How much to pay family friend doing Bridesmaids makeup

Have you asked her what she normally charges or what she would be comfortable doing the work for? A lot of vendors I've seen charge $75-$150 per bridesmaid, but I'm assuming she's not technically professional (even though she's talented) and she's probably not looking to make a huge profit off of you. I would just talk to her honestly about it if you're concerned about underpaying her

I agree with Amber. Another thing to consider is that since she is not a trained professional she won't be used to working within time limits. Things can get hectic the morning of and it could take her a long time to do 3-4 faces. I had my makeup done recently by someone looking to start their MUA business and they did it for free to practice on me and build their portfolio. It took her almost 90 minutes just for my face.

View Quoted Comment No one has ever paid her to do makeup before. She did her friends for prom and has done event makeup for her family. Thankfully we are going to do a trial on her sister (MOH) to see how long each face will take.

View Quoted Comment My hope is that it’ll be more on the natural side of makeup because none of my bridesmaids really are into makeup. maybe that means it’ll go quicker? She’s never been paid to do makeup and doesn’t even want me to pay her but I can’t let her do 4-5 hours of makeup and not pay her.

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If she's never been paid before, I would definitely ask her what she would be comfortable charging. Maybe after she does the trial on her sister since that will give you an idea of how much time it'll will take and you could think of it as paying by the hour. I'm sure she'd also be appreciative of the experience/photos to use for a portfolio if she plans to make a career out of it!

I think that is reasonable since you are providing the makeup and she is not professionally trained.

If she's the one who offered to do it and didn't mention payment, then I think $25 pp is very reasonable, and if you want to throw in a "tip" she'd be super happy about that as well.

But like Amber said, you could always ask and see what she says. She might low-ball you and then you can surprise her with the higher amount!

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Exactly. And some states frown on money being exchanged if the person rendering services isn't trained or doesn't have a license. I learned when I was in cosmetology school if I'd done hair/nails/skin and charged a fee before getting my license I could have had it revoked later on or could have forfeited the license altogether. So I did a lot of hair and nails for free before I got my license, but it was great for practice!