Put your headphones on and be ready to listen to Jane Troung, one of Melbourne’s most amazing wedding makeup artists.
Transcript:
Anthony Spiteri: Hello. Wedding planners. Today I get to share with you a great conversation that I had recently with Jane Truong, a makeup artist here in Melbourne. She comes to this conversation with so much experience and insight. I have no doubt you’ll get some value from listening to this. Headphones on and happy listening. So, Jane, I know you and I have worked together for ages.
Anthony Spiteri: We’ve done lots of weddings together over the last. How long would it be at least ten years.
Jane Truong:
For a while. I love working with Anthony. That’s why I decided I had to have you for my wedding.
Anthony Spiteri: Likewise, my wedding. And Suzy and my girls are. And, you know, when I think about that morning, you know, the first thing abroad, who gets up and, you know, hair and make up is one of the first things that I do to set the right mood and atmosphere. So important. And you do that so well, just just your vibe on the morning, the way you engage with the bride and the family is just always such a such a nice thing to say.
Anthony Spiteri: And I can say just how much joy it brings you to do the work. But you know, how long have you been doing it now? How did it all start?
Jane Truong: So I actually have loved make up since primary school, like in grade five. Yeah, I was wearing my frosted eyeshadow to school every day and then it only just grew and grew during high school and 11 actually, I wanted to drop out of school and start doing makeup, but my mum, being strict, was saying, No, you have to finish high school and getting uni.
Jane Truong: So it was in 2006 I did my first makeup course at Napoleon. I told Mom I finished high school. Now can you please find my Napoleon make up coats? So I did that make up course. And then so I studied psychology. When things rolled back around and I just worked on makeup counters. So what did Shiseido doing, Rachel?
Jane Truong: Makeup and just make up here and there. But really, on the side. And it wasn’t really until I did my second big makeup course, I did a diploma of makeup at the Academy of Makeup in 2014 is when I went into it more on a full time basis. So then I worked at Mac full time and then sort of freelancing more and then the rest is really history from there.
Jane Truong: But I always knew I’d be there. I kind of always knew I’d be doing makeup, but I always thought I’d be doing half psychology, half makeup instead of full makeup.
Anthony Spiteri
You can’t do that anyway. I mean, you’re sitting there applying makeup and, you know, you’re giving life advice to couples all the time, to brides all the time. You are in such close proximity to the person you’re applying, make up to.
Jane Truong: You are finally.
Anthony Spiteri: National spies. So having the ability to make people feel comfortable is so important for your work. And it’s similar to us as wedding videographers too, you know.
Jane Truong: I think everyone is so different in terms of personality, in terms of personal preferences. So I think half your job is to gauge what type of personality they are like. If they would like you to talk a lot, or maybe they would like you to be more subtle. And in terms of them, you know, getting a good sense of their makeup preferences because and doing it in a way like reading their body language and all that kind of thing, because sometimes people might not feel comfortable expressing themselves fully.
Jane Truong: So I think a lot of it is reading into, you know, what they’re saying in the body language and making sure that they do feel like really great and confident in their own skin because makeup is very personal to everyone.
Anthony Spiteri: We’ll talk a little bit about the different styles of makeup in a sec. But before then, for a bride who’s who’s currently planning her wedding and thinking about hair and makeup or makeup, what are three questions? Do you think that a broad should ask a makeup artist? Yes. You know, hiring them.
Jane Truong: Is a great question. And I did have to think about this. I thought this to questions that a bride should ask themselves. And then there’s a couple of questions. Okay. Kind of real questions they should ask the makeup artist. So I think in terms of getting to know if the makeup artist goes through them and if they’re qualified and professional and, you know, reliable is you know, getting recommendations during your friends work, colleagues, family members know of this makeup artist or have you seen before?
Jane Truong: I think that’s always such a powerful tool and way to know. And you have that trust in the makeup artist. So if they’ve heard of this makeup artist before and doing that prior research, asking around. And then the second one that I thought would be is looking into does this makeup artist look at the post through your own personal preferences?
Jane Truong: Because sometimes someone can recommend you someone and they might be amazing, but they may not see what you like. The person, the makeup saw, what you like, and you know, a qualified makeup artist can do a variety of styles. But I think the magic really happens when both your styles are in alignment. So I think it’s really important that you always look through the artist portfolio of work and Oscar self.
