This is how we approach our work: our perspective, attitude, and culture.

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Our Unique View on What We Do: It's About the FACE.

 

We believe that the main goal of the wedding makeup & hair art is to enhance the FACE that's wearing them.
 

What this means is, the clients wearing the art need to be happy about how they look from THEIR perspective, and it's really NOT about how beautiful the art itself is. For example, even if the hairstyle we created looks gorgeous from the back and all other people love it and all, if the clients themselves don't feel beautiful wearing that hair for whatever reason, then we (should) consider this a failure as a bridal artist. This applies to the makeup work as well. The makeup look could be all colorful and SLAYING, but if it doesn't flatter the face, then what good does it do for them? Sounds pretty obvious, right? You'd be surprised how easily this concept can get lost among many bridal artists and salon hairstylists, and yet this subtle difference of perspective makes a HUGE difference in client's satisfaction.

 

Oftentimes, many artists approach the work as a piece of artwork/design (because, well, we are artists after all), so we tend to be more focused on making it look pretty in our eyes and consider the client as a model showcasing our artwork rather than catering the client's needs and wants. For example, a hairstylist's typical view of the client is from the back, so the stylist often forgets to look at the client through the mirror and assess how their work is enhancing or diminishing the client's beauty from the front view (client's point-of-view). This is a classic case of bridal artists and hairstylists sometimes forgetting that we're in fact in a customer service business, and that our art exists to serve the clients. While the quality of work itself is very very important, it's even more crucial for us to view it from the client's perspective: is the style flattering THEM, the client? Do they feel beautiful in it?

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[Fun Fact: did you know that a set of brows can look quite symmetrical when the artist looks at them in person straight on, and yet, when we turn around and look at the client's brows in the mirror, they can look uneven? Why and how does this happen? Whatever the reason actually is, what's important is that as an artist, we MUST check our work through the mirror. Always. Because that's how the client sees them!]

 

The reason why this is such a difficult concept to master for many artists is because, frankly, humans in general are way more concerned about how WE look to others than how OTHERS look to us. And humans in general certainly don't take time to analyze OTHER people's face and think about what would enhance certain types of faces, as much as we'd do with our own face. [Queue: all the Youtube makeup artists who can do their own makeup but not others very well.] Having keen, observant/analytical eyes is a talent, but it also takes efforts for one to be observant about someone else, and that effort usually comes from a place of love or passion [like, you'd look at a person you love with a very caring gaze and notice details about them, right?] (or... another strong feeling such as hate, but we'll discuss this at another appropriate time...).

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Although an artist's main job is to make you, the client, look good, you as a customer who has probably spent a fortune purchasing and receiving countless amount of beauty services in your lifetime would also know that it's extremely hard to find a beauty service provider who genuinely cares about making you look the best version of you. They're a rare species indeed! Artists are only human, and human on average doesn't have a surplus of energy laying around (oh life!), so many artists end up approaching it just as a job without passion or care; their artistry becomes a routine, in which the client becomes an object of work instead of a human being with a face and feelings wearing their work. This is the classic route of how some artists become that artist who produces the same look for everyone sitting on their chair; and this is exactly what we try to avoid becoming. We know it's an overachieving goal, but we want to be an ever-evolving artist and a caring human being.

 

Another layer of issues that makes this work even more difficult: literally every single client has their own unique set of insecurities and feelings about their facial features. Without knowing what questions to ask and how to lead the consultation to get the accurate portrayal of how clients view themselves, it's impossible to know what to correct and what to adjust to make them feel better about how they look.

 

This is where the EXPERIENCE and PASSION of an artist come in to play. Caring to intently look and analyze client's face and ask these questions to get to the final answer takes a great amount of effort, which comes from the PASSION; and knowing some things about the client already without needing to ask all of these questions comes from the EXPERIENCE. When the experience and passion components are combined, you get Shine, Tina!'s senior artists :) Our juniors obviously do not have that longevity of experience as seniors do, but this will come naturally over time as long as the passion is there and with continuing education. Tina will always look for passion in our new artists because you can't make up the glistening fire in the eyes when talking about wanting to make the clients feel beautiful; this burning passion is our common ground.

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How We Continuously Improve: We Listen to You, You are Heard.

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We welcome and even encourage CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, both amongst ourselves and from clients.

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The first things Tina teaches with every new artist is:

(A) how NOT to take criticism personally and how NOT to react defensively

(B) every opinion and comments matter

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Taking in criticism well and learning how to use it as a professional development opportunity is critical, because without being able to do this, there's no possibility for growth. We regularly schedule workshops for continuing education, and when we do this, we openly share our opinions and thoughts about each other's design and techniques, what's good and what's missing. We also have some intense discussions on the car ride back home from a wedding, talking about how we could have done this and that for that one person, and that we could have done some things differently or better in certain ways. This immensely help all of us improve our performance and strengthen our relationships..

 

(A) The first thing to learn as an artist is how NOT to take these opinions / comments / criticism personally, because it's not about attacking the person who created the work. We learn to first understand that (1) we are not perfect, (2) we will always have room to grow and learn, and (3) having our work criticized does NOT mean that we are inadequate as an artist or a person. If this is truly well-understood and metabolized, then we can stop reacting to these comments defensively and start looking at things in a productive way instead. This leads to a better outcome for all parties involved.

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The first natural reaction toward criticism is defensiveness for most of us, especially when it comes to the work we spent lots of time and energy on - it's just one of those natural and universal human tendencies, the defense mechanism. And while it's okay to have those feelings and take time to process the emotions, we eventually need to get past that stage and step forward as an artist. If the artist's mind begins to race with excuses when they hear client's negative feedback, there's no room to think about the actual solutions that can help the client AND the artist. Once we let go of our own ego and focus on the right things, every feedback becomes an opportunity for improvement.

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Of course, all criticism needs to be well-presented without rudeness or nasty attitude, and all parties involved in the communication need to be open-minded and on the same page to give and receive comments.

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(B) Did you know we need to be a semi-expert in psychology to do this job well? First thing to understand: Not all opinions and comments are valid or true, but all of them do matter and have values especially when these come from our clients. Tina always says: Clients are NOT King, they aren't always RIGHT, but they ALWAYS HAVE A POINT. So what does this mean? We should always listen to what they have to say.

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Clients often feel nervous about sharing their feelings on the work received, or don't know how to express their thoughts perfectly, especially when the feedback is somewhat negative and the artist is standing right in front of them. So what they may end up doing is dropping a small hint, an indirect comment, instead of a full thought-out feedback. Artists need to recognize this instantly as a sign of client's dissatisfaction, and try to make them feel comfortable enough to share what they are seeing that we aren't. Sometimes what clients suggest is in fact impossible or not the best choice of styling for them. While we should share our professional opinion on the ideas presented, we should also consider finding other avenues that would result in something similar to what the client is looking for. We must continuously seek for solutions because we are the problem solvers.

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So here at Shine, Tina!, you are always heard, and we'll figure it out together. Pinky promise!

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