S4E08 - Confidence is the Best Look: Beauty Tips for the Big Day

In the last episode of season 4, we chat with Jaclyn Rusnak (she/her) to chat the about her experience planning her own wedding, the importance of skincare and beauty, and the challenges of building a team in the wedding industry. 

They emphasize the need for inclusivity and sustainability in their practices, while also highlighting the significance of effective communication with clients. The discussion touches on the importance of having a wedding planner (not a paid endorsement, haha), the need for pricing transparency, and the personal connections formed during the wedding experience.

Want to connect with Jaclyn? Find her on Instagram or check out her website. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Welcome to That's Rad, life, love, and wedding planning in the Pacific Northwest, where our goal is to educate and elevate. I am Radhika, planner and owner of Radications, and today I'm joined by Jacqueline Resnack, one of the phenomenal makeup artists here in Victoria, BC. How has your day been so far? Hey, thanks for having me. Yeah, it's been really good. How about you? It's been a busy one. I feel like it's like email central for when you're not on site.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

I, yeah, I know. I went through my inbox yesterday and it was like 56 emails from over the weekend. It was I was like, oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Yeah. And you're like, oh, and I have to do everything for something at each one of these emails.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Yeah. Yeah. I know. I like time blocked an hour for myself. I was like, that'll be enough time to go through emails. And then I got through like a quarter of them. I was like,

SPEAKER_01 0:56

oh my gosh. Yeah. Some of these days I'm like, maybe I need an assistant. You don't have an assistant? Well, like I have like assistants for wedding days, but not for like emails and admin. I'm like, maybe I should get one. But then I'm like. Oh, girlfriend. You should get one. I think you need to get one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:11

You definitely should. I got one in, I think, April, March. Maybe her name's Christina. Everybody needs a Christina. She has like so changed. Yeah, it's great. I mean, just between like having all the automations and just having somebody who's like so zoned in, I feel like is great because then it gives us the ability to like go back into our zone of genius, which for me is not administration. So it's nice to be able to just like get somebody to do that job and be able to focus on other areas of our business. So 10 out of 10 recommend you getting one.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

I know. And here I am telling everyone that they should delegate as much as they can. And I delegate so many things that I'm like, oh, no, I can do that myself. I

SPEAKER_02 1:54

feel like that's so much like an entrepreneurial mindset, though. I don't know if that's like a woman thing or maybe just like I'm like that, too, because I'm just like, OK, it's fine. I can do it. I can do this. I can do that. And then like slowly, it's like this small trickle. And it's like, OK, wow, now I'm burnt out and I don't have the ability to do other things. So yeah, I'm definitely the

SPEAKER_01 2:15

same.

SPEAKER_02 2:42

So I actually ended up hiring a team when I was in Vancouver and I just kind of like slapped it together and Frankensteined it and didn't really know what I was doing. But I had years of like restaurant and hospitality leadership. So I had an idea of how to run a team, but it's so much different when it's like your team. passion and your own business. But I think I did a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong. And so now coming over into Victoria years later, I have my own business coach and mentor and somebody that's been able to help me with that. I think it's been a lot more streamlined, but it's still a challenge. I think anytime you work with people and you bring them into your brand, it can be a bit intimidating, I think. And I'm very, very grateful that I've been connected with some really great stylists and artists in the area and all over Vancouver Island. And it's been very eye-opening to me as well, being able to work with both stylists and artists who, you know, have different experiences than you. And even somebody who's like your quote unquote junior. And it's really, really cool to work with them and, you know, pick up things from them. And it's made me kind of like broaden my lens a little bit to be like, I should do X, Y, and Z, or I should... up my pricing or I should maybe be a bit more strategic with this or with that. And so I feel like it's really allowed me to have a bit more of like thick skin and a softened heart a little bit because then there's other challenges with, with growing a team as well. I think, you know, what we were talking about just moments ago with the whole admin thing, I'm definitely a control freak. I'm very much like, I'm not type A, but like, I just have so much anxiety that I'm like, I just need to be in control of everything at all times. And so I think that is a big, a big like block or it can be a big block for people with with hiring a team and I know like you you said you have assistants and other people that you know that you work with as well and so I like I know you're shaking your head I'm sure any other person that has a team or has been on a team can can kind of I would hope like relate to that as well

SPEAKER_01 4:48

yeah and I know I came from having a team of planners and assistants and now we have the team of assistants for the wedding days and I found the management of all the people and the personalities was like another job on top of managing the online and promoting the business. And it was almost like I needed another person to be like the general manager of the people that were working on the team.

