1. EXPERIENCE IN THE INDUSTRY

- How long have you been a make up and hairstylist?
I started to study make up when I was to the university, at the age of 23, but I definitively transform this passion in a job in 2008, when I moved to Florence from the North East of Italy, where I was born. My experience in make up and hair industry started in fashion world to move naturally to Weddings events from 2014. I still work in Fashion too, but mostly for Weddings and for private events and photoshootings.

Best school is the practice in real world, but naturally I have studied before, first in Italy, in Bologna and Milan, and then specialized more and better abroad: in make up in New York and London, in hairstyling in Los Angeles and in London again, indian bridal make up and hairstyles one more time in London and, finally in Austria in bodypainting art.

Since 2009 I started to teach make up, from 2015 to nowadays I’m holding a course in make up in a school for make up artist, the New Line Academy, a very prestigious school located in Piazza della Signoria, the heart of Florence.

- Do you also do hairstyling too?
Yes I do both, make up and hairstyling and, if you like to have me for your wedding day, you don’t need necessarily to book me for both services, but I could work with you just for one of the two: I perfectly know that sometimes happen that a member of the family or a friend is able in make up or hair and is pleased to gift the service to the future bride, or is the same bride in being able to do her own make up or hair so, why not? I can offer you just one of the two services.

- Do you have experience with Asian physiongnomy?
Yes, sure, i have a long experience with customer from South and East of Asia that starts before I seriuosly go inside Wedding industry. Thanks to a couple of photographer, now Facibeni Fotografia, that asked me to work with them and some british couples that were originally from China for some prewedding photoshooting in Florence; but it was the most significant for me a collaboration I had for a couple of years with a chinese photographer, Ken Lam, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that used to travel abroad for wedding and pre-wedding photoshooting: I have with him in Florence and Rome but also in Paris and London with customers originally from China, Thailand, South Corea and Macao.

My experience includes brides from Philippines, Singapore, Malasya and Taiwan and I perfectly know their style is to have a perfect skin match with particular attention to face and nose countour; the eyes make up is built not to create a false eye-lid (very western style that is not good for their eyes shape) but to enphatize their natural eyes shape making them bigger and longer; most of the time they love the corean style for the eyebrows design, that are very very important for the perfect final look.

- What about Indian wedding?
I love so much Indian bridal style that’s on my wedding I had bridal hennè tattoo on my arms and a tikka on my head, can you believe me?

Indian weddings are leteraly my favourites because in any other ceremony you can’t find so much joy and colors as an Indian wedding! I have worked with girls originally from West and South of Asia: Qatar, India, Saudi Arabia and EAU or with promised brides to guys originally from that areas and the choices and solutions are different. Some events develops in 3 days: the first one is the welcome party – Mehndi ceremony, the second one is the Indian – Sick ceremony and in some case the bride requires to change the look in the afternoon before the receipment and the third day is the Western ceremony – white bridal dress day. But not all brides choose this solution: some of them celebrate in only one day with the Indian ceremony or decide to have celebration in two, with the Mehni ceremomy the day before; some other likes to have only white dress wedding. As I already said, there is any fixed rules in weddings!

- Do you only work in Florence or Tuscany?
Absolutely not. I am glad to reach you to offer my services everywhere you need me! I have travelled often in Cinque Terre in Liguria, Umbria and Marche regions, that are very close to Florence but I have reached my customer also to Venice and Rome and to amazing locations as Garda and Como lake or Amalfi and Sorrento Coast or Puglia region.

2. BOOKING THE SERVICE
- How can I contact you?
Please, feel free to send me an email to my email or to write me a whatsapp message, I will be able to give you all the information you will need. For sure the first steps are to understand my availability and if my fees are within your budget.

- How can I book your services?
After have found an egreement about day and fees, you will be sure to book me after have signed a contract and have paid a deposit. Without contract and deposit I am not able to guarantee you that I could set the date for you.

