Makeup artist / Online booking
Online booking for makeup artists
By the numbers
The makeup artist problem
How AI helps a makeup artist here
- Publishes a real service menu (bridal, bridal trial, bridesmaid or per-face group rates, special-occasion glam, editorial and photoshoot, on-location travel) with correct durations, per-face pricing and travel buffers, so a full bridal party never gets booked into a single-face slot.
- Takes bookings and holds dates 24/7 with a deposit at checkout, capturing the after-hours demand you sleep through and protecting irreplaceable event dates from tire-kickers.
- Asks the right intake at booking (event date, call time, venue and address, number of faces, skin type and allergies, inspo photos, whether lashes are included) so you quote accurately and arrive prepped.
- Builds and runs the whole booking experience on top of whatever tool you already use, whether that is StyleSeat, GlossGenius (Genius AI), Square Appointments or Acuity Scheduling, instead of forcing another migration.
Book the event, not just a 60-minute block
A generic calendar link treats a solo bridal trial and an eight-face wedding morning as the same appointment. That is how you end up committing to a party of eight in a window that only fits one face. Your booking flow has to understand makeup reality: that a bride plus five bridesmaids needs a start time counted backward from the ceremony, that on-location work adds travel and setup, and that a trial is a separate paid appointment weeks before the date, not a freebie.
It also has to protect the date itself. A wedding morning is a full block you cannot sell twice, so the flow should require a deposit or full booking fee to hold it, and refuse to let a second inquiry double-book that Saturday. See /ai-for-salons/no-show-prevention for how deposits lock a date.
- Per-face and per-party pricing so a bridal party quotes and blocks correctly instead of as one seat.
- Reverse-timed scheduling from a stated ceremony or call time, with travel and setup buffers for on-location work.
- A separate paid bridal-trial booking path linked to the wedding date, not folded into the wedding slot.
Capture the details that make or break the morning
The difference between a smooth booking and a chaotic one is the intake. A makeup artist needs the venue address and parking, the getting-ready room, the exact number of faces and who is paying, skin sensitivities, and reference photos, all before the day. Collecting that at booking instead of chasing it over text the night before is what lets you arrive, set up, and start on time.
Because clients who book online return at 78% versus 39% for walk-ins and only about 30% of appointments are booked online industry-wide, rising toward 59% at digital-first businesses, a clean booking page is also a retention and growth lever, not just a convenience. Every event client who booked and paid online is one whose contact details, preferences and history you now own for the next occasion.
Questions makeup artist operators ask
Do I have to switch off StyleSeat or my current booking app?
Can it quote a full bridal party, not just one person?
Will it collect the event date, address and inspo photos up front?
Ready when you are
Build online booking into your makeup artist
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