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The Vanity Makeup Studio, Inc.
Elevate your beauty with professional makeup artistry and personalized services in Albuquerque.
3.2(5 reviews)
$$$
doctor
makeup-artists
cosmetics-and-beauty-supply
Professional bridal beauty services for weddings, including trials and on-location styling for the entire bridal party.
Creative makeup for Halloween, theatrical productions, and photo shoots with advanced techniques and products.
Educational workshops and tutorials covering beauty makeup, special effects, and industry insights for all skill levels.
Custom makeup applications for proms, parties, corporate events, and other special occasions.
Retail of premium makeup brands like Sugar Pill and Medusa, available for purchase at the studio.
Professional makeup tailored for photography sessions, fashion shoots, and editorial work to ensure camera-ready looks.
Elevate your beauty with professional makeup artistry and personalized services in Albuquerque.
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The Vanity Makeup Studio, Inc. is a premier makeup and beauty destination in Albuquerque, NM, specializing in professional makeup artistry for weddings, special events, photoshoots, and more. Led by experienced artist Noel Dalton, we offer customized beauty and special effects makeup, along with educational classes and high-quality product sales from brands like Sugar Pill and Medusa. Our studio is dedicated to enhancing your natural beauty with creativity and precision, serving brides, models, and beauty enthusiasts across New Mexico. We strive to deliver exceptional results with a personalized touch, ensuring every client feels confident and stunning.
Prior to writing this review, Noel was contacted by us to try & make good of the situation with a partial refund or even a simple understanding of our frustration. However, Noel responded rudely by stating her contract- "acceptance of completed makeup/hair application by client is acknowledgement by client that makeup/hair is done to his/her satisfaction." So, essentially, if your hair is done terribly &/or your make up (although nothing can be done to fix it because now there is no time before the wedding) she expects you to now take more time to complain and "work" everyone up. Complaints which at the time would serve no purpose. Nothing could be done given THERE WAS NO TIME. To my defense though, I did try before there was no time to make both girls aware of how dissatisfied I was in a pleasant & mature manor and nothing could be done given that there was a line of girls waiting. Here's my experience... One thing I noticed off the bat was that none of us were set up in front of a mirror. This left us wondering how things were coming out & were unable to point things out as they were happening. Let me begin with my make up. From a distance my make up looked pretty good. However, when up close, it was clearly caked on. I stated I wanted a natural look with more dramatic lashes & I do not feel that it was that. The lashes Noel put on me were poor quality & came off before the wedding CEREMONY even began. When I had Noel reattach my lashes, after they had come off (moments before leaving to the ceremony), they were far off from my lash line & bothered me all night. I did not complain at the time about my lashes being far off because there was no time to fix them any better anyway & who wants to add to the stress of the wedding day by complaining when nothing could be done anymore? This was not my wedding day, so I sucked it up knowing we had no time & fixed my lashes as best as I could. I figured I'd deal with it after the dust of the wedding chaos settled thinking Noel would be more understanding. As far as hair goes, I'd probably give it a 1 star rating. Her assistant Virginia did her best however, she was not qualified. She was constantly asking Noel for advice and no ones hair, done by Virginia, came out well. I had fly hairs everywhere and nearly all curls had fish hooks or were not curled to the end. Thank goodness I had taken my own curler! I redid all the curls in my hair, as well as fixed ALL 3 of the other bridesmaids. Overall I am not satisfied at all for the price I paid. I expected more understanding and professionalism from Noel especially given that she saw how much Virginia was struggling, she knew how behind schedule they both were, she knew there was no time to even try to fix things the day of & she knew we were running into photography time. The time that we were supposed to finish was 2:45 (which she knew) & the time we finished was 3:15. Her excuses for running behind schedule was our two min prayer coming in from decorating, that she didn't anticipate everyone having such "long and thick" hair & that our pinterest picture examples of how we wanted our hair was unrealistic. Yes, length & thickness does effect timing, however, knowing her own ability, she should've asked hair types prior-to rather than gambling on time. Also, my hair is bra length & has never been described as thick by any cosmetologist. If a half up, half down hair style with curls & a bump is "in-congruent with reality" then perhaps the ability of the hair stylist is in question.
Noël was professional and great to work with up until the day of my wedding. Her prices are reasonable and her schedule is pretty flexible. My hair and makeup trial went very well and Noël was great at listening to what I wanted. She even spoke with one of my more difficult bridesmaids about her products beforehand to ensure she wouldn’t use any products that could cause a reaction. However, I have given less stars due to the quality of work on my wedding day. We were scheduled to start at 10am and we didn’t start till about 10:30am, partially because we were upstairs decorating and partially because Noël and Virginia didn’t get there till 10:16am. The makeup that was done on my bridesmaids was for the most part, mediocre. One bridesmaid had dark skin and her makeup made her look like a ghost due to the difficulty in matching her skin tone with the makeup. That bridesmaid completely redid her makeup on her own. Another bridesmaids eyelashes were put on poorly in that the lashes weren’t even on her lash line. Virginia, Noël’s assistant, did a terrible job on everyone’s hair that was done. Parts were not centered and bumps were uneven. Virginia didn’t appear to know what she was doing in that she kept interrupting Noël during makeup to ask her questions. Fortunately, Noël did both my hair and makeup and they both came out wonderfully after a few touch ups and tweaks to my eyeliner and eyebrows. Unfortunately, we ran very late and up until the ceremony were very rushed. Overall, I would not book with The Vanity Makeup again due to the fact that I was the only one satisfied with my hair and makeup.
If I could give no stars I would... Noel forgot about my appointment, and when she did show up for a "trial," she made me look like washed out white person, with more wrinkles then I care to see. She doesn't know multicultural skin. My trial cost a whopping $107.31, she does not refund what you think is a deposit, even if cancelled booking completely. Use a credit card.
Noel and her team are fantastic!! For our wedding, she and her team completed hair and makeup for 15 people and everyone looked gorgeous!!! When I had a before the wedding bride freak out, she remained cool, calm and collected, and made me feel really supported!! She is super groovy and her talent is unparalleled!!!
Noel Dalton is an AMAZING Make Up Artist! I consider her one of THE BEST in not only in the Albuquerque area but within New Mexico. She is phenomenal within her craft. From weddings, to cover shoots, to period make up, to halloween this woman knows her craft! Not only does she offer any type of Make Up service, but she also offers classes in both Beauty and Special Effects. As a former student of her's in both these classes I have put to use and benefited immensely from her knowledge and expertise. One of the best tutorial teachers, Noel understands that every person is different and makes sure each of her students grasps the understanding of Make Up and its industry. With their new location The Vanity Make Up Studio can and will deliver any and all your make up needs. Noel also sells make up from lines such as Sugar Pill & Medusa. The only location I know of to sell it in the Albuquerque area. I highly suggest Noel! She's the best!
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