Transcription

• Speaker #0

  Welcome to Boussaiti, the first French podcast dedicated to professional hair and makeup artists. I'm Valentina, a bridal hair and makeup artist based in the French Alps. Specializing in destination weddings across Europe and beyond, every summer, as you drive to your weddings, I open this week to accompany you on the road, keeping you inspired between two venues, two trials, two early mornings. I invite aspiring wedding professionals from around the world We talk about their journey, their expertise, their mindset, and what it truly takes to build a meaningful business that empowers women and elevates our industry. Let's talk the real talk. Hello Paige, how are you doing?

• Speaker #1

  I'm good, how are you?

• Speaker #0

  Fine, thank you. Thank you so much for coming here on the podcast, on this international part of the podcast, Bossiety. And I'm very happy to have you here today. I was so excited having you here today. So just to make the audience know who you are, your journey, etc. Can you tell us more about you? Where are you from? What do you do? And everything you think important for us to know about you.

• Speaker #1

  Yes. So hi, I'm Paige. I am a makeup artist. I live in Vancouver and I specialize in bridal makeup.

• Speaker #0

  Yeah, okay. And you also do destination weddings.

• Speaker #1

  I do, yes. I have been lucky enough to be traveling for the past year for weddings, which I'm so excited about. So I did my first European wedding last year, and then I've just been hopping over to Mexico here and there. So it's giving me Canadian winters.

• Speaker #0

  Oh, yeah, yeah. In fact, it's not very, very, very hot. like do you Since you live in Vancouver, do you have winter weddings? Like, I feel it's winter every time in Canada, but maybe I'm wrong, you know?

• Speaker #1

  Yeah, I mean, what most people believe to be Canada is true. Very snowy, very cold. Vancouver is probably the only place in Canada that hasn't seen snow last on the ground. We only had one morning of snow and it lasted about 10 minutes. Okay. So I'm really happy to be here. I fled another province that was way colder and way snowier. So now I'm in Vancouver. locations nearby where winter weddings are really popular with being one another winter wedding pieces

• Speaker #0

  of winter and destination snowy weddings here oh nice that's nice so to just um let the people know a little bit of stuff because um i was i was trying to remember how come we get in touch, two of us. So before the episode started, I was trying to remember again. And in fact, I get in contact with you first because I saw a story of Kelsey Bain that was saying that she had a friend that was looking for an assistant for a wedding in Tuscany. And I was like, I'm desperate. I want to be your assistant. So I contacted you. And finally, the bride, in my memory, she finds someone more local.

• Speaker #1

  that's obvious you know yeah yeah yeah i'm hoping to i'm hoping to i

• Speaker #0

  would love to um maybe next year i will be not in not in canada but i will be in the u.s so it's not so far so maybe we know you never know maybe we can collab on a wedding i would love that you never know But maybe since you're coming in September in Europe, so maybe, we never know in September since you'll be in Europe. Just to know that Paige will be in Europe in September, so you can accept a wedding in Italy, in France, all over Europe, I assume even in Greece, I think. Yeah,

• Speaker #1

  this September, maybe more local. Yeah. Most of the things that are available to have the plane over. to wherever is needed.

• Speaker #0

  Okay. So is this something you do regularly that you go like for a month or somewhere and then after you make people know that you are in the place or first you book, then after you move? How do you usually operate?

• Speaker #1

  It all really depends on my personal travel schedule. So travel is a really big part of my life and with weddings, you kind of get locked down to your location. So I try to keep a gap in my summer. of when I plan to be traveling. So my partner and I plan our trips. So this year it just worked out that he and I were planning September for Europe again. So now that I'm there I open up my books and yeah that's kind of how it works with the exception with Mexico I generally go every winter and it's a pretty popular location for weddings. A lot of my weddings that are happening.

• Speaker #0

  Okay, okay, okay. And you're specialized in destination wedding. How come do you choose this part instead of just focusing on local weddings?

• Speaker #1

  So, as you can see, a lot of my weddings are local within the BC area.

• Speaker #0

  Okay.

