Be Yourself Beauty

Be Yourself Beauty began as a team of professionals offering on-location makeup and hair services, created by owner Nancy Hathaway-Hopowiec. The team has served wedding parties in New England since 1995. Its work also includes proms, senior receptions, reunions, bar and bat mitzvahs, photo shoots, runway and fashion shows, holiday parties, and film, production and commercial work. Appointments are usually held at the client's home, at a bed and breakfast or inn, or at another location the client chooses.

Brides can begin with a pre-wedding consultation and trial, held at the artist's or stylist's location, with makeup and hair trials starting at $75. On the wedding day the team recreates the trial look. The bridal shower party program covers makeup application, color analysis, mini makeovers, skin care, scar and acne makeup, and custom-blended foundations. Shower guests can order items for themselves, and purchases for the bride from her wish list are delivered to her in a basket.

For clients who want to learn, there are one-on-one makeup lessons for $75. The personal session, lesson and full-size custom-blended foundation package combines color analysis, makeup instruction and a skin care assessment with a mini-facial, and is priced at $75 against a stated value of $150. Group demonstrations and clinics, which need a minimum of four people with the hostess as the model, cost $60 per person and include a full-size custom-blended foundation to take home. The studio also hosts makeup parties, academy classes for professionals and aspiring artists, and public beauty seminars.

Product choices include Motives Customized Cosmetics, with custom-blended foundation, custom color palettes, custom-blended mineral products and a custom face chart; La La Anthony Mineral Makeup; color matching for Prescriptives customers; and skin care, tools and gift items. The business says it screens the companies whose products it carries and tests products itself before they are sold. Motives products are described as hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic, and range from light to full coverage. Products can be bought through the online studio, by phone or by email, or during an appointment where staff help choose.

Booking is first come, first served, and a completed signed contract with a retainer reserves the date; deposits held for a date are non-refundable. Travel fees vary by location and are not included in listed rates, a set-up fee applies, and gratuity is not included. Product orders can be cancelled without penalty within three business days of sale by written notice, other product cancellations carry a minimum fee of $50, and if an order is not picked up or accepted within 30 days of notice, payment is applied to the service and any other applicable charges.

The business describes itself as award-winning. It says it has received the WeddingWire Bride's Choice Award for five years in a row, an honor based on reviews from newlyweds that recognizes the top 5 percent of WeddingWire vendors. It also says its work has appeared in Real Simple, The Knot, Brides CT and Get Married magazines.

Aims to create customized looks that suit each client's lifestyle, coloring and needs, with foundation matched to each complexion.