I became interested in hiring Aina as my wedding hair and makeup artist for a few reasons:
I don’t usually use makeup day-to-day and I really didn’t want to hire someone who would turn my face into something unrecognisable. I felt that with Aina’s style she had a way of enhancing natural beauty rather than hiding it/creating a whole new face (which seemed to be a common theme for many other MUAs)
She is comfortable working with all skin tones and hair textures which was useful as the bridal party was a mixed group
She is basically a unicorn - someone who knows how to do natural/afro textured hair AND is also a makeup artist is pretty much unheard of!
I ended up doing 2 trials with Aina, 1 to decide whether I would want to go with her for the wedding (being completely clueless about makeup I thought it would be helpful to compare a couple of artists’ styles) and the other to hone in on what I actually wanted for the wedding day. I decided on her as she had such a lovely makeup style, truly embodying the “soft glam” concept for me. I also really appreciated her giving me opportunities at different stages to say when I felt there was enough coverage, and that she encouraged me to go with what I felt comfortable with at all times rather than trying to impose an opinion on me. She also proved to be a wizard with afro textured hair, coming up with a gorgeous hairstyle on my 1st trial (where I had no real idea about what I wanted!) and an equally impressive alternative on the 2nd trial when I had a closer idea. I also found her really friendly and easy to talk to, in some ways having the vibe of an old friend. All of this helped me to feel very comfortable with the final decision to hire her for hair and makeup.
On the wedding day itself she was punctual, professional, keeping us on track with time but still remaining very friendly and easygoing. She did the hair and makeup for myself and maid of honour and we absolutely LOVED the final results - we couldn’t have asked for more from her. For me I really felt like she understood the assignment - she created an amazing makeup look but I still looked like me. Both our hairstyles were gorgeous too, I settled on a combination of the 2 trials, and she put together such an awesome creative hairstyle for the maid of honour. I would also like to acknowledge her colleague who did a fantastic job with the bridesmaids’ makeup looks. Each of us in the bridal party had our own unique ideas about what we wanted and both Aina and her colleague delivered in full.
For anyone looking for a hair stylist who works with all textures and/or a soft glam MUA who will have you looking like the most beautiful version of you I fully recommend Aina and am sure you won’t be disappointed!