- Can we start to work on bridal look before we meet in person for the trial?
Absolutely yes! After the contract and the deposit, I ask the bride to collect some reference images both about your wishes for make up and hairstyle, that are very important for both of us: for me to perfectly understand the look that bride-to-be love and would to have, and for the bride-to-be to clear the ideas into the 1 million inspirational look she will find in the web. I also use to ask some pictures of you, with and without make up and a simple description of your daily and special-occasion make up: this is very important for me to understand how you use to show yourself and how you feels confortable and ok

3. THE TRIAL
- It is necessary to do the trial?
It’s not stricktly necessary, but if it’s possible to do it, I warmly suggest to do it!

The trial is a very precious occasion for several reasons:

•  to know each other in person: wedding day is one of the most important day in life and one of the day mostly rich of emotions. Would you like to spend 3 hours, on a day like this, with a person that is not good for you?
• to try the look: as “look” I mean the kind of style of both make up and hair that you always imagine for your bridal look, but you know what? 60% of the time, clients change their idea after seeing how they fit in reality (and not only in their head)
• to try the products: probably for me will be the first time I see my client in person and, as human and professional, I immediately “plan” how to build the make up. How long to do the eye-liner tale or how much foundation to use or how much to curl the lashes, etc. These are just some examples of some of the many details tha we have to consider and evaluate together if my vision is your vision
• the hair: a trial is a trial, and at the end, after we have tried 2 or 3 different looks, I assure you, that your hair will be messie and a disaster, but we will have found the look for sure and I will be able to plan exactly how to work on and with your hair, which kind and how much of products to use, to suggest you or not hair extension and so..
• to plan the time we will need on the big day

- If I also book the trial, how much time before the wedding is it suggested to do it?
The make up and hairstyling trial use to take 2-3 hours and this means a full morning or a full afternoon, maybe considering the trip to reach me in Florence by my studio.

In reality there is not “the right time” to do the trial, but, my personal suggestion if it’s possible, is to do it closer to the wedding day that it means some months before the big day. But, I perfectly know that, especially for brides coming abroad of Italy, is not easy to organize a trip to meet all the vendors, to visit the location, to taste the catering, to meet the florist and the photographer and, also, to have time for the trial with me and I perfectly know this travel is used to be organized 1 year – 6 months before the wedding day and that is very difficult to rearrange one other visit to Italy, especially for couple from USA or from Australia or Canada, before the wedding. So, my suggestion is to try to organize the trial from 6 to 2 months before the wedding but if it’s not possible is still ok.

- And if I will not come to Italy if not some days before the ceremony?
We can easily organize the trial some days before the wedding! It is happened several times I have met the bride on the day before the wedding for the trial and the day after we met again for the main big day, especially when the events are outside of Tuscany, by the Amalfi or Sorrento Coast or in Puglia region.

- Do you have a place where we can meet for the trial?
In 2021 I have open my own studio in Florence city centre, where we can easily meet and take all the time we need to know each other and try all the looks are necessary to clear ideas and feel beautiful!

- My mother / sister / maid of honour would also love to do the trial, will be possible? And how much time do you need for them?
I don’t use to do trial if not with the bride, but if it highly requested of course we can. I keep less time as for the bride and I use to keep 1 hour – 1 hour and a half for the whole look (the price of course is also different compared with the bridal trial). One the reason I don’t use to offer trials to other ladies is that could happened will be not me to prepare them but somebody from my crew

- How much time does the trial take?
Both make up and hairstyling trial for one look use to take almost 2 hours; if you would like to try more looks, consider more time: for instance for 3 looks it could be necessary 3-4 hours.

