we did just that and she loved it, which is all the really matters, but I will never forget that bride and her beehive style!
Q: Any beauty secrets you'd like to share?
A: Yes! If you ever experience your eyeshadow creasing or the color fading as you wear it throughout the day, then you need this beauty secret! Put a dab of liquid or creme concealer on your eyelid, prior to eyeshadow application, and blend it all the way in to the inner corner of your eye and up to your brows. Then apply your eyeshadow over it using a patting motion instead of a wiping motion and you will find that your eyeshadow not only appears brighter and lasts longer but that there will be zero creasage happening at the end of the day! It's the tiniest trick but it makes such a huge difference!
Q: What is your go to...
For myself?
- Hairdo
If it's casual day-to-day, then scrunched and curly during the summer and blow-dryed straight with body during the winter. If it has to be on the fancier side, then a fancy headband with height behind it and everything tucked and rolled into a kind of cinnamon bun fashion in the back. The maximum time I'll spend on my hair is 15 minutes on any given day and all of those are under 15!
- Makeup look
Vintage classic with nude/highlighted cheeks, black winged out liner, nude eyes with some highlighting on the inner corners and underneath, voluminous lashes, and contouring in the eyes and under the cheeks with either bright red or bright pink lipstick. Love it!
- Outfit:
This is slightly seasonal once again. In the Spring/Summer I am all about a flowy skirt, a comfortable blouse or tank top with fun sandals and a flower in my hair. In the Fall/Winter, it's definitely a pair of old jeans, my pink converse sneakers, a bright top, and my white vintage three-quarter length jacket.
Q: What is one beauty item you can not live without?
A: My MAC Milan Mode lip liner and lipstick. It is hot, hot pink and totally me! It's a bit of a striker but that's my style to a T and I really hope I never have to learn what life would be like without it. :)
Q: In your opinion what can be splurged on, and what can be bought on the less expensive side?
A: Brushes can definitely be splurged on. Cheap brushes are just that, cheap. A good set of brushed, while expensive, will last you a lifetime when taken care of properly and are totally worth the extra buck! Mascara, in my opinion, is one of the things that can bought for less. I personally use Maybelline's Colossal Volum' Express Mascara for myself as well as all of my clients and, let me say, it is a miracle in a bottle! If I had a dollar for every client of mine that went out and purchased that mascara after I used it on her, I would be a wealthy woman! I've tried hundred dollar mascaras and I still like my Colossal best!
Q: Any parting words for our readers?
A: Makeup is a wonderful thing where there really is no ultimate right or wrong. There is only perception and as that changes in the world, makeup will forever change too. Follow your love and passion for makeup or for whatever else you may enjoy and you will find yourself learning and expanding your knowledge like you never imagined! And when it comes to your passion, never, ever give up. You can do it!
A: Ha. It's still weird to consider there are people who know me or what I do whom I've never met before. Weird! But anyway, I am the owner and founder of Blushing Brides, the Massachusetts based traveling wedding day hair and makeup service. We travel all over New England, New York City, and Western New York making brides and their bridal parties look and feel like they're straight out of a fairy tale wedding. We specialize in airbrush makeup (the best makeup ever created!) and offer everything from nails services to eyelash extensions to supermodel runway hair and everything in between! We have a large team of licensed and certified hair and makeup artists and not only make bridal parties look amazing but we also do all ranges of photo shoots and fashion events, making every one of our clients look simply magical.
Q: Have you always been into makeup?
A: Yes! My mom is an artist and ever since I can remember I'd watch her in wonder when she would do her makeup for special outings. She always made it look like her face was the canvas and her hands were her palette. It fascinated me - I remember having a Barbie eyeshadow kit and trying to make my eyes look as pretty as my mom's. I'd say that was the pinnacle beginning of my memorization with makeup.
Q: How did you get started?
A: Makeup has always been somewhat of a magical medium for me. I took art classes in high school and again in college within my fashion design major. Though I showed talent according to my professors and teachers, I always measured my work against my mom's which is absolutely breath-taking. For me, this wasn't a bad thing because it encouraged me to branch out and find my own niche that I could be uniquely amazing with.
I found said niche when I was a junior in high school. If you've ever met me, you've probably heard this story. :-) When I was younger I had really, really long hair (past my waist) and my mom, in an effort to keep it long and pretty, refused to take me to salons to have it done. So early on, I learned how to do my own hair for semi-formals, proms, and other dances. I honestly had no idea what I was doing but apparently it looked half way decent because before I knew it, my friends were asking me to do their hair for dances and such. Word got out and by the time I was a junior in high school, I had friends from other high schools asking me to do their hair for their proms and such. I occasionally did a friend's makeup but I really didn't know much about makeup so I stuck with hair as much as possible. Long story short, a friend of a friend of a friend's cousin was getting married and after seeing my friend's hair, the bride asked me to do her hair for her wedding day! I accepted, despite the fact that I was terrified, and did her hair along with her makeup which she threw me into at the last second. When she looked in the mirror to see what I had done and smiled, all my feelings of being terrified went away and were replaced with such happiness and amazement. That was the moment that I new I wanted to make people not only look beautiful, but feel beautiful and happy. That single occurrence changed everything for me.
