So today is the last in our current series of wedding supplier spotlights (more later in the year) I hope you have enjoyed the fabulous people we have brought to you ss far. Today I am also delighted to welcome to the blog the very talented Kaz Fernando, makeup artist.
I love my job. Not a day goes by without me thinking how lucky I am to be working in an industry steeped in happiness (and, let’s not forget, love!) and to work with women who are in a constant state of eager anticipation and brimming with positive hope for the future.
Incredibly, some of the most common feedback I get from my brides is that I’m a very calm person to have around. My husband cannot believe this, but it’s true. I strongly believe my previous working life in a pressurised, hectic, yet customer facing environment has given me the experience to be the voice of calm with my brides and their bridal parties.
I flew for 10 years with British Airways, both on long-haul and short haul flights and got to interact with people from all over the world. I was very interested in hair and makeup even then and my time as part of the global British Airways promotions team taught me an awful lot about presentation, grooming and appearance.
As much as I loved flying, the arrival of my second daughter prompted me to re-evaluate my life. So I said goodbye to the skies and decided to retrain and focus on my strengths. A gruelling 6 months later, I emerged ready to take on the world as a freelance make-up artist.
After working in TV and for a selection of magazines for a few years, I had an enquiry from a bride who needed hair and makeup for her wedding. What a trusting woman! Not having had any experience in weddings at that point, I was a little sceptical and apprehensive to say the least. Nevertheless, I agreed to help her and loved every second. More importantly, so did she it seemed. The rest is history.
Today, the bulk of Kaz Fernando Makeup’s business is bridal. We do, on average, 50 weddings a year and cover most of London and the South East, although we are happy to travel further afield if necessary. Ninety percent of our wedding work is both bridal makeup AND hair. The rest of the time we work with top photographers and we have come to specialise in vintage boudoir makeup. A vintage wedding hair and makeup job is my dream!
It was a great honour for me personally to win this year’s National Wedding Makeup Artist of the Year award in Central London, especially as the ‘votes’ were in fact detailed feedback from over 50 of my recent brides. Quite astonishing and very humbling.
But I’m very glad to say that bridal makeup is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Brides spend thousands on great photographers , the dress, the venue and everything else. But no matter how beautiful the dress, venue and photographs – if the bride looks slightly over made-up (or, as I have seen in some cases, like a clown!), then the memories can be tainted forever.
My philosophy is to help my brides be the most beautiful version of themselves that they can be on the day. None of us are Gisele Bundchen in the flesh (not even Gisele as it happens), but subtle, long lasting hair and makeup using only top quality products and applied by an expert make an enormous difference to the way brides look and feel.
So, don’t scrimp on the makeup ladies – it really is worth the small investment! Plus you get to be made up by people who, by and large, really, really love their work.
A bit like me.
To contact Kaz for your wedding makeup needs, please use the following -
Website – www.kazfernandomakeup.co.uk
Email – Kaz@kazfernandomakeup.co.uk
Telephone – m: 07956 396 308