SPEAKER_02 5:11

Yeah, yeah. And it's interesting, because I think like, for me, I'm trying to step back and just kind of see like, okay, what is the bigger picture for me? And what do I actually want out of my career? Because I've been doing this for 15 years, not in weddings, necessarily, but I've been doing makeup for a very long time. And now I'm a mom, and I'm a wife, and I have different priorities now that I did, you know, even 10 years ago, when I first started doing makeup. And so or even when I first started doing weddings in 2018. So I think it's just, you know, kind of reflecting and checking in with myself about like, what I really want. and where I want my brand and my company to grow. And I think that was like a big thing with me starting a team is I don't want to have to be, you know, boots on the ground every single weekend doing weddings. Although I absolutely like, I love weddings, but I want to be able to kind of like split my time a little bit more now with like the education side of my business and starting to, you know, get this agency together. And yeah, so it's like, I'm definitely in a very busy season right now. I know. So I totally understand what you're talking about. Like, oh, I need a general manager. And I was saying this to my therapist the other day. I'm like, can I just clone myself? That would be awesome rather than taking something off my plate because I just need two of me. So I totally get that.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

Yeah, I know. We're a long ways away from cloning though. More like if you want like an AI clone, maybe. Yeah, I don't know about that. I'm

SPEAKER_02 6:32

a little bit weary of the AI cloning. I'm like, I'll just have my Christina. I'll just have my assistant for now and that'll be okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Yeah, I mean, I feel you. I'm on the same page with AI. I It makes me nervous. It

SPEAKER_02 6:43

makes me a little bit nervous. I'm like, oh, this is really cool. But then when I really think about it, I'm like, oh.

SPEAKER_01 6:49

Yeah, maybe not so much. So you said that you got into wedding makeup in 2018. How did you end up here? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

I mean, I'm very transparent about it. When I first started doing makeup, I didn't want anything to do with weddings. I had always had this vision of... becoming a TV and film makeup artist. And so that was always my goal. And I started doing makeup when I was 18 years old. That was in 2008, working at a MAC cosmetics counter, which was so cool because back then we didn't have Sephora. We didn't have all these cool brands. MAC was the brand, or at least it was in my world. That was really cool. And it just exposed me to different things. Through that, I really learned a lot about TV and film makeup. So I went to Blanchard Donald in Vancouver, got around the film industry a little bit, started working on like some short films. And while I was in school and shortly after, I just kind of realized that like film was not what I wanted for my life. And I knew I wanted to be a mom one day. I knew like family was always a really big value for me. And I just saw all these people that were in that industry. And it's like crazy. Like, I think we all know somebody that's in film and, you know, I still have very good friends that are in film doing, doing hair and makeup and like my hats are off to them because it's crazy. It's a long day for a lot of them. Yeah. Like crazy hours. And all of our teachers at Blanche for the most part had been in TV and film. And so it was really cool because you got to, I'm always somebody who like asks a lot of questions. Like if I see somebody, you know, if I'm like walking by a big house and like a big mansion and the you know, person like on the, on the driveway. Like I'm that person that I'll probably run up and be like, what do you do for a living? How did you get here? Did you sell a business? Did you invest money? Did you have money? Were you born into money? Like, I'm just always so curious. So it was nice having my teachers be in the industry and being able to ask them firsthand. And I think through that, I was just like, wow, it's like your job is your life. And as much as I love makeup and I'm really, really passionate about it, I really wanted to put like my kids and my family in ahead of that and so it kind of like kind of put my flame out for a little while like I feel like I was really Yeah, I was like really sad after hearing that because I'd wanted to do TV and film for many years. And so I actually quit doing makeup for a couple of years and just kind of dabbled in the odd thing. And then, you know, I think people still recognize that you're a makeup artist or a wedding planner or, you know, that you have this trade. And so I started having people just ask me like, oh, can you just help me get ready for, you know, my prom or my friend's wedding or I have a night out. And so I started picking out my brushes again. And that was kind of how I started getting into makeup. into weddings. I was 27, 28. And so I started having a lot of friends that were beginning to get married, or they were bridesmaids and knew somebody that was getting married. And so I think, you know, I'm from a very small town and in Alberta, and so people didn't want to spend a lot of money on that. And so I was offering it for really, really cheap and also a familiar face. And, you know, getting on those weddings, I started realizing I'm like, holy shit, I can actually make a lot of money doing this. And I can control my hours a little bit more than being on a film set or being on a commercial set in certain respects. And so it just kind of snowballed from there. And I think those couple years that I took off from makeup, like I said, I dabbled in different things. And it really started to spark this entrepreneurial spirit in me. And so for me getting into weddings, it was kind of like this beautiful mix of like me being able to create my own brand and create and then talk about things that I was really really passionate about but then also be able to bring in like that beauty aspect that I've like ever since I was 13 I had wanted to be a makeup artist like I remember playing with my grandma's and my mom's makeup and and you know getting to be around these these women on their on their weddings and just seeing like how you can really make somebody feel and just now being able to like get so much more beyond that and start to like create relationships and so I guess that's kind kind of how I ended up here.