• Speaker #1

  I like to branch out just so I can, A, work in some really stunning locations. It allows me to combine my two favorite things, which is weddings and travel. So just merging those together and then it just gets me, you know, out of my work routine. It's so easy to book yourself, you know, 40, 50, 60 weddings and just be zoned in every weekend within your city. And then you realize the whole year is gone and you didn't travel.

• Speaker #0

  Yeah, it's so funny you're talking about routine because when you're an entrepreneur, when you work for yourself, you feel like you're going to work like you are not going to have the, you know, the rat race, etc. that you're not going to have routine. But at the end, I should say, like your book, 20, 40, 50 weddings, at the end, you operate the same way. So at the end, it's still a routine, even if you just change the location. But at the end, you're always doing the same work and not seeing, like you don't travel at the end of the year. Like, oh, I didn't travel this year. So yeah, it's funny talking about routine. Yeah,

• Speaker #1

  it's a different mindset. Like I came from a corporate background originally, and I would just... talk with my partner my husband would say you know where do we want to go this year we'd plan our schedule and we would just book the time off work um whereas you know i've been doing this now 10 years and we realized really quickly that you know we want to go to this location and he's like hey do you want to do this this summer do you want to go you know to the f1 race in montreal it's like may long weekend and i'm like that sounds so fun and then look at what's solid that we had. And so I really started carving out. my personal vacation time well in advance. And that also allows me to book weddings because I am planning so far in advance when I want to be traveling.

• Speaker #0

  Oh, wow. That's very interesting. And what do you see? What's the biggest difference you see between working in local weddings and destination weddings? What's the big difference for you?

• Speaker #1

  I think destination weddings take a lot more planning from the artist. and also the level of communication with the bride. So I don't want to just show up on their wedding day and we are getting to know each other you know in that six hour window. I really want to build that relationship over the course of us working together. So basically when we first inquire I'll offer a consult call, we'll chat over zoom, you know just getting to know them and really investing and growing in that relationship a little bit more than you would with a bride that maybe comes in for a trial six months before her wedding you've gotten to know them or you know a lot of my brides i've met through other work i've done like their bridesmaids or i've done their headshot makeup um but just really because they're likely in another country when they're booking me to come to their wedding um it's the investment in the time and just growing that relationship and building that trust and also i'm traveling with a smaller kit so i really need to know their wants their needs um their skin everything like that everyone in their bridal party like what their look is so

• Speaker #0

  very strategically and customized for what they're looking for for their destination wedding yeah and i have a question that's coming because sometimes i feel like um because i feel like local local clients and destination is a bit different because i feel like when i have a destination bride they have less time to like build the relationship before because sometimes i really struggle like to get in touch when i ask some question i have to you know follow up several times etc sometimes they'll be difficult and a bit frustrating because you're doing this for them but you don't really have the like response and like you're like oh shit the the the wedding is in one month and i'm like oh i don't know a lot about the bride so uh she has to respond etc do

• Speaker #1

  you have this kind of situation or not really you know i think what i has found really helpful. for me is connecting with them earlier in the stage so with a destination wedding obviously it's a lot to planning any wedding is like a full-time job for the couple but planning a destination wedding is a whole nother level of stress so I know the vendor my the best thing I can do for myself and for the bride is connect with them earlier in the process before that you know three months stress is kicking in about one month stress is kicking in and so we're we're meeting earlier on when they're still you know in that excited planning stage versus like oh my god it's around the corner and then just having a really open line of communication so like text messages a lot of my destination brides will be sending me a text message like hey we're at our venue now we got it it's gorgeous um i'm updating them i'm like oh we can't wait to see you like i just landed here like i'm just keeping really quick communication open because we move it from those video calls and those more formal meetings that we start early in the process just over to text message And I think it helps a lot because they are planning a wedding and banking on all of their vendors being good travelers and organized travelers. which a lot of the time it's not even in our control you just have to be such a good planner and over plan for the worst in that case scenario um so i find once i move it over from the more formal consoles to quickly text messages i'm able to communicate with them more effectively oh

• Speaker #0

  that's nice and um i remember that you did a photo shoot in paris with the tsl my dream thanks to you yeah there was so much the the picture were amazing your walk was amazing the makeup everything was amazing but the dress wow the car wow i know i'm not the photographer she's so talented honestly yeah i think that was planned in two weeks um i think you

• Speaker #1

  connected us like two weeks before i landed in paris and it couldn't have gone better like it was meant to be It was meant to be.

