Dez Penaloza Beauty Reviews
Reviews
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![Laura]()
Laura Sent on 07/27/2025Wonderful hair & makeup artist!
Dez and her team are amazing! She made me feel so beautiful on my wedding day. She totally got my vision from day one and did an incredible job bringing it to life.
She did a stellar job styling me and my sister’s curly hair. Anyone with curly hair knows who tough it can be to find someone who knows how to work with your hair! Dez did such a great job making my curls pop - it was like my dream good hair day come to life!
She totally gets how to make you feel like yourself- but like the coolest, prettiest version. She is super professional, easy to work with, and had great rapport with my whole family. 10/10! -
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![Jessica]()
Jessica Sent on 06/10/2023Who you want to hire for your makeup!
I’ve never felt as beautiful as the weekend of my wedding thanks to Dez l. Here are three reasons why I highly recommend booking her:
#1- Immediately upon meeting Dez , I loved her energy. I got the sense that she felt genuinely honored and excited to be part of our huge milestone. Energy is so important to me and she brought that same vibe the weekend of my wedding. It honestly felt like I had another friends around while I was preparing for my rehearsal dinner and wedding. My entire bridal party loved her.
#2 - I reviewed makeup options to ensure my team had experience working with Black women. Dez provided photos ahead of time to share with my sister-in-law so she was assured that she would be in good hands. It was important that my sister-in-law could get ready with me and feel beautiful on such an important day. The day of my wedding, when Dez gave my sister-in-law the mirror to check out her look, I was so happy to see a huge smile on her face. She turned to me and said this is the best she’s every looked.
#3- Dez is a professional. She was great at communicating and taking feedback. She gave us timely quotes, set a good schedule, and overall delivered excellent service. For a weekend so important, you want to know you’re hiring dependable people!
If Dez is available for your event, do not sleep on the opportunity to book her! It was some of the best money we spent on our wedding celebrations. -
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![Kirsten]()
Kirsten Sent on 03/09/2023Desiree is simply the best!
Coming from a gal who was all nerves the morning of my wedding, having Desiree present was a gift. Of course my hair and makeup turned out stunning, but ultimately it meant so much to have someone there who created a calm and fun experience for getting ready. Couldn't recommend Desiree enough if you are looking for a sweet soul to make you feel like a goddess on your wedding day! -
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![Tara]()
Tara Sent on 01/27/2023Dez is Amazing!
I've worked with Dez twice, she's just that good. The first was as a bridesmaid for my friend's wedding and I loved her so much I hired her for my own wedding. She is down to earth, hilarious, and feels like an old friend. Very quick to respond, listens, and DELIVERS. I don't typically wear much make up and she made me feel beautiful, yet natural both times. Could not recommend her enough! Dez is YOUR GIRL! -
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![Maggie]()
Maggie Sent on 01/15/2023My Wedding day
I friend of mine referred me to Desiree Penaloza for my bridal make up. She had shown me photos of her work and I was impressed so I called her. Desiree met with me a few months prior to my summer wedding for a trial to see how I wanted to look for the big day. I provided her pictures of the look I was going for and she nailed it. I had never felt more beautiful! She was able to highlight my natural beauty without making me feel like I had too much on my face. I got home from the trial and my fiancé noticed right away how pretty I looked. It was such a relief during that crazy time that I had found her! YAAAAAY!
Not only did she use quality products, she airbrushed my foundation on which was SO cool. My complexion looked flawless. That first day I left it all on for almost 8 hours just to test the longevity- and it passed the test! I really only needed to touch up my lips!
On the day of my wedding Desiree was a calm oasis in the storm of craziness. She had great music to put myself and my bridesmaids in the mood to celebrate. She was super professional and patient and I had the utmost confidence in her work.
My overall experience with Desiree is 5 stars. I highly recommend you book her for whatever your occasion may be. She is a gem! Thank you Desiree for making this bride feel her best- I’m so thankful you were part of my big day! -
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![Erin]()
Erin Sent on 01/14/2023Nice and professional
I was lucky enough to have Desiree do my make up for my wedding in October. She took her time, listened to what I wanted and the results were better than I had wished for. She did my mother and sisters make up as well, and they all looked so beautiful. Our makeup looked fresh even at the end of the night. I wish I could have my make up done everyday by Desiree!
Looking forward to booking her for the future! -
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Katie Sent on 01/14/2023
Easy and relaxing
Dez did the most fabulous job on my make up! My make up never felt heavy and lasted the entire night! She helped guide me with different looks and the results were spectacular! I highly recommend Dez! -
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Kerri Sent on 12/18/2022
INCREDIBLE Experience - Still Glowing!
I cannot recommend Dez enough! It's honestly difficult to capture in words how much of a positive impact Desiree had on my wedding day and planning. When we first met for the trial (which she booked with me while I was in the city for a trip at the last minute!), she not only took time to talk through the inspiration for my look (a fun, sparkly Brigitte Bardot vibe), Dez was genuinely excited about it. You can tell she loves her work and loves to put her creativity into each look while making you still feel like yourself, just more playfully elevated! It was easy to keep in touch and plan the day-of schedule with her; she was communicative and chill, very professional yet warm in her correspondence. As soon as I booked with Dez, it felt like that part of the to-do list was totally "in the bag," and I was completely confident all would be well! On the wedding day this past summer, it was a joy to have Dez hanging with me, my mom, and friends. All of my family and friends (including my 8-year-old flower girl) loved her and felt so relaxed in her presence. They all looked so gorgeous with their own unique looks, too! When it came to my bridal look on the day-of, I love the look Dez created; I don't think I've ever looked better! It exceeded my dreams and held up perfectly...despite a misty outdoor ceremony and tears shed during the speeches! I got sooooo many compliments, and I just felt like the best, most confident and beautiful version of myself all day. It was such a gift! For all of these reasons and so many more, I highly recommend using Dez for your bridal hair and makeup needs! -
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![Lindsay]()
Lindsay Sent on 10/26/2022Don't think twice - Hire Dez!