SPEAKER_01 11:01

Yeah. And it's a beautiful like ebb and flow. I feel like it's so true for every entrepreneur that you kind of are like in love with it for a while and then you're kind of out of love with it. And then you come back and see what else there is. And eventually you come back to what it is that you may have always wanted or not always wanted.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Yeah. And it's so true, like the ebbs and flows of it. And I feel like, you know, through different seasons of my life, it's, you know, ebbed or flowed for different reasons. And I think even, you know, when I was pregnant, I had this like call. We love pets here.

SPEAKER_01 11:40

Yeah,

SPEAKER_02 11:43

he needs to be in the action. This is Hagrid. I just didn't want my whole life to be evenings and weekends working in bridal. And so I started, again, having this kind of like, okay, well, am I going to do something else? Am I not going to? And I think after having my son and actually being a mom, not just being pregnant, it kind of made me reevaluate things and made me realize that another reason why I love being an entrepreneur and being in bridal is... I think I just want to prove to myself that I can really, really do it. And I just also want to prove to my kids that if you have a dream and if you have a desire, that you can do it. Mind you, I couldn't go and be a basketball player, but there are certain things that I think are okay to go for. I mean, I've always been a really big dreamer. I think I was that kid labeled in school being like, oh, her head's in the clouds. She's a dreamer, blah, blah, blah, blah. And I think along the way, I was really told to maybe lessen your dreams, make them a little bit smaller, make them more realistic and all those things. And that's just never been me. And I just want to show my kids that you don't need to quiet your voice or quiet your dreams just to appease other people, that you really can go for that. And so... I think that's been like a really big part of, of this journey now of, you know, being a mom and being a makeup artist. So sorry if that was like on a little bit

SPEAKER_01 13:10

of attention. I completely get it. I feel like that is something that I have said too, where I was like, I don't know if I want to do like weddings every single weekend. And then, you know, how do you spend time with your family? And, but then at the end of the day, I did come to that same realization in a roundabout way, just like you did. Yeah. You know, this is like the proof. of like, you know, how can your kids see that they can go out and get anything they want if you're not going and doing the same thing?

SPEAKER_02 13:38

Yeah. And it is really cool. I mean, my son's two and a half and he, you know, sees my brides coming in for trials and different clients coming in. And, you know, he's like, mommy, you doing their wedding makeup? Oh, mommy. He's like, can I meet your friends? Like, he's so excited about it. And I think, you know, as parents, we just want to do something that makes our kids really proud. And I think part of that is also you know, doing something to fulfill ourselves in that roundabout way. I mean, I watched both my parents like sacrifice so much for me. And I think that I'm like, I'm so grateful for that. But now reflecting back on it as an adult I wish that they would have done more for themselves and to put themselves forward a little bit and that is something that I really want to do and if I can do that with my career and something that I'm really really passionate about because I think the other thing with like being in makeup and hair anyways and beauty in general it's such a it's such a great space for me to be able to connect with other people and it's so intimate and I was really reminded of that yesterday I've been talking to a a bride of mine and she was just sharing some really vulnerable stuff with me and you know I was sharing back with her and I think like I said it really reminded me how intimate of a job this is where like you get to see somebody in their rawest form and I think that you know through I grew up in the 90s and even now like with so much social media and how yeah AI and how fake a lot of the world can be I think people are so so hard on themselves and I see it with like 90% of my clients that are so self-critical and I think so like somebody shows up to me with like no makeup on hair not done and you're basically telling them okay these are the things you need to do to be the most beautiful on the most important day of your life like it's such a raw and vulnerable thing and it is really special like getting to just be there and connect with them and like be that person they get to open up to I mean I think it's a huge joke with wedding makeup artists we're like we're basically a therapist because we're like the last person that they see or sorry the first and last person And, you know, throughout the entire process, it's just like a very, very personal thing. And that is also, I think, such a such a cool thing to be a part of and being able to, you know, influence and uplift women and men, mostly women, though, in in that way. And like, that's also something that I want to be able to, like, show my kids and like, give back to the world and just kind of like be a bit of that, you know, that love that that other people really need. Definitely. And I feel like

SPEAKER_01 16:11

sometimes it's like, you know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't Sometimes when I see newer people enter entering the industry, it seems to be a little lost on them that we are like such a part of the memories that these people are going to have and like how we made them feel is going to last further than just their wedding day. And I feel like sometimes people get into the industry for the money and the fame or like the social media virality or something. And it's like it's kind of lost that actually, no, it's just it's a people based. connection-based business at the end of the day. Yeah, it's huge. And I

SPEAKER_02 16:46

mean, even going back to like the team aspect of it, I mean, I've been very picky with who I've wanted to bring onto my team. And, you know, there's tons of talented people. And I don't just mean in Victoria, Vancouver Island, like this was happening to, you know, in Vancouver as well when I was there. And you need to have both, like you really need to have that hospitality and that empathy and that compassion for people. And then also be able to deliver with the talent. Like I was saying, you know, you need a bit of a thick skin and a softened skin.