Jane Truong: Are these makeup looks something that I connect with and something that I would like? And if no, maybe that recommendation is not for them, or maybe that makeup artist is not for them and they need to find and do a bit of research to find someone that has a body of work that suits their style I think is really, really important.
Jane Truong: And once you get those things down pat, so doing your research and finding a couple of artists, an artist that you know that you feel like you can trust that some people have used before and you feel like, yes, I really do connect with their work and something that I would love for my day then, then it’s important to ask that bridal makeup artist and as soon as you can, just to give yourself more options because part of makeup artist duplicate as quick as venues do in photographers.
Jane Truong: Videographers use that can they cater to your wedding size like how many people are we having the time, the date, the date and time, and then the location as well. And also I’m getting a quote. So they think you budget wise as well and having as much information on hand when you do inquire with the artist will just help for a more seamless process.
Anthony Spiteri: Great advice Jane, What are your thoughts on getting a trial? Most brides.
Jane Truong: Do. That’s a great question. Yeah, I always recommend a trial. You know, even if you are low on time or if you’re not sure, I definitely recommend a trial because you want the day to go as seamless and smooth as possible with that potential left field. Things that you can think of that could that may happen. And the wedding day, the timeline is so tight that you don’t want to be unsure or have times to, you know, time to go over things.
Jane Truong: And it’s a good time to first try to look. It’s always good to do it when you do your hair as well. So you can see the look together and then it gives you that peace of mind on the day that pretty much it’s a replication of what you did at the trial, if not with some tweaks. And I just think it just helps the day run so much more smoothly and it just takes away more gray area that you don’t really need on the wedding day.
Jane Truong: Because on the wedding day you can just really enjoy, enjoy the day as well.
Anthony Spiteri: And like you said, you know, the bride wants and it should be relaxed in the morning and exactly what she’s going to get and not be concerned about how this makeup might might turn out. There isn’t much time to.
Jane Truong: Go.
Anthony Spiteri: To redo something like you just want to know what you’re going to get and not have to worry about it.
Jane Truong: And I think that if you plan your trial well, you can really make the most of it. So if you do it for a hennes bridal shower, if you do a pre engagement shoot or a hair trial or anything like that, I feel like it works really well. And you can see how it looks in photos and then you can make adjustments if you need to.
Jane Truong: I know for myself I did a couple of tries on myself just to make sure that I knew exactly what I was wanting on the day. So it just gave me that peace of mind.
Anthony Spiteri: Of course you did. Come on your hair and makeup out of.
Jane Truong: I think I did like six different looks on myself because I do like your body. And I just wanted to say what I would like the most.
Anthony Spiteri: While talking about looks so or that, you know, the bride’s got the hair and makeup in mind. You know, she’s just now thinking about hair and and the dress that she’ll be wearing. How does that influence the sort of makeup she might get?
Jane Truong: Everything every element is important to consider in the makeup process. So the dress, the style of the dress, is it more of a modern chic dress? Is it little bit more sexy? Is a bit more pretty girly, I think. And also the hair, is it more of a glam hair? Is it more of a softer as well as the location of where you’re getting married, all the accessories, all these tie and play a role in the makeup?
Jane Truong: Because I really do feel when everything is in cohesion, then that’s when everything really shines as well. Like you don’t really want a really glam make up, but with a really soft hairstyle at the beach, it doesn’t really make quite sense. So I think it’s really important to have all the elements together. I always send it a form to brides to gather all that information in one place and is a really good time for them to think about because you do really want to think about, you know, your ideal vision, because that will be in all your photos and all your videos and for years to come.
Jane Truong: So yeah, I do think that it’s really important to look at everything together when thinking about what type of look was that you best. And that’s why it’s really good to do your trial when you have your dress or you know, what kind of wedding dress you want in mind because that and also having a think about the hair as well so that you can see it kind of coming together.
Anthony Spiteri: Yeah, absolutely. Now, the other aspect to this, of course, is the time of year that the weddings taking place. Are there any considerations around where they fits likely to be, where to a really hot what are your thoughts?
Jane Truong: So if someone’s getting married in the middle of summer and it’s a 40 degree day, I definitely wouldn’t recommend a jewelry type of makeup, which is a bit more glowy because with a Joey style of makeup and what can happen is that they can end up looking sweaty in photos, which you don’t really want to look. So I would recommend for like holidays, especially people with like more oily combination skin type to go more matte and satin.
