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“Light lang naman.” It’s the classic plea, pitched by a bridesmaid somewhere between innocent and insistent. The assumption here is that skin tint and gloss cost less than a smoky eye and a sculpted cheek. A fresh-faced glow—à la Paul Unating or Jelly Eugenio—shouldn’t dent the wallet like a full-on Carissa Cielo Medved or Slo Lopez transformation. After all, “light” should cost less… right?
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A hard no. “Just because a look is light doesn’t mean it takes less work,” says Medved, the go-to for all things glam and full-spectrum drama. “Sometimes, it even takes more time to achieve than full glam.”
Less Is a Lot More
Looking effortless is rarely effortless. Medved continues: “And mind you, it’s not about how bold the look is, but the seamless blending, custom shade mixing, and enhancement of natural features in a way that looks effortless.”
Bridal makeup is the perfect case in point. It reads light next to glitter and dark contour, but don’t mistake softness for simplicity. “Bridal makeup is not light,” says Eugenio, a staple in the wedding circuit. “It’s a perfected version of how you normally do makeup.” Which means: it does more, lasts longer, and costs more to pull it off, so why is light still seen as light work?
Unating, known for her signature fresh-faced, ‘Paul Unating Effect’ beat, agrees. “A light look involves precise and more effortful application, and blending to achieve a natural appearance.” The less you see, the more went into it.
Time is the Price
Not pigment, not pan size. The artist’s time.
“The rate an artist charges is about skill, connection, service, experience, and time… and the list goes on,” says Lopez, a makeup maximalist at heart. “All of these things and more can be put into the most beautifully applied natural no-makeup look as much as it can into the most fierce, bold, glamorous makeup.”
This sentiment echoes across the board. Whether it’s for a bridesmaid, a debutante, or a drag icon-in-the-making, the price should always reflect the work and the effort. “As long as you’re paying for the appointment and you block off the date, whatever makeup you request—whether that be the lightest or the heaviest makeup—you’re paying for the time and years of training, and the experience of the makeup artist,” says Eugenio.
Think of it this way—if you’re hiring a sculptor, are you paying for the clay, or what they do with it?
Here’s a takeaway: “light” is a look, not a workload. Full glam stuns in all its technicolor glory, but looking low-effort is a luxury. And luxury, as always, comes at full price.
Photos: PAUL UNATING, SLO LOPEZ, JELLY EUGENIO, and CARISSA CIELO MEDVED (via Instagram)