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Yes, definitely. So I'm going to change the subject a little bit here. I know you planned your own wedding not that long ago. Happy one year anniversary. Thank you. Thank you. So what do you think that all couples should consider when they're going through that phase of planning? Oh my gosh, get a wedding planner. And I'm not just saying that because I'm on your podcast. I didn't pay her to

SPEAKER_02 17:41

say

SPEAKER_01 17:41

that.

SPEAKER_02 17:42

No, you didn't. That was honestly one of like the biggest things that I think I would change at least for the month before. Like I am very lucky that like one of my bridesmaids used to be a wedding planner. And so she helped me a lot with like the year breakdown and she gave me all these checklists. And so I feel like I'm a pretty... organized person when i have a list for the most part um but it is a lot of work and i think even just you know being in the wedding industry you know i was like oh i do this i don't do this like i do someone's hair and makeup like i don't plan an entire wedding it is so much work it is literally like a part-time job that month before it's like coordinating emails and you know coordinating your different vendors and and just making sure this little tiny detail gets done but you can't actually do x y and z until this time but you can't do that until this is done like it was just so much coordinating and I would definitely say if I could change something it would be the month of planner I think it would have alleviated so much stress because I think I almost got to my wedding date and I was like at a point where like I was so excited to get married and I was so excited for the day but I was always almost in the headspace of like okay I just want this to be done Not the actual wedding, but I wanted to be done planning. I'm like, okay, I'm just ready to enjoy. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

Yeah. And I feel like even if you are a really type A personality and you are fully equipped to do all the things and have the to-do list and everything, it does get a little wearing on you when it's not something that

SPEAKER_02 19:17

you do

SPEAKER_01 19:17

all day,

SPEAKER_02 19:18

every day. Yeah. Yeah. It's like decision fatigue. Like it was crazy.

SPEAKER_01 19:22

Yeah. Yeah. And I find sometimes too, I've seen people, like even if they are working with a planner, get to a point where they're like, oh, this costs more money. I'm just going to throw more money at it. It's fine. It's fine. Everything's just a yes because they're like, okay, let's just get to the day.

SPEAKER_02 19:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:37

And I get that because it's definitely like, you know, it's like, okay, is it like my sanity or is it just a little bit more? And so, yeah, I would definitely... definitely a budget for that. Definitely.

SPEAKER_01 19:50

So being on that side of the wedding planning instead of being on the provider side, do you think that the wedding industry can do anything to be a little bit more inclusive?

SPEAKER_02 20:02

Like the wedding industry as a whole?

SPEAKER_01 20:03

Maybe like you're part of the wedding industry or even if you've got thoughts on as a whole. Yeah. I mean, I

SPEAKER_02 20:10

definitely think like going through the wedding planning process and being a bride myself has made me change the way that I, the way that my business runs and like my entire customer journey, because I didn't really have one before. And I think specifically for like hair and makeup, it's kind of this weird thing where like you don't have a ton of touch points except for the trial and your trial doesn't really happen until like closer to the wedding. Like for my own personal brand, I like doing my, where my trials about like three to six weeks out from the wedding, depending on the bride, obviously in the situation. But like some of my brides book me 18 months out. So if you're booking even 12 months out, which is pretty standard, like I'm not going to talk to you for another 10 or 11 months. Like that's a really long time. And then for me in my head, I was like, I hope even though I signed like a contract or, you know, whatever and gave deposits, I'm like, well, I hope they still like have my wedding date. You just don't really know. I'm like, I haven't talked to you. Hello. Are you there? So it has made me, you know, change things a little bit more. And I think also just like understanding like, The amount of stress and like demand that actually goes into planning a wedding and like the stress on the bride has made me really, I think, just like position myself a little bit differently with my brides, even like the follow up. emails for brides and I don't know what you do with like follow-up emails but I was talking to my assistant Christina about this and I don't know just personally like for me I had so much stuff going on in my head that like if my vendor reached out to me and they reached out to me again you know two days later I'd be like oh thank you because I just totally forgot about it whereas I think before I was a bride I would feel like I was nagging them Yeah. Where now I'm like, oh no, you just have like a million things going on and you just need like a little tap on the shoulders to be like, hey, I'm still here. Like I'm not trying to nag you, but just keep you on track.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

A hundred percent. And I feel like when you work with the right clients too, they're not going to see it as nagging. They're going to see it as you just being on top of things.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

Yeah. And just like really wanting to be there for them and make sure that they are good to go and in the right headspace or whatever that might be. I think that definitely, like I said, changed kind of my entire customer experience. And so now we do have lots of touchpoint emails where it's like, you know, right after they book to six months out, a couple months out, trial after the trial, just so you know, just a little like, hey, I'm still here if you need anything, like, don't be afraid to reach out to me. So I think, yeah, that would be that would be the biggest thing. And I don't know. And I mean, I don't know if you do this. So if you don't, I apologize. But no, like so many people don't have their prices listed on their website, which is crazy.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

Do you have your prices listed? I do. I have. And I actually just talked about this on the podcast episode that came out this week. Okay. Yeah. And it's basically like, I think it's really important for people to have pricing on their website, even if it's a range, even if it's a starting app. Yes. But, yeah, it's nice to, like, at least know that you're talking to people who understand your value and your worth. And if they don't, they're, like, willing to come to an understanding, too, sometimes.