Q: What would you say to someone just starting out in makeup and is looking for advice?
A: Passion. You need so much passion. That goes for anything that you want to do in life but especially when you are dealing with something so intimate as a person's face and how they are perceived by the outside world. If you have passion, you can be taught anything.
Q: What/Who inspires you?
A: A lot of different things inspire me. Art, people, fashion, nature, buildings, ideologies... life essentially. When I look at a busy street I don't just see cars driving down it and people living their daily lives, I see the contrast and the potential for total and utter creativity to take place. Whether it is in the form of a high end photo shoot or abstracting the rustic vibe from such a scene I'm always absorbing and interpreting life as it goes on. And that's really what inspires me.
Q: Who is your typical client and/or what is your typical gig like?
A: At Blushing Brides we do primarily weddings so our typical client is a bride-to-be. We get all kinds of brides from sweet and calm to extravagant or a little crazy. But all of them are equally thrilled and excited for their wedding day. On the actual wedding day things can get a little hectic between timing everything so no one is done four hours before someone else and that all services are completed to the clients utmost satisfaction. But we burden any of the craziness and remove that from the bride's perception; leaving her and her bridal party feeling as though they are having the best girly time of their lives! Honestly, wedding days are my favorite, no matter how crazy they can get, I live for wedding days.
Q: Have you had to deal with 'Bridezillas'?
A: The show makes that term a scarier concept than it actually is. I'm extremely thankful that I never watched that show before getting involved with the wedding industry otherwise I don't know that I would have gone through with doing weddings, let alone starting my own business! As personal clients of ours, we have experienced a couple pickier brides who may spend a little extra time tweaking their hair and makeup looks with us on their wedding day. But honestly, its the biggest day of their life, a little pickiness is to be expected. And, truthfully, those "picky" brides have turned out to be some of the sweetest, nicest people when they are not in the wedding planning environment. Planning a wedding can do crazy things to you, even if you're the nicest person in the world.
Q: Have you ever had someone NOT like their makeup on their wedding day and if so how did you handle it?
A: Out of 150 weddings with Blushing Brides and over 250 weddings in my time in the industry, I have had only one bride dislike her makeup on her wedding day. I can't tell you how sad it makes me, despite the small percentage that is, that even one of my brides was unhappy with how she looked on her big day. After our team left our very happy bride and bridal party the day of her wedding, the bride's makeup began cracking around her chin and was unable to be fixed by her bridal party members due to the waterproof nature of the airbrush makeup that we used. After speaking with me over the phone and telling me what was happening, and nothing I suggested over the phone making a difference, I offered to drive to her ceremony location myself at no charge and either fix the makeup before she went down the aisle or, if there wasn't enough time, redo it after she said her "I do's".
I felt so awful that she was experiencing this, for lack of a better word, makeup fluke that had never happened to me before and that I couldn't solve it over the phone. The bride, being so upset already, understandably so, decided they didn't have enough time for me to fix it even if I did meet them at the ceremony. I felt just terrible about the whole situation and all the distress I had caused my dear bride and apologized over and over, offering numerous times to drive to the ceremony or reception and finished the conversation by letting her know if she changed her mind to call me and I would be there as quickly as my car would take me. Because I felt so horrible about everything, I offered her a refund for her services that day, which she accepted and received. I can honestly say, to this day, I don't know what went wrong with her makeup and it has never happened to any of the other hundreds of clients I've worked on. Regardless, I still feel terrible and would make it up to her in an instant if I could. Fortunately though, that is the only experience I've had like that in my wedding career.
Q: Do you prefer doing makeup or hair?
A: I love makeup and hair equally but completely differently. I certainly go through phases of preferring to do one or the other. But on any particular day I could wake up preferring hair or makeup. Lately, because I've been working day and night on the makeup curriculum for Blushing Brides Education I've been really into exploring new makeup looks and styles. However, I'm almost positive that will switch once I start in on the hair curriculum.
Q: How many clients do you usually have a week/month?