• Speaker #0

  Yeah. Yeah, and one of the things that, like, sometimes most makeup artists struggle to attract destination weddings. But what you did was very powerful because in this case, you didn't really wait for the wedding to come. You just showed yourself in Paris. Like, sometimes I heard someone saying that when you want a job, you have to show yourself in the place you want the job, you know. And showing yourself in Paris is part of... like um a way to to to to position yourself uh in Paris uh am I wrong or it was just like it was yeah of course it was a dream but it's also a way to position yourself there I think yeah you know it wasn't my initial intention so that trip was um tagged on to my destination wedding in Pesconi okay I was just

• Speaker #1

  thinking I had three days in Paris only I was I would just love to have this, you know, on my website, this bride by the Eiffel Tower. Like, I was like, it would just look so stunning. It just fits a vision I've had for years. And I thought it would be so cool. But then what indirectly happened was I am getting inquiries for Paris. It's really fun to follow in Vancouver, Canada. I can just hop on a plane as easily as I would like. So I've had people message me on Instagram and they're like, hey, I'm having like my engagement photo shoot on Saturday in Paris. Are you available? yeah you know i have commitments here i can't five here i can't um but you have to do this and you're right i think working in a location you dream of or photographing yourself working in a location whether it's an editorial shoot yeah really bodes that confidence in clients because they've seen it happen

• Speaker #0

  Yeah, it's true, it's true. It's so funny. Like, oh, you're available this Saturday. Well, I'm available tomorrow. But I have a little bit of trip to do, you know.

• Speaker #1

  I know. I wish it was easier to just get there.

• Speaker #0

  What's your best experience as a makeup artist?

• Speaker #1

  Let me think on this for one second.

• Speaker #0

  Yeah, go ahead.

• Speaker #1

  Do you want me to speak kind of in general like what I love the most about it or a specific event, like a specific client, a specific date?

• Speaker #0

  No, let's say the best moment you ever had or the best feeling. And if you have multiple, you can go. Like one, two, three, but go ahead. Like choose what you want.

• Speaker #1

  Oh, I actually, I do have one. Okay, so my best moment as a makeup artist is actually... um one of my like lifelong clients that i've had you know since i've been doing makeup um when i first met her she was like newly single and just dating and then six years later um i was doing her wedding and it was it was like so important and special to be a part of this wedding day like i remember when she called me to be like hey guess what i'm engaged and i want you to be a part of that day and I just really loved seeing that full circle moment. Oh wow and getting to be part of such a special day for her.

• Speaker #0

  Oh, wow. It's even more deeper because usually brides, like, from the day one we are in contact with brides until the wedding day, like, the relationship gets stronger and stronger, but the relationship was already strong before she got engaged, and that's very, wow, wow.

• Speaker #1

  It was just such a special moment because I had, you know, like a five six year connection to this person already and yeah i was doing her makeup for events and then even just like when she reached out to message there's a specific hair stylist that i work with that's always done her hair asked us to be a part of her day and it just felt so special because you grow these relationships it's not just a client right um there's so many amazing makeup artists in you know every city there's so many talented artists so the fact that you know someone wants to even work with you is always like very flattering but the fact you know been a part of this person's life like

• Speaker #0

  events for years and then you pick you for the wedding day it just feels special yeah oh i got the chills and have you ever experienced uh like a less cooler moment in your career as a makeup artist you

• Speaker #1

  know i think a lot of the stress that comes with it we don't fully realize how stressful it can be until you're in the moment i would say earlier in my career Yeah. you know there's a stage in your career where you're newer and you're saying yes to everything that comes your way every booking every um you know it is it's a dollar value when you're trying to leave a corporate job to make this your full-time job you're saying yes to everything um and there's one day that sticks out in particular so i was driving um for a wedding in the mountains it's about a four hour drive i was doing a wedding party of seven which i will never touch number that most most often on occasion but And I booked myself a client book ending on each end of the day for my wedding. So before I drove four hours to the mountain, I went to someone's house at 4 a.m. Then I drove four hours into the mountain. I did the seven person bridal party. And I ended with this like end of day, late evening booking back in Vancouver. And I remember just coming home and I was so emotionally and physically exhausted that I just like laid on the couch and cried. Oh, wow. Yeah, I think that, and everyone was lovely. Like, there wasn't anything bad that happened that day. I think just myself, I wore myself out. And I think that's when I realized that this job does take a toll on you, right, on your physical health. Even, you know, the mental stress of driving into the mountains alone, knowing that if anything happens to your car, you're waiting on you. Like, all of that just kind of.