SPEAKER_02 23:53

Yeah. Yeah. And that was, like, a big thing for me looking for vendors. Everyone has a budget. I think that's very, you know, normal and appropriate. would highly recommend having a budget when you go into wedding planning. So you at least know. But yeah, that was really tough for me, like going on to different, different, you know, and looking, you know, through this beautiful work. I'm like, I just don't know. I just don't know what your prices are. So I think that was a big thing. And then just also response time. I would say for me anyways, that was another reason why I wanted to get an assistant, especially getting into wedding season, because I just wanted to make sure that I was able to respond to my clients in a timely, timely manner. I know during wedding season can be like a little bit crazy and I hope most people understand that you know especially for weekends like we are very much out and about but like there were some vendors that would get back to me like five six seven days later and I was like that's crazy okay I don't know 24 no no not at all I I just yeah I couldn't believe it I'm trying to think now more like specifically I think my hair and makeup girls were both like I knew them so I just reached out to them but you know reaching out to um different like catering companies and different kinds of vendors this Really surprised, actually, at the response times for people.

SPEAKER_01 25:10

Yeah, and I find that, like, I will, like, yell this from the rooftops. I find that more people in the industry need to have an autoresponder, even if it's just an email that says, hey, got your email, and this is when you're going to hear from us. Because it saves everybody that question mark of, like, hey, did they actually get my email? Did it go through the contact form? Like, what's going on here?

SPEAKER_02 25:31

Yeah, is it, like, in contact form, like, limbo? Like, what is going on?

SPEAKER_01 25:35

Yeah, because like, that's the other thing too, right? Because a lot of the times, sometimes vendors don't even know that like, maybe their contact form isn't working until someone tells them.

SPEAKER_02 25:43

Yeah, no, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 25:44

Yeah. So with that, though, did you find also like, this could be like, from your perspective as running a business, do you ever have people that contact you saying, hey, we are two grooms and or like, we are non binary? Like, do you how do you find that like, the industry could better represent those people?

SPEAKER_02 26:04

Yeah, I think it's I think it's definitely like a big thing that needs to get worked on. And even for my own pricing, it's hard because I think that it's not as common, right? So, and maybe it's not as common because people aren't offering it. I don't know. Maybe that's the catch there. So maybe if, you know, people don't feel represented, they don't bother reaching out. So that could be that well. I definitely think that even like speaking from myself, there's a lot of work to be done. I took a look at all my my packages and my pricing today for multiple reasons. And I've done two groom weddings before. I even have lots of brides that are like, hey, my husband or my husband-to-be is wanting to get know like a style or like a little bit of a little bit of makeup or um you know they want to feel pampered as well and so i think you know today like i said i was looking at some of my pricing and that was one of the gaps that i i noticed where i was like oh i kind of want to include something for for men or for the two grooms and just be able to be more inclusive because that is something that i really stand on as a brand is wanting to include everybody on their wedding day. It's not just women. And so, you know, I had my first two groom wedding was two years ago. And I even noticed that in my contracts. So I switched all the wording up in my contracts from, you know, from bride and bridesmaid and now to just wedding party, because it's non inclusive terms. And so yeah, I definitely think that's something that needs to be, you know, represented. more represented, better represented, whatever the wording is there.

SPEAKER_01 27:38

Definitely. And then with that too, like, you know, hand in hand, like we're talking a lot about inclusivity now and sustainability has become like a really hot topic too. And I know that like in the makeup industry, there's definitely things that you can't get away from because, you know, you got to keep the sanitation in mind. But do you have any ideas or do you implement any sustainable methods into your business to kind of Yeah, you know, I was thinking about this

SPEAKER_02 28:08

the other day and I'm pretty flip floppy. I will be the first to admit with it because, yeah, it is a lot of the like disposable products, obviously, that are more challenging to be sustainable with where it's like mascara wands and, you know, lip wands and, you know, the Q-tips and all those kinds of things. So there is ways to get around some of it. Again, I think it goes back to like how much of this is compromising sanitization over compromising sanitation. sustainability. I don't know. I haven't actually looked at like the stats behind some of that or like what is realistic between like, okay, how much can you actually sanitize X, Y, and Z. But there are things like, you know, with, with mascara wands, for example, like you can get brushes like mascara fans that do work really, really well. And same thing with like lip applicators, like you can have a lip brush as well. So yeah, I do think that those are things. I mean, I use lip brushes still because I mean, when I'm doing a bridal party, I have eight sets of brushes. I'm not going to be using the same brushes on anybody anyways. But yeah, there are some things that I think it's a little bit more challenging to get around. But like when I was thinking about sustainability, those were kind of the big ones for me within makeup anyways. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

And what about the products that you use? I know I had a conversation with another makeup artist where they were saying that, you know, a lot of the green beauty products out there aren't necessarily ones that wear very well over a wedding day. And I don't know if that's changed because that was a couple years ago we had that conversation.

