This past Thursday I had three graduates from The Advanced Makeup Course at The New York School of Esthetics come to me and request to shadow me at a JKFlashy Event. Ironically, JKFlashy had a smaller contracted Tappan Hill Wedding booked for this past Saturday and I invited the three graduates to shadow me.
The three graduates showed up early, makeup impeccable, makeup kits in tote and ready for their first “real life makeup / event experience” as Professional Makeup Artists. Two of the graduates wanted to do makeup, while the other wanted to assist. We arrived at my client’s suite at the Westchester Marriott and it hit me this would be a very large dose of “reality” for my Graduates. I think that timing, professionalism and incredible customer service are utmost important when providing services for a JKFlashy event. When I speak of timing, I am referring to respecting and delivering services according to the client’s contracted start and completion time. I instructed, guided and mentored my students and suddenly wished for more time for this experience. I wanted time to explain etiquette, to explain a timely set up of their makeup kits, I wanted to tell them how important multitasking is so that customer service is incredible and timing is respected. I did the best I could and serviced my client, while floating around the room to perfect makeup that the graduates did. I laughed when we were recapping the experience in the lobby and one graduate said, “my client kept blinking,” another graduate replied with “did you see how sensitive my client’s eyes were?” I laughed because nothing I could ever teach or include in a curriculum could have prepared my students for reality. I challenged myself after this experience and continue to brainstorm ideas of how to better prepare my students for the reality each will face upon graduating The Advanced Makeup Course. In my challenge I have realized that it is the mistakes and doses of reality that teach more lessons than perhaps will ever be learned in a classroom.