• Speaker #0

  Yeah, there was a lot going on inside your head because, like, four hours drive is a lot on a wedding day. Like, oh, my God. Like, I remember once, that makes me think about something, and it was last year, and that's when I decided that if I had more than one hour and a half drive, I will come the day before because I was, like, when you're at the wedding, you have the adrenaline, you have the strength, you are happy, everybody's happy, so everything's good. but I had three hours to drive to come to the bride and we started I think at six o'clock something like that and then after I had to go back home three hours drive and like one hour I was so tired I had to stop in the middle of the road you know on the on the side you know and sleep because I was going to sleep driving and that's very dangerous And at that moment, I was like, okay, this is the last time. I'm never going to start again at 6 o'clock. And I'm never going to drive again three hours going and three hours coming back home for a wedding. That's... Accommodation. No, it's not safe. It's very... And even as for you, you came home and you cried. It's because there's a lot of emotion, a lot of like... Overwhelmed. Not overwhelmed. I don't want to say overwhelming because not really overwhelming because we have a great time. I think you also had a great time when you were with all those people. But like your body, your health, like your body is telling you, please don't do this anymore. Yeah,

• Speaker #1

  we have to listen, right? We have to listen to our body. And this job is so unique. Like what you're saying about the driving three hours and falling asleep at the wheel. Like a lot of corporate jobs. your work wouldn't allow you to do it they don't want the liability the risk you getting in like an accident or something terrible happening um your work wouldn't push you that that long right beyond a 12-hour day or an eight-hour day they would have protocols in place but we are our own you know employer and so it's up to us to take care of this company would have rules to take care of our employees so we have to listen to our bodies and we have to have those boundaries in place to keep ourselves you know safe healthy not overly stressed and burnt out it all falls on us and I think it is a delicate balance and a learning curve for sure oh yeah so what would you say to the younger page that started 10 years ago uh

• Speaker #0

  what would you tell to say to our like what should you do better what you shouldn't do what kind of advice will you give to your younger page?

• Speaker #1

  It's a good question. You know, I think it would come down to, I would tell my younger self to really listen to your gut and anything that doesn't feel right, it feels, you know, unsafe, just off, like it's going to be very stressful, that you don't want to do it for whatever reason, there's something in your gut that's telling you no. And I don't mean fear of failing or something like that, just things that just don't. sit right with you, I think listen to that. Because in the beginning, you're really eager to prove yourself to have these amazing bookings and make everyone happy. But at the end of the day, like you really need to listen to yourself and what's a great booking for you. And yeah, there's just certain things that you might stretch your personal boundaries for, even though you don't feel comfortable with it. There's usually a reason you feel that way.

• Speaker #0

  Yeah, gods never lie. They never lie. Always listen because every time you don't listen, well, you regret it after.

• Speaker #1

  Yes.

• Speaker #0

  That's so true. And for you, what do you think is the most common false idea about our work? Like as a makeup artist, what is the most common false idea you already heard about makeup artists or even hairstylists?

• Speaker #1

  I think a lot of people just think it is an only fun job. It is a very fun job, but it's not an only fun job. There's a lot of seriousness to it. There's a lot of behind the scenes. There's the administrative side. If you're doing your own website, you're doing your social media, all of that. Making sure you have the stock in the supplies, keeping stock of your kit, the sanitation of your kit, all of those things, the less fun things that people don't see.