SPEAKER_02 29:39

Yeah. And I think there's a long way to go. And I know like I worked at Sephora many years ago and they were really big on promoting like the clean beauty, green beauty. Again, I don't know how much of that is even truly accurate. I mean, you can look on different brands and their sustainability. What am I trying to say? Forgive my mom brain.

SPEAKER_01 29:58

I guess that's like a good conversation for like the fact that there's a lot of conversation around greenwashing with makeup. Greenwashing.

SPEAKER_02 30:36

But yeah, it's the same thing with, with sustainability. I think that, or with being green, I think there's a lot of work to be done. I will say like, I'm very guilty. It's not something that I really look at, especially for, you know, a wedding where I'm like, I might be doing your makeup at 8am. And you're going to be, you know, or maybe even earlier, depending on like, if it's a South Asian wedding, like getting I've done makeup at three, four in the morning. And you know, they need to be good to go for, you know, the evening time, like 789 12 o'clock. So I'm definitely looking for something that is really, really long wearing. Yeah, if the green can't really support that, then it's not something that I would typically look at, which, yeah, like I said, I'm not the best person for for that. I

SPEAKER_01 31:23

mean, we're all trying, right? Guilty. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. How important do you think skincare is before you even get to the wedding day? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 31:32

So

SPEAKER_01 31:32

I

SPEAKER_02 31:34

think if you're going to be investing in professional makeup for your wedding day, which is a luxury service, I mean, you're not going to be getting your makeup done every single day, which would be awesome if you did.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

I mean, if you're Heidi Pratt, Heidi and Spencer, I'm pretty sure she does. Honestly?

SPEAKER_02 31:50

A lot of them do. Kardashians, they get glam every single day. Mind you. Sorry. You know, but I would, no, I would love that. But it is a luxury service. And so if you're investing in getting your makeup done for your wedding day, I mean, I'm assuming that it is something that you value and that you are wanting to be, you know, at least part of a focus of your wedding day. And so I think, you know, making sure that you are kind of getting your money's worth. I think, you know, good skincare or good skin is always going to look better under makeup than you know, bad skin. And I think everybody, you know, has different skin and it's going to be different for every single person. Like skincare is going to be different for every single person, but, and good skin and bad skin is going to be different for every single person. It's quite subjective, but I think, you know, just doing a little bit to take care of your skin leading up to the wedding day is also going to last you past your wedding day. It's something that's going to make yourself feel really good. And I think that it is a really It can be a really intimidating journey for people, you know, talk to either makeup artists or, you know, brides or everyday women about their skincare all the time. And I think it can be super overwhelming. And so I know for me, sometimes when I get super overwhelmed with something, I just get paralyzed. I'm like, I'm just not going to do it. Right. So I'm sure that's kind of, you know, the vibe with skincare sometimes. But I say just like start with cleansing your skin and moisturizing. Right. That's super, super basic, but it is going to make a huge difference in your skin. Just like washing your face at the end of the night with a cleanser and using a moisturizer. Like I had a bride the other day, her skin was so nice. She has oily acne, problematic skin, and she just uses the life brand, which is like, I think that's from like shoppers or something. Yeah. But like she does, she showed me her skin before and I was like, Oh wow. Like she definitely has like acne, oily skin and it just works for her skin. And it doesn't mean it's going to work for everybody, but I think trying to you know find something that works and it's cheap it's like 20 bucks a month for her to to be able to do that so I would say it's huge I mean if you think about going and like you know painting on a wall or even like painting on a picture if you have you know this wall that's all you know cracked and there's chunks missing off of it and I'm like oh you know what's going to fix this a nice coat of paint well you're still going to be able to see all the texture and the cracks and everything that's missing behind it. But if you actually go and like drywall it and you let it dry and then you sand it and then you take care of it properly and then you put the paint over top of it, then it's going to be a finished product. Like the paint isn't just going to fix it. It's going to you know, kind of mask it a little bit. And I think the same thing goes with makeup. And I know earlier we were talking about like the clean girl, like natural makeup, which is so popular right now. The base of that is good skincare and taking care of your skin. So I think investing in into that is, is good. And I mean, heck, if someone's like really overwhelmed by going to Sephora, like don't go to Sephora, start with, go to the drugstore and, and, and go and go look at that. Like there's some great products at the drugstore too. So.