Jane Truong: And throughout the day the skin will naturally produce oil as well. So I definitely do recommend for hot more hot days that they do in terms of finish of make up and maybe not as heavy as well because you don’t want like a face full of makeup that’s really, really heavy. And then that might come through a shine on for hot days and I guess for days that would be more rainy and wet.
Jane Truong: Well, with what would make up anyway, whatever waterproofing I can use, I’ll always use it.
Anthony Spiteri: Because it’s an emotional day. Right? Let’s face it. That’s the other aspect is the key is.
Jane Truong: Not to use. Yes. But to use on the last slide. Yeah I do try to use everything that can be waterproof. So you know, mascara line on some concealers can be waterproof as well. I find using individual lashes as opposed to strip style lashes. Good for people who might tear up more because they have more flexibility when they’re on the eye instead of like a hollow strip.
Jane Truong: So I recommend that too. But I always think with tears it’s prevention, always the best way. So I always recommend having tissues close by out. I also recommend for buyers to pop in some tissues in there because you can put them in and hide them in. So then it’s it’s a nice more elegant way to, you know, take out a tissue instead of like, you know, in your dress or something.
Jane Truong: Yeah.
Anthony Spiteri: Asking somebody around them. Yeah. Yeah. I’ve seen that being done plenty of times before so yeah, that’s a good suggestion for sure. And, and of course, you know, if they are tearing up it’s the what is it. It’s the dab and not the.
Jane Truong: Dad and not the why. Oh yes, exactly. Yes. And so just dabbing. No wiping because it can remove the makeup. So I always recommend. Yes. Dabbing, No wiping. And it’s good to have a little touch of audience as well. But just in case these moments, you might need a bit of concealer, a little bit of a sponge to dab away through as well for those moments.
Anthony Spiteri: What should they be carrying throughout the day? What should they have at hand?
Jane Truong: Yes. So in terms of hanging on a hand, I always recommend to have a lip product. So whether that’s your wedding lipstick or lip gloss or balm, because you’re going to be talking, drinking, eating, and as the day wears on, you would it’s always ideal to touch up before key photo and video moments. So definitely a bit product.
Jane Truong: And also it’s always good to have a powder on hand. You know, sometimes through the day you might get a little bit oily through the tea region. So having a little bit of powder and sometimes even blotting paper can help with that. So better to keep products to have on hand. You know, it might be handy to have a bit of concealer if you need.
Jane Truong: But I find that generally because wedding makeup is applied a bit different to your regular everyday makeup, you know, we do use techniques and products to have as much longevity as possible. So yeah, keeping it simple sometimes is more or less overwhelming for the bride as well. That lipstick and powder are the key ones.
Anthony Spiteri: Would most makeup artists, you know, provide a little pack for the bride?
Jane Truong: Yeah, I think every artist works a bit differently. I always provide touch up packs for my clients, but I think it’s always good to ask the question and if there will be. If you’re not sure if you want to be purchasing a lipstick or anything like that because you don’t normally wear it because. Yes. So I would always just ask the question.
Jane Truong: So then you are as prepared as possible.
Anthony Spiteri: Jane, one last question for you. You’ve provided some really great insights and some great advice. I think it’s really valuable to brides going to listen to this. I’m super excited to get it out. But now I’m I’m really interested to know, you know, where it’s heading for 2023 24 are there any particular styles that are trending at the moment?
Jane Truong
A more natural soft decline is really popular right now. Matt Tones in the eyes and brown. Lorna has been really big. I think, you know, there was a trend maybe a few years back where everything was really, really heavy, like big lashes, strong brows and things like that. So I feel like there’s more of a soft approach in the makeup trends, which does translate really well for bridal makeup, because at the end of the day, for bridal makeup, you do want to be able to look back in five, ten, 15 years and think that you still looked good, not thinking, what did I do there?
Jane Truong: So, you know. Right. You know, in being able to enhance your features as much as possible in a way that’s not overtly done, I think is a big trend. And I think it’s very suitable for bridal makeup.
Anthony Spiteri: Jane, some wise words, as always. Thank you so much for your time. It’s been really great to talk to you about all things makeup.
Jane Truong: Thank you for having me, Anthony. It’s been great.