• Speaker #0

  versus just seeing us show up on the day and making someone look beautiful for their wedding and is all smiles and happy and you leave there's layers to it right it's it's not just a fluffy job at the end i feel like we're a bit like wedding planners you know because uh people see wedding planners they see the final the the the the arrangement every the wedding day etc and for us people just see like the makeup that is beautiful etc but I feel like that's just like 20% of the job because as you said all the rest is like communication, emailing, texting, making schedules, etc. And yeah, the fun part is fun, yeah, but it's only on the wedding day or for other events. It's just like one hour. I don't know how long you take to do a makeup, but like it's just the makeup part is just one hour per person and the rest is really...

• Speaker #1

  at the backstage you never see it like you're doing websites etc that's very like i can spend days on my website exactly i mean i think we are required to wear so many hats in this role especially with like the shift in how social media is gone um and also just the service we're paying we're providing for our vibes like i pride myself on providing very good service if someone's booked in with me and they're a pride i'm responding to them within 24 hours or my team's responding within 24 hours i'm not leaving them hanging i never want to be the wedding vendor that their planner is like hey can you get can we need to make this change is this okay and they're waiting on me i never want my services to be the hold up so i really am super accessible for my clients which also comes with a time commitment for sure.

• Speaker #0

  Okay, so you also have a team.

• Speaker #1

  I have someone that helps me with my emails. Yeah, I splurged and got an admin and I will never look back.

• Speaker #0

  So when did you make the decision to take someone to take care of your admin?

• Speaker #1

  It was in the middle of wedding season and I was finishing my bookings, coming home, cleaning brushes, cleaning my kit and then spending hours after editing all of my content from that day, spending hours replying to emails. emails and I started to think that I wasn't giving the response time that I wanted to my existing bookings. Maybe my bride for Sunday messaged me on a Saturday morning at 10am, needed something really replied to and I'm not getting back to her until you know 5pm on Saturday. I didn't want to be giving that slow of a response time. So I started out just having someone help me with my emails while I was away peak season on Wednesdays. So that if I didn't have eyes on my phone for eight hours,

• Speaker #0

  someone did. Okay. Okay. Oh, wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Yeah. Because sometimes like many makeup artists are really burnt out, you know, and sometimes the solution is really simple. Having someone to just answer to your emails. I know some people that delegate this part like to a family member because in reality just to respond to an email, maybe even a kid of 12 years old can do that. But like, it's so consuming to respond every time to the inquiries because sometimes you just, you just... Like, you just copy and paste, but that takes a lot of time and energy. And that's a very good thing that you did, delegate that part. And it's sometimes difficult to delegate it. Do you feel, at the moment you did this, do you feel like you was like, oh, I don't know, because if it's someone else, maybe the brides are going to see that it's someone else, et cetera. That's the most difficult part to delegate, I feel, for makeup artists now. We need to take my words out.

• Speaker #1

  Thank you all. yeah and i have a really great um admin that you know loops me in on everything and i'm still reviewing everything that comes through anything that needs my attention um i mean i like to personally get a feel for the inquiry get a feel for what my bride's looking for and make sure that her and i are still reviewing you know that inspo photos i have all the questions that the admin and ask them. I review everything. So if it comes down to schedule, timing, like all of that, I'm still personally involved. I'm just not the one physically drafting the email and sending it.

• Speaker #0

  Oh, nice. And how did you choose the right person? Did you choose between several people or the first one you contacted was the one?

• Speaker #1

  I had someone recommend it to me and it just felt right. And, you know, like I was saying before, your instincts, it's been great.

• Speaker #0

  Oh, nice, nice. Just for one second,

• Speaker #1

  I'm just going to get my phone charged.

• Speaker #0

  Yeah. Okay, the charger is back.

• Speaker #1

  Okay, yes, we are back charging.

• Speaker #0

  Yeah. Oh, wow, it was so fun talking with you today. It was so interesting, so fun, and really happy to know you. How can I say this? in English like to meet you for the first time because at the end is the person where I'm meeting so I would like to know what do you think is coming for the future page because we talked about the the past page then now what is waiting the future page This is exciting.