SPEAKER_01 34:52

Yeah. And I mean, I also was one of those people that was very hesitant about my skincare journey because I had pretty good skin and then I got pregnant and then everything went all over the place. And I actually ended up going to a facelist and I was really nervous because it was a friend's recommendation and the people I've gone to before, they just seem to like push products on you. And this was the exact opposite experience. And I'm still going to her not as often as she would probably like. Like it like, you know, twice a year, it really helps. And it's really good that I've got like a skincare routine that it's meant for my skin. And like it's if it might work for my skin, it might not necessarily work for somebody else's like you were saying with that. bride too. Yeah. Yeah. And even like I had

SPEAKER_02 35:36

another bride the other week who from, you know, her trial, her skin wasn't bad, but like she had noticeable texture. She has oily acne prone skin. And then her wedding was just two weeks ago. And I was like, what did you do? Like her skin was like butter. Like, oh my gosh. Like I just wanted, it was beautiful. It was so nice. I'm like, what did you change in your skincare routine? She was like, oh, I'm using less. I was overdoing it before I was over exfoliating and I was using this too much. And so I think that just really goes to show that like more skincare and, you know, doing the seven or nine step routine with all these, you know, serums and toners and whatever, isn't always the answer. Sometimes you're, you're just clogging up your, your skin and you're just overdoing it. And so, like I said, just starting with like a cleanser and a moisturizer, like if my brides are like, yeah, that's all I do. I'm like, good for you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 36:27

I mean, we all can't be like my husband who just uses like a bar of soap.

UNKNOWN 36:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:32

It's always the men. I'm like, why? Why? I'm like, you have perfect skin. Perfect eyelashes. I'm like, why? You don't even care. It's not fair.

SPEAKER_01 36:45

So actually, this is a really good segue into the game I wanted to play with you. A game? Yeah. I actually even named it and called it Blend It or Block It. So if you love it. Shut up. If you love it, then you have to say blend it. If you don't like it, then you can say block it, but you can, you can elaborate. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:07

Oh my gosh. This is so exciting. Are you showing me like pictures?

SPEAKER_01 37:10

I'm just going to tell you the things. If you need explanation, let me know. I am not that advanced. I'm like doing all of this editing myself. Love it. Okay, cool. Okay. The first one is mouth taping while you sleep. Like the,

SPEAKER_02 37:23

um, Is it like the little like, no, what do you mean mouth taping?

SPEAKER_01 37:27

Okay, so you can get like, you can buy this and it's like a little like piece of like plastic or something that you tape over your mouth and it's supposed to like close your mouth while you sleep. And like the TikTok girlies are saying that like it helps with the under part of your chin because that's apparently something we need to worry about now. Add it to the list.

SPEAKER_02 37:47

Add it to the list of things we need to worry about. My gosh, block it. That is ridiculous. That's crazy to me. Use a facial roller. That's what I was thinking. I am such a mouth breather. Like, I would die. I would actually suffocate and die. I don't know how to use my nose to breathe, so I would die. That's crazy. Yeah, block it. Peel off lip stain. I'm indifferent. Okay. I'm indifferent. I haven't tried it. Maybe you'll have to try it.

SPEAKER_01 38:14

And tell us all about it. You

SPEAKER_02 38:15

know what? I will be very honest. I'm actually very bad with trendy products, which I think is a blessing. I don't know if it's a bad thing. Yeah. I'm even pretty bad with some social media trends. I try and post and get off as much as I can. So yeah, I've seen the peel-off lip stains, but I haven't tried them. But I've seen some friends who I regard as very good makeup artists using them on themselves. So yeah. I guess for the sake of that and the game, I'll say blend it.

SPEAKER_01 38:47

Using lipstick as blush. Blend it. Yeah. All right. Yeah. Yeah. How about brow lamination? No, block it. Actually, I kind of feel the same way. I fell for it and I did it. Did you? Yeah. And then I found out I was pregnant and then I was like, okay, I can't do this anymore. But like my one eyebrow doesn't, I have to like put like a lot of eyebrow gel into it now.

SPEAKER_02 39:12

I was like, why did I ever get this done? Oh my gosh. You're like, no, regret it. No. And you know what? I think it's one of those things where it can be done very tastefully. But obviously, as a society, we take things to the next level. And sometimes I'm just like, you are so excited, like all the time, which is fine. But yeah, just it's not for me. That's fair. So we're going to block it. We're going to block that one. Yeah. Okay. Netic lashes. I was having this conversation with somebody the other day. Again, I've never tried it. I think because it freaks me out. I don't know. I know that I put all this other goop and shit around my eyes anyways, but there's something about putting a magnet right next to my eye. I don't know. I'm going to block it.

