Bridal makeup and hair in Bengaluru

Two more ways have no published price: a friend who does makeup, or a beautician from a neighbourhood parlour who comes home. What you give up is a trial, a say in the products, and a backup if she can't come.

Every function is its own look and its own price. At one studio whose owner does every bride:

Most of the big salon chains don't publish a bridal price. One gives it at a consultation in the salon, so ask for the price there. The highest price for one look we found on an artist's own page is ₹32,000. Better-known artists who don't publish prices may charge more. An outstation wedding is ₹35,000 to ₹37,000 a look at two places, with travel and stay on you. One of them counts 100 km or more as outstation.

Lashes, extensions and lenses vary. One artist's price includes extensions and lashes, and charges extra for hair accessories and lenses. Another's basic package includes lashes, extensions, lenses and accessories.

The jada. No page we read says who makes a fresh-flower jada, and none prices one. Ask the artist whether she brings it or only pins in one you order, and if it's yours, have someone order the flowers for the day before.

If the dhare saree and the muhurtha saree are different, the second needs draping in the middle of the rituals. Ask whether the artist stays for it, or book a draper.

The gap is about ₹6,000. The pages list what differs: the owner does your face herself, and her trial runs two to three hours. They don't say what share of the gap each one is. The salon's page doesn't say who comes, so ask for the name.

The pages don't say whether one finish lasts longer. Ask both to show you a bride's photos from late in the day.

Against the salon's cheapest look, ₹14,000 in the salon, the gap is ₹16,000. That covers coming to you and the airbrush tier as well as the person. In between, one artist's muhurtha look at your venue is ₹27,000 in HD and ₹32,000 in airbrush.

The trial terms differ too. The salon takes its ₹3,000 off the bill once you book. The owner's ₹3,000 is separate and never refunded, so you pay it even if you go elsewhere.

On her Instagram, photos are taken with good lights and often edited. Look for videos, the same bride at more than one function, and a bride whose skin is like yours. Then ask her for a few unedited photos from a real wedding.

On the first call, ask:

• Is my date free, and how many brides do you have that morning?
• Will you do my face yourself, and who does the family?
• What's in the price: hair, drape, lashes, travel, an early start?
• Is the trial free, and is it a full or a half face?
• How much is the advance, and what if I cancel or the date moves?
• Which products will you use on my skin?

Some artists answer the first two on their own page. One studio's owner does every bride herself, and one artist takes one booking a date, "no double bookings, ever". A salon's page usually names nobody, so ask who it will send and whether you'll meet her at the trial.

Most artists name the brands they use, such as MAC, NARS and Huda Beauty. To judge how your makeup will look, go by her photos of brides with skin like yours more than the brand names.

Wear your wedding colours to the trial. Take photos in daylight and with flash, and keep them. A salon at noon looks different from a hall at dawn.

If you don't like it, say so there and then. A trial is for changes, so tell her what to change while you're in the chair. If it still isn't right and you walk away, the advance terms decide what you lose (question 9). So if you can, have the trial before you pay the advance.

When. No page we read gives a number of weeks. Do it once your outfit colours are fixed, with time to try someone else.

Our estimate for you and three relatives, makeup, hair and draping for all four at the main function:

• At a salon chain, in the salon: about ₹31,000 to ₹49,000.
• With an artist at your venue: about ₹76,000 to ₹83,000. At her studio, the relatives cost ₹9,000 less.

Neither is a quote, and a group booking may cost less.

Can one artist do everyone before the muhurtha? No page we read says how long each person takes. Give her the head count and the muhurtha time before you book, and ask how many her team can finish by then and whether she brings assistants.

Who pays for the groom's side and your friends has no fixed rule. Agree it before the artist gets the list, because adding or dropping names late is the harder part.

A dawn muhurtha means a night start. One owner's trial alone runs two to three hours, so for a 6 am muhurtha the artist starts in the night. Ask what time she starts, and either give her a room at the venue or ask how she'll get there.

A reception the night before is two full looks about ten hours apart, with makeup off after midnight and on again before dawn. One artist does both from ₹20,000 plus travel. Artists who price each look charge ₹46,000 to ₹62,000 for the pair. Ask whether the same person does both, and whether she stays the night.

Travel is charged three ways: by the km, as a flat fee, or "plus travel" with no figure. One artist's price covers travel to venues within 10 km of her studio. Beyond that, she charges ₹40 a km on the whole round trip, so a venue 25 km away adds ₹2,000. One salon lists ₹2,500 to ₹3,000 for outdoor work. Ask which applies before you pay.

If she has to wait past her slot, it costs ₹500 an hour at one studio and ₹4,000 an hour (₹2,000 a half hour) at another.

Touch-ups. Most pages don't say whether she stays after the main look. One artist's premium two-look package keeps an artist with you until the evening, so ask.

An outstation wedding is ₹35,000 to ₹37,000 a look at two places, with her travel and stay on you. One counts 100 km or more as outstation.

If you're dusky, say at the trial that you want to look like yourself. A base that's too light, or a powder that catches the photographer's flash, can make the face look white or grey next to the neck. The flash photos from the trial will show it.

If you have acne or scars, show her your skin at the trial and ask what she can cover and what she can only soften. Don't start a new facial, peel or cream in the last two weeks.

If your skin reacts, ask her to try the base on a small patch, behind the ear, a few days before, and tell her your allergies when you book. One studio generally won't use your own products, but may if you've told it about an allergy.

You can ask to see the bottles. Every cosmetic's label has to carry its expiry or use-before date, so check those. We found no rule for an artist's brushes, so ask for clean brushes and a fresh sponge.

HD or airbrush: ask which she'd use on your skin and why (question 2 has what each is).

Get the terms on WhatsApp before you pay, in the same message as the booking: the advance, what happens if you cancel, and what happens if the priest moves the muhurtha.

If she falls ill. No page we read names a backup artist or says what happens. Ask who would come in her place, and get the name in writing.

If your wedding is only weeks away, ask anyway. One artist's page says off-season dates can often be confirmed within a few weeks.

If it goes wrong, you can complain to the district consumer commission within two years. In Ludhiana in May 2026, one ordered a salon to refund a bride ₹18,000 with interest and pay her ₹30,000, after a hair patch failed at her wedding.