A: Because we have a very large team of industry hair and makeup artists (Designers, as we call them), we can handle as many as 5 weddings a day on a given wedding weekend. Our "work week" is typically from Friday to Sunday, (when wedding bells are ringing!) so we can have up to 15 weddings a weekend. Now, obviously, that doesn't happen every single weekend, thankfully! I don't think we could make it through the 10 month long season if it did! During peak season (from May through October) we have on average of about 4 or 5 weddings a weekend. At each wedding we can have anywhere from 1 bride to 16 bridal party members including the bride, averaging around 7 or 8 clients per wedding. So that's somewhere around an average of 30 - 40 clients per weekend. It adds up pretty quickly, that's for sure!
Q: What's your favorite makeup brand?
A: Oo, good question! I would have to say it's a tie between Sei Bella makeup (formerly Nicole Miller) and Kett Cosmetics Airbrush Makeup. Sei Bella is an all natural makeup brand with the pigmentation of MAC but with the color blends of everyday wear including day, night, and some dramatic colors too. In short, it is PERFECT for brides!! I have been using Sei Bella for 5 years now and it has never failed me. The other makeup brand I love is Kett Cosmetics - my all time favorite airbrush system that produces just absolutely amazing, unmatchable results. The makeup itself is vegan based and therefore is excellent for hypersensitive skin including skin issues like rosacia, eczema, supremely oily skin, you name it! It also has guaranteed 16 hour wear and 100% waterproof, sweat proof, tear proof, and transfer proof making it amazing for weddings! And to top it off, it doesn't look or feel cakey on your skin. You end up looking like you, only radiant and flawless! For any bride-to-be out there, you must go with airbrush and Kett Cosmetics is the best!
Q: Have you ever had any strange requests?
A: For hair, yes, makeup, not so much. One bride of mine, when I was still freelancing, wanted to do a 20's beehive for her bridal look. Now, a beehive inspired style can look quite glamorous when done properly but this particular bride wanted straight up beehive that towered a good 6 inches over her head. And to top it off, she wanted all of her bridesmaids to have the same look just not quite as high. There was no talking her into altering that style for her wedding day so we did just that and she loved it, which is all the really matters, but I will never forget that bride and her beehive style!
Q: Any beauty secrets you'd like to share?
A: Yes! If you ever experience your eyeshadow creasing or the color fading as you wear it throughout the day, then you need this beauty secret! Put a dab of liquid or creme concealer on your eyelid, prior to eyeshadow application, and blend it all the way in to the inner corner of your eye and up to your brows. Then apply your eyeshadow over it using a patting motion instead of a wiping motion and you will find that your eyeshadow not only appears brighter and lasts longer but that there will be zero creasage happening at the end of the day! It's the tiniest trick but it makes such a huge difference!
Q: What is your go to...
For myself?
- Hairdo
If it's casual day-to-day, then scrunched and curly during the summer and blow-dryed straight with body during the winter. If it has to be on the fancier side, then a fancy headband with height behind it and everything tucked and rolled into a kind of cinnamon bun fashion in the back. The maximum time I'll spend on my hair is 15 minutes on any given day and all of those are under 15!
- Makeup look
Vintage classic with nude/highlighted cheeks, black winged out liner, nude eyes with some highlighting on the inner corners and underneath, voluminous lashes, and contouring in the eyes and under the cheeks with either bright red or bright pink lipstick. Love it!
- Outfit:
This is slightly seasonal once again. In the Spring/Summer I am all about a flowy skirt, a comfortable blouse or tank top with fun sandals and a flower in my hair. In the Fall/Winter, it's definitely a pair of old jeans, my pink converse sneakers, a bright top, and my white vintage three-quarter length jacket.
Q: What is one beauty item you can not live without?
A: My MAC Milan Mode lip liner and lipstick. It is hot, hot pink and totally me! It's a bit of a striker but that's my style to a T and I really hope I never have to learn what life would be like without it. :)
Q: In your opinion what can be splurged on, and what can be bought on the less expensive side?
A: Brushes can definitely be splurged on. Cheap brushes are just that, cheap. A good set of brushed, while expensive, will last you a lifetime when taken care of properly and are totally worth the extra buck! Mascara, in my opinion, is one of the things that can bought for less. I personally use Maybelline's Colossal Volum' Express Mascara for myself as well as all of my clients and, let me say, it is a miracle in a bottle! If I had a dollar for every client of mine that went out and purchased that mascara after I used it on her, I would be a wealthy woman! I've tried hundred dollar mascaras and I still like my Colossal best!
Q: Any parting words for our readers?
A: Makeup is a wonderful thing where there really is no ultimate right or wrong. There is only perception and as that changes in the world, makeup will forever change too. Follow your love and passion for makeup or for whatever else you may enjoy and you will find yourself learning and expanding your knowledge like you never imagined! And when it comes to your passion, never, ever give up. You can do it!
Thanks again Grace!
Contact Info for Blushing Brides:
(978) 763 - 5203
[email protected]
www.BlushingBridesBoston.com
www.facebook.com/blushingbrides