- After the trial I will have a photoshooting / prewedding – welcome dinner, is it possible to use it?
A trial is a trial and is not done to longlasting because the main goal of a trial is to find the right look in terms of shades, shapes, kind and quantity of products, way to work with the hair and so.. if you want to use the make up and hair for some other events after our meeting, I need to work in other ways and the price will be different

4. GETTING READY ON WEDDING DAY
- How much time before the wedding day do we need to plan the getting ready timing?
The sooner the better! Most of the time there is a Wedding Planner helping bride in planning all the details as well as the timing on wedding day and I use to comunicate with them to organize my part of the job. In any case, we can start to plan getting ready timing a couple of months before but we can do it also some weeks before. In my experience there will be always something to change and will be not a problem to adjust timings also at the last moment.

In any case remember THE SOONER THE BETTER!

- How much time do you need on wedding day to prepare a bride in both make up and hair?
On wedding day I highly suggest to have all the time we need to do the best job ever! Don’t think about the messie on the trial day.. on wedding day we don’t joke! Make up and hair must be more than perfect and to do the best job we need the right time.

I will arrive by you 30 minutes before to start to work to set up tools and products and to prepare the getting ready postation; than I consider 2 hours – 2 hours and a half of job for both make up and hairstyling, it always depends in the complexity of the look you have choosen.

With timing I use to finish to prepare the bride 1 hour before she needs to go out of room, because you will need enough time to dress up and maybe some portrait with the photographer.

If there will be other ladies to prepare, the time me and my team can dedicate to them is 45 minutes for make up and 45 minutes for the hair

- Is it ok for you if I wear make up? What about the hair? Do you need them fresh or not?
I prefer if it’s possible to meet you without make up for both the trial and the wedding day, for sure on wedding day.  About the hair, on trial day I will ask you to wash them the evening before we meet us in the way to evaluate what to do on wedding day: sometimes it is better to wash the day before the ceremony and some other time it is better to meet me with hair just washed and still dump, in the way to start with blowdrying to create the volume already on this first step.
- Does the make up waterproof and long lasting all day?
All the products I use for the eyes are waterproof: concealer, mascara, eye liner and eye pencils.

I use a particular technique thanks to which the main area of the face will be perfect all day long (even you aren’t planning to dive into the pool..) not using too much products but the products on the right areas and playing a lot with lights and shadows.

Bridal make up is both beauty, daily, nightly, inside, outside and photographic make up: my techniques permit me to realize a make up that is at the same time a daily make up and a perfect job for the photographic machine.

- What the basic package includes in the service?
It includes the trial and the service on wedding day, when I will prepare you and will stay with you till you go out of your room. I also will help positioning the veil on the head.

If you would like to have me for any retouch service or change of look, these are additional services that you can book apart but are not included in the basic make up and hairstyling service.

Other additional services, could be, over retouch and change of look, are the getting ready and assistance for the prewedding photoshooting or for the welcome dinner on the evening before the wedding day.

- Do you provide hair extensions or jewels / decoration for the hairstyling?
I will provide all the instruments, products and tools I will need for the hairstyling as hairpins, bobbypins, clothespins, rubber bands and stuffings but I don’t provide any hair extension or decorations.

- Do you require travel expences refund?
I am based in Florence so, it depends on where your getting ready location will be, I could ask a travel expences refund starting from 20,00 Euro based on mileage.

5. EXTRA LADIES

- Probably there will be other ladies ( as my mother, my mother in law, my grandmother, my auntie, my husband to be sister, my sister, my maid of honour, the bridesmaids, etc..) requiring the service, are you able to prepare also them or do you maybe have somebody helping you?
Over the years, I consilidate my team of very good make up artists and hairstylists, helping me if it’s needed on the events, in the way it’s no need to start getting ready appointments starting not earlier than 4 hours and a half before the ceremony

- How much time do you need for make up and hairstyling for them? 2 hours as the bride?
The bride is the queen, the star of the day and I don’t want to have anybody more time than the bride. So, the time I use to dedicate to a full make up and hairstyling service for an “extra lady” is 75 – 90 minutes max for both the services: it happens often one lady is prepared by a professional in make up for 40 – 45 minutes and by one other professiona for hairstylng for other 40 – 45 minutes in the way to gain time crossing the services between the professionals.

