Hongdae makeup salon for outdoor wedding snaps, low bun: Today Makeup

Why I got my outdoor wedding snap hair and makeup at Today Makeup

I went to Today Makeup (오늘메이크업), famous as a Hongdae makeup salon, for hair and makeup before my outdoor wedding snap shoot! Unlike a studio shoot, an outdoor shoot means thinking about natural light, weather and even how you move between spots, so makeup really matters, right? Once I got the photos back, I fully understood why you leave this to a professional.

Getting to Today Makeup, and parking

Today Makeup is close to Hongik Univ. Station, so you can walk there, and it has a parking lot too, which makes it easy to visit by car. In case the building's spaces run out, they even pointed me to nearby paid lots (and they said they support parking fees up to ₩10,000!)

Red, oily skin starts with a hydrating mask

Before makeup, Today Makeup brought down my skin's heat with a hydrating sheet mask. My face gets quite red and my skin is oily, so they put the mask on right away to cool it down!

How did the reference photo consultation go?

Before starting, I showed them reference photos of the hair and makeup I wanted. I usually prefer a natural look over heavy makeup, so I wanted to keep my own face's vibe while making it look bright. They carefully checked the mood I wanted and my everyday makeup style during the consultation, which made me trust them.

Why outdoor snap makeup is bolder than usual

Today Makeup's outdoor snap makeup factors in the sunlight washing things out, so it uses a bit more color and shading than daily makeup. I loved the base, but as the color makeup went on, it looked a little heavier than I'd expected and I got slightly worried. Compared with my daily makeup, the color was clearly more vivid and the shading a bit deeper.

But the makeup artist explained that in outdoor shoots, sunlight can make makeup look much fainter than it really is. In hot seasons especially, sweat and oil make makeup break down easily, so she was working with the final photos in mind.

I realized this is know-how that comes from experience. It felt like she wasn't just making me pretty, but calculating how it would look on camera and in an outdoor setting. Maybe because she has so much shoot experience, she picked up the mood I wanted quickly without me explaining, and fine-tuned the details to suit my face shape and features.

Can a low bun survive a windy outdoor shoot?

The low bun from Today Makeup was fixed so firmly that it barely needed touching up the whole shoot. I was really happy with the hair styling too. Outdoor snaps involve lots of moving around and wind, so it matters that the hair doesn't come loose over time. I'd asked for a low bun, which can't be easy to secure, but she kept it natural-looking while making it hold, so it needed almost no fixing all shoot.

This outdoor snap was done without a hair change and without a helper (the "helper aunt" who usually assists at wedding shoots), so they took that into account and fixed it firmly so the wind wouldn't undo it. My hair stayed pretty in every shot, which made the shoot so much easier.

Help with the dress, plus body makeup

Beyond hair and makeup, Today Makeup also helped with putting on the dress and did body makeup. What I really, really loved is that they don't just do hair and makeup, they carefully look after the whole shoot prep!! That day I was changing into my dress at the salon and heading straight to the shoot location, and they even helped me put on the dress. I'd have been flustered alone, so having them check everything beside me was so reassuring.

They also did body makeup. In a dress, it's not just your face that shows but your neckline, collarbones and arms, right? They evened out my skin tone naturally and tidied up the overall skin texture, so it looked much more polished in photos. The face makeup and body skin tone blended naturally, which gave a much more elegant mood!

How did the photos look in sunlight?

In the outdoor snap photos, the makeup that felt strong at first wasn't over the top at all. If anything, in the sunlight my face came out crisp and the photos looked much better. Seeing the results, I immediately understood why the artist did it that way. Once again I felt that selfie makeup and shoot makeup are completely different worlds.

Staying power on a hot day, and the shoot-location route

On the way back after a hot, tiring outdoor shoot, I'd expected my makeup to have melted away with sweat, but it actually felt more natural!

When people shoot outdoor snaps in Seoul, they usually go to Noeul Park or Yongsan Park, right? Today Makeup is close to both, so the travel route is the best!

If you have an outdoor wedding snap or a pre-wedding shoot coming up, choosing your hair and makeup is really important. If you want a place with lots of shoot experience, I'd recommend Today Makeup, famous as a Hongdae makeup salon. They reflect the style you want while taking the shooting environment into account, and they looked after everything from the dress to body makeup, so my satisfaction was really high. You can feel the professionalism of thinking beyond making you pretty on the day to how the results turn out, so I'm even happier and highly recommend it.