SPEAKER_01 39:53

Okay. That's fair. I mean, I get it. I get it. Yeah. I'm going to block it. You're like, has this been tested? Yeah, maybe. I don't know. Okay. The morning shed, aka wearing multiple skin products overnight, like the face mask, the lip stain, the mouth taping, etc, etc. I haven't heard that term before. Somebody sent me this video. And it's this, I guess he's a dermatologist. And it's this woman who's got like a face mask, two face masks, actually. And then like, she's got like, like something to like keep her chin up and then the lip taping and the lipstick Oh my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. Like I definitely don't just like move

SPEAKER_02 40:58

around too much. Like I even tried to do like the heatless curls. I'm like the wrapping of the heatless curls overnight. And I was like, this is awful. Like I couldn't even sleep. It was so bad. And it didn't work out. But yeah, I'm going to block that one. Okay. Contour with bronzer only. Depends on the person.

SPEAKER_01 41:15

Okay.

UNKNOWN 41:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 41:16

Yeah, it depends on the person. I think if they are a really warm skin tone or I shouldn't say really warm. If they are a warmer skin tone, I would say yes. But if somebody has a cooler skin, Skin tone, I would say probably not. It's not really going to create that shadow, but it depends on the person's skin tone.

SPEAKER_01 41:35

Yeah. Okay. That's fair. So we're going to blend it. We're going to blend it. Yeah. We're going to blend it. And it should be blended. Yeah. Using expired makeup. On myself? Yes.

SPEAKER_02 41:45

So bad. I actually went and cleaned out through like all my personal makeup the other day and I was like, oh my gosh, some of this is so old. I threw out so much stuff. I mean, like in my personal kit, like I have my personal kit, my personal, like my bathroom drawer, I have an eyeshadow palette that's like six years old that I will still use in a blue moon because I barely wear eyeshadow anymore skincare and like foundation and liquids and creams I would say like they're just such a huge risk for bacteria when it's expired so that's going to be a no like everywhere yeah so that that's a big that's a big no like in my kit no I'm never going to have expired products I think it's like such a like I said it's such a liability thing and also I don't know if products last that long in my kit anyways but it But yeah, but in my own world, I would say it depends on what it is. If it's a cream or a liquid, I will definitely toss it. If it's a powder, I'll probably keep it because I'm just like for blush, especially, I just hoard them. I don't know what's wrong with me. I have a problem. I have so many and I'm like, this is like very old.

SPEAKER_01 42:48

Well, I mean, I feel like also you're like, I really like this. And then you may maybe like forget about it and like a new thing comes out. I do that.

SPEAKER_02 42:55

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, well, and that's another reason like when I was cleaning out my drawer, I was like, I forgot I had this and I forgot I had this product. I'm like, I don't need to go shopping anymore for makeup. I just like go through my stack of things in my drawer, so.

SPEAKER_01 43:06

Definitely. Okay, last one. A DIY skincare before makeup application. So this is like, you know, your homemade stuff, like your scrubs and things.

SPEAKER_02 43:16

I'm all for like a homemade sugar scrub. I feel like those are good, especially like if you want to do like a lip scrub or something. I feel like that's something you can do super easy. I'm indifferent though. because I don't know. There's also some really weird shit out there. People like, they're like, oh, I just put this apple cider vinegar all over my face or, you know, whatever, where I'm like, I'm going to burn your face. So I don't know. It depends on what it is. Do you have

SPEAKER_01 43:42

anything in mind specifically? I mean, I've heard about people doing like, like a mix of like egg and like other things and like using it as like a face mask, like egg and oatmeal and like, I don't know. Maybe apple cider vinegar. I don't know. It seems like there's like it's like goes like that whole like clean girl makeup trend. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I am definitely

SPEAKER_02 44:04

going to look at this after we. Okay. I'm so curious. Yeah, I don't know. You know what? Overall, I think I'm just going to block it because I think there's too much gray.

SPEAKER_01 44:13

Okay. Sounds good. And with that, where can our couples find you if they're interested in having you or your team be a part of their day?

SPEAKER_02 44:21

Yeah. So you can find our most up-to-date work on our Instagram, which right now is JacquelineRussmackArtistry. So J-A-C-L-Y-N for Jacqueline, R-U-S-N-A-K, Artistry. And then you can also find us on our website, which is also JacquelineRussmackArtistry.com.

SPEAKER_01 44:38

Amazing. Thank you so much for taking the time to be here. I know it's very busy for all of us, so I really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 44:45

Thank you so much for having me. It was so much fun and it was just a pleasure. All

SPEAKER_01 44:48

right. Well, I will hopefully see you at a wedding day and until next time. Awesome. Have a great

SPEAKER_04 44:55

day. Thanks so much. Yeah, you too. Okay,

SPEAKER_01 44:58

bye. A huge thank you to Jacqueline for being on the show and to all of our guests this season. Since wedding season is getting busier and busier, this will be the last episode of season four. And we will see you back here for season five in the fall. In the meantime, stay rad.

SPEAKER_00 45:16

Can you get into the funk tonight? Can you stomp to the beat and sway to the right? Can you feel it deep down in your soul? Can you dance to the rhythm and lose control? Can you let it move you? Let it choose you. Get in the funk and the funk will blow through you. way to the right can you feel it deep down in your soul can you dance to the rhythm and lose control