If there will be other ladies to prepare, for them we have 2 choices because the time to prepare them is less compared to the time I need for the bride: if they need just a blowdry, please meet me with hair just whashed and still dump, if they would like an hairstyling, wash and dry the hair by theirself the evening before or the same morning (not to close to the apointment.

6. THE STYLE

- How can you define your style? How can I recognize a woman is being prepared by you?
It’s very difficult for me to define my style because I like all kind of woman, all kind of skin, all kind of solution. What it is saying about my make up is that it never changes a face but it makes the face ready for the pictures; never transforms a woman in one other one but emphatize ones more all potential beauty even it’s light or heavy, colored or natural, bold or mostly fashion, delicate or sexy.

- I don’t use to wear foundation or I don’t use it a lot and prefer BBCream. Does it a problem?
In my opinion is not strickly necessary to wear foundation or to wear a lot of it.  The foundation serves the purpose to transform and delete the redness of the skin in the photos: it was born at the beginning of Cinema History to help actresses and actors to have better skin on the motion pictures films, but this effect was so beloved by the actresses that they started to wear it in normal daily life to be perfect.

I had many brides do not love to use foundation because they don’t like the effect or the sensation on the skin but, it depends on how the skin is, we need to work a little bit on the imperfection because, as I always say to my make up students, photographic machine is a little devil shows things that nude eyes are not able to see.. so a little red on the nose becames a super red nose and this is absolutely no good on wedding pictures!

I will respect all your wishes and I will work in a way to feel you confortable and beautiful at the same time!

- It’s a problem if I use my own lipstick on wedding day?
Absolutely not: as for the foundation, my goal is you feel good and confortable so, if using your usual lipstick is good for you, please do it

- Do you use airbrush?
I have studied airbrush since many years but I don’t like as tools for bridal make up, I prefer to use it only for special effects and for bodypainting.

I am not saying is a bad instrument but is not good for me. I am able to obtain a very natural effect only using brushes, sponges and sometimes my hands.

- Which are the brands you use for brides?
I love to use several brands. Just to give you an idea: as mosturizers I use Embryolisse, La Roche Posay, Avene, Vaseline and Charlotte Tilbury; as foundation I use Armani, Nars, Bobbi Brown, MAC, Estee Lauder; as concealer I use Nars, Bobbi Brown, Laura Mercier, MAC; as primers I use Armani, Charlotte Tilbury, Nars; as eyeshadows I use Nars, Charlotte Tilbury, Natasha Denona, Laura Mercier, Huda Beauty, Illamasqua, MAC; as eyepencils I use Urban Decay, Marc Jacobs, MAC; as mascara I use Lancome, Marc Jacobs, Maybelline; as eyeliner I use Bobbi Brown, Inglot; for the eyebrows I use WestBarnCo, MAC, Anastasia Beverly Hills; as powder I use Kat Von D beauty, MAC; as contour I use Bobbi Brown, MAC, Tom Ford; as blush I use Nars, Yves Saint Laurent; as lipstick and lipgloss I use MAC, Bobbi Brown, Marc Jacobs, Yves Saint Laurent; as final fixing I use Urban Decay; as waterproofing I use Make Up Forever, Inglot.

- Do you use false lashes? Which kind?
I definitively YES! I warmly suggest you to use the false lashes that is one of my favorite and top 5 instruments / products to use on brides! I love to use the individual one instead of the full line false lashes for two main reason: the first, try to immagine if with eye-drops due to little crying part of the full line lashes (or whole one) tear away..OMG!!! But if this will happen to one or two of the 13 individual lashes I use to apply to one eye, nobody will see it. In any case all my brides assert they keep false lashes for days after the wedding day; the second reason is individual false lashes are modular: you can use to one till 13-15 on one eye and the effect can be or invisible or glam or bold, in depends the effect you would love to obtain. Most of the time the effect is like to have eye liner tale without have it or to have more eye liner tale.