Dez was absolutely incredible! She did the makeup for me, 4 bridesmaids, my SIL, and my mom at my wedding. She is amazingly gifted, making all of us look like our best selves with makeup that lasted the entire day & night. One of my bridesmaids had too much fun to take her makeup off (oopsies!) and still looked flawless the next morning! She also has the BEST presence/vibe to calm any pre-wedding nerves. She is truly a fantastic person with an incredible artistic gift and we were all so happy with how we looked. She was also very professional and responsive along the way - which is vital for wedding planning. Literally could not have been happier with my decision to hire Dez! -
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![Stephannie]()
Stephannie Sent on 10/05/2022Dez is the best!
Dez did my makeup (and hair!) for my wedding in 2021. She was very responsive to all my many emails and hosted a wonderful trial session for me which made me feel confident going into my big day knowing exactly what my full look would be! She's super sweet and really listens to what her brides want! I've already recommended her to other brides and hope to hire her again in the future for a special event or any reason I can find to get my makeup done professionally! :) -
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![Britney]()
Britney Sent on 10/04/2022Best Makeup Experience Ever!
Dez is AMAZING! I was recommended to her by a friend who also got married, and after looking at some photos of weddings she had done, I was sold! She is very responsive, helpful, and makes any bride feel at ease. The makeup trial was fun and made me feel even more confident about my special day, and my actual wedding day was even better. All of the ladies in my bridal party had so much fun, and we looked beautiful as ever! Thank you Dez -
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![Amy]()
Amy Sent on 07/25/2025Hiring Dez was the single biggest regret I had about my wedding.
My experience was completely different from the reviews that convinced me to book her. From the multitude of things I wish Dez had handled better, the biggest disappointments were:
1: She did not read my answers to the questionnaire she requested I fill out, nor did she look at the reference photos I sent her ahead of the trial, which ended up making the trial somewhat of a waste. It was upsetting and stressful to have to communicate changes so close to the wedding for things that I had spent so much time clearly communicating in advance.
2: I was MORTIFIED to see that the makeup photographed extremely poorly, making my face and some of my neck look washed out and completely different in shade from the rest of my body. It even looks completely white in some of the photos.
There's no way it can be a photographer issue, as this is evident throughout our wedding photos and video taken by professionals, along with candid photos taken by guests. It's in both digital and film photos taken with digital SLR and film cameras, simple point and shoot film cameras, Instax/Polaroid cameras, and phones, both with and without flash. My SILs and MIL all had their makeup done by a different MUA and there were not any problems with their makeup photographing poorly.
Because of everything I've mentioned, I think it's pretty clear that Dez used a product that was not suitable for photography, resulting in what's known as "flashback". Usually the culprit is setting powder, but I know of at least 2 brands that don't cause this issue, as I test drove them in preparation for my wedding before deciding to book a MUA. In addition to the product causing flashback, I'm almost certain that the shade she used for my skintone was too light. My face looked extremely pale in several of the photos without flash, along with our wedding video taken in natural light. I think she might have used my MOH's shade on me, whose makeup she did first, as she has a fairer complexion and Dez seemed to have gotten my shade correct at the trial.
Honorable mention: Dez felt the need to post a photo with a passive-aggressive caption of our Airbnb stairs (her "work commute") to her IG stories, despite the fact that my husband took time out from getting ready for his OWN wedding to help Dez carry her things up and down. I'd warned her in advance when I found out the stairs would be difficult, and she said that she would pack light.
Dez issued me a partial refund (a whopping $350) and apologized for forgetting to look at the pictures and questionnaire I sent her ahead of the trial, but took absolutely zero accountability for the way the makeup photographed, saying she wished I'd told her to fix it then and that none of her other clients have had this problem.
It should be a bare minimum expectation to assume that a nearly $1.5k wedding MUA will match my skintone correctly and use products that don't cause flashback. Dez ran a bit late finishing, and things were running behind in general; we were all really stressed and rushed getting to the venue. In the time I did have, I was looking for all of the changes I had to request post-trial due to Dez not looking at any of my notes or pictures ahead of time. I shouldn't even have to defend myself, though. There's no reason for someone charging these rates to make those kinds of mistakes and then try to put the blame on the client.
Dez's complete lack of empathy and self-awareness was pretty appalling. If a client were to tell me I made them feel this way, I would be mortified to have tainted their special day. We are now having to hire a photographer to attempt some wedding portrait do-overs, but sadly, a wedding day can never be recreated. I thought it would feel amazing to splurge on a talented MUA to do my hair and makeup and save myself the stress of doing it myself. When all was said and done, I feel like I just paid someone an exorbitant amount of money to ruin my wedding photos and make me feel unimportant, extremely stressed, and gaslit. -
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