• Speaker #1

  So I think makeup is always going to be my focus. Yeah I think I will check be keeping it a little bit smaller scale so i don't think i'm going to be seeing as many bridesmaids and i think i'm just going to be really zoning in on like a more boutique bride experience and hopefully in more beautiful locations so i definitely want to keep continuing to do destination weddings and just expanding my locations um and then yeah i think i am just going to be shifting away from doing such like large bookings and being more like a boutique pride only And then I'm working on some other really exciting things in my life that are going to allow me to kind of collaborate and combine my love of makeup and different locations. So I think. Who are the other songwriters?

• Speaker #0

  Oh nice, exciting, nice Have you always did makeup or you had a period where you did also hair or just always makeup?

• Speaker #1

  I have always done makeup only. I did take hair training so when I do some of my corporate lookings, like headshots, I do offer light hair or commercial work. A lot of the time those productions really just want one person. But when it comes to bridal hair, I don't touch bridal hair. I feel like it's such a talent that I just prefer to focus on makeup. I think that's where I'm really strong. I think hair is such a talent and I don't necessarily believe that.

• Speaker #0

  That's my spot.

• Speaker #1

  Yeah, yeah, no, no, yeah, no. It's true. Like, focus on what you're good at and just give the best of yourself. That's always the best choice to do. And, in fact, choosing to go just only for bride in the future is, like, the best goal ever. Like, that's also my goal, like, to have just an experience with the bride. Like, you can take more time. You can, like, you can do very fun things. like go slow mood you know slow mood very like beauty session etc little massage etc oh that that's very amazing i i wish you all wish you all yeah i do also air but but for me i'm more a hairstylist than a makeup artist you know and i always do uh like i do the bride makeup but i don't do the bridesmaid makeup because Because as you like, it's a bit stressful I feel. So with the bride, I have the trial before, I have the preview, you know, so I can train on the bride before. So if I mess up something, I'm like, don't worry on the wedding day, it's going to be good. Because before when I started, what they don't know is that before, when I do the trial, after I have a lesson, like training, then after I have the wedding, so... they always think oh it was better than the trial of course of course it's better i had the training between yeah so that was that was i used to function at the beginning but now of course i don't need training anymore in between the trials period and the the wedding day periods especially because now i do mostly a destination wedding and sometimes the trial is like the day before so i can do it we're training tonight, you know? So yeah, my dream is also to continue doing hair and makeup for the bride because I really like doing the makeup for the bride but not for the guest, you know, like it's too stressful for me but for the bride, it's different. I really like doing it so my dream is also just to have the bride and like have a full experience like from the day before like doing a massage because I'm also a beautician. I have the, I can do massage because not everybody can but I can do massage. So just the real massage of the old body and wash the hair the day before, prepare everything. Then the next day, you know, that's my dream. or,

• Speaker #0

  and yeah,

• Speaker #1

  yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think, especially like most, the more, more and more bread, like you don't have, I, because in the U S and Canada, maybe, UK also, you they're a larger group but in France it's not a thing to have a large group you know most time I you always have the bride only in France when you work in France so so I've I'm I'm used to have only the bride but I've never put on like so such an extended experience because it was not something also that there was demanded but that that's a real dream like a goal life for your book. And what do you think the people listening to us today should take in mind of all the things we talked about today? Very interesting things we talked about today. Yeah. Sure.

• Speaker #0

  If someone's either an artist looking to go into destination weddings or a class. who's having a destination wedding I think the things we focused on with like what's different about it the planning process the communication process all of that I think it would be like insightful especially to an artist because it is different it's a lot of different steps once you get to the show So I think that that's just something that's a great takeaway if someone's looking to do it. I think it's a really exciting opportunity and a really exciting line of work. But I think it's important to note that you take on some additional stresses with it when it comes to planning your travel, your coordination. Oh, my God. In case something goes wrong. And also just like doing the time commitment, you're going to have to dedicate and really lock down.

• Speaker #1

  communication and start building that relationship with your brides right away yeah yeah yeah that's so true thank you thank you very much have a nice day and see you soon Bye. Thank you so much for listening. If this episode resonated with you, make sure to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It truly helps the podcast grow. You'll find all the details about today's guest, as well as how to connect with both of us in the show notes. And if you'd like to connect directly, you can find me on Instagram at ValentinaDenis. See you next week for more Real Talk.