hair & makeup :: Elaine Chou

Irene - 08/02/2011 Awesome
On our wedding day, Elaine's helpers not only came on time, they were 20 minutes early, and were very courteous, and even played around with different hair styles that the bridesmaids, MOB, and MOG wanted. They also were very professional with all my bridesmaids, were great on time, and listened to all their requests and did everything perfectly. When Elaine came to do my hair/makeup, she was equally courteous and friendly, and just a genuinely kindhearted person who cared to make the bride/her bridal party look amazing. Considering how she probably does hair/makeup every weekend for every bride, she did not consider us "just another job", and treated us with respect, did an AMAZING job, and I am COMPLETELY satisfied with her services.

Also, she has great packages that she puts together for big wedding party groups that are very affordable and cost efficient. She was one of the few people who was great on pricing for such a giant party like ours!

Michelle - 03/29/2011 Awesome
Elaine did my hair and makeup for my wedding recently. I had a trial (makeup only) session with her, then later I also had her do my hair and makeup for an engagement photo session. Elaine noticed dryness in my skin, so she made recommendations on how to avoid the dryness so that the makeup would stay on better.

For my wedding, she also did my sister's hair and makeup, and my mom's makeup. She arrived at the venue on time (unlike me) and had loads of supplies and tools with her for any need. I showed her a picture of my desired hairstyle, because I wanted a slight change from what she'd done before, and she was able to get the hair done perfectly. I also wanted to change the lipstick color slightly and asked for her advice, and that also came out just right. What I like about Elaine is that she can create a very natural look that's also very flattering. This is key for me, since I never wear makeup and didn't want something heavy that wouldn't fit me. Also, I notice that sometimes brides have such heavy layering of makeup that it cakes up and creases, but Elaine's makeup had a light touch with just the right amount of coverage and never caked up or creased.

She also left me a touchup kit, which I used at one point to powder my face and refresh the cheek color. She also lent me a veil and a decorated headband.

My mother-in-law loved Elaine's work so much that she wanted our photographer to take a close-up of me so that she could ask the makeup artist at the location for our second reception to do the same thing for me.

My family and I were so pleased with Elaine's work, plus she's really nice and easy to work with, which are so important when you're already under wedding planning stress! Many of our guests said I looked amazing and like a movie star at the wedding. I had no problems with the makeup looking fresh (the only time I had to touch it up was when I got slightly sweaty from taking pictures outdoors, and then all I had to do was add some powder and a little blush). My hair looked great all day and night too, and people kept asking where I got my hair done.

Checks are accepted, but not credit cards.

Becky - 05/05/2010 Awesome
I’ve never felt more of a princess than on my wedding day! My best friend just got married about a year ago and I loved her make up so much so she referred me to Elaine. Elaine did a wonderful job. I don’t normally wear much makeup so I was worried that my face would look cakey or that people would focus on the makeup and not the person underneath it…. but not at all! The makeup was fresh and light, just the way I wanted. I couldn’t be more satisfied with how natural the makeup was and the best part was that the false lashes looked natural on me also!

Chan - 04/02/2010 Awesome
After asking around for numerous recommendations for a great make-up artist, I finally found Elaine! I got the Promotion Package B, which included make-up and hair for me and 6 of the ladies in my bridal party. I only had three bridesmaids but I chose the other 3 for my mom, mother-in-law, and sis. Everyone looked so beautiful! Also, the great thing about the package is that it included the bride trial-make-up and hair so I could preview what I looked like on my wedding day! Elaine was so nice and professional and she offered suggestions of what colors would look good on me. She knew exactly what she was doing, which put me to ease!

Melting Bride - 03/16/2010 Average
I heard a lot of good reviews about Elaine so I decided to go with her. Sadly, I had to write this review. I'm usually not the type of person to say bad stuff about others, but I do feel as if I need to be honest and hopefully Elaine or her assistants can learn from my experience.

Elaine was busy on my wedding day so I booked her assistants Lois and Jessie instead. At my trial, I loved my makeup but not as much with my hair. I basically loved how the makeup lasted all day! However, on my wedding day, my foundation pretty much was gone by the afternoon. Looking at my photographer's photos, I just feel as if I look so washed out. I just don't understand how come her assistant didn't make the makeup last. Was she not focused that morning? Also, I had side swept bangs which also were beginning to hang the other way and starting to cover my eyes. My bridesmaids didn't like their hair and makeup as well. Their complaint was they felt their makeup made them look evil and their hair didn't stay put. Their curls loosened up mid day as well. They had to hide in the bathroom during my photoshoot to recurl.

What upsets me most is that I paid a lot of extra money to get my hair and makeup touched up during the reception. However, her assistant arrived 1 HOUR LATE to my reception due to an afternoon's bride tardiness and unexpected increase to her wedding party number. I was so furious when she told me she's going to be an hour late because that pretty much pushed my reception back tremendously. We had to rush on my evening touch ups and they didn't bother reimbursing me any money for being so late. I would at least think the professional thing to do is leave on time if it's the other bride's fault. Don't make me pay for her mistakes if I booked you for all day and paid a lot for the service.

Maybe things would have been better if I had Elaine. I heard she was really professional, but I guess I would never know. :-(

Michelle - 01/06/2010 Awesome
Elaine chou and her team are great! She did my makeup for my engagement sessions, trial, and my wedding day on September. She and her team did amazing work on anybody! She's also easy to get along with and is really prompt and efficient at getting back to emails. Elaine is very patient and calm. I communicated with her entirely through email and she was very good about responding quickly. She takes pride in her work and she takes her time. The makeup was very natural. I am very pleased with her work. I couldn't remember how many compliments I got for the day. Elaine, you have truely done a wonderful job and thank you for making me so beautiful on one of the most important days in my life. My one of my beidesmaid, her wedding is next year, she book with Elaine Chou too. So I highly recommend Echoumake-up and Echoumakeup Team!

Joanna - 08/19/2009 Average
Thank you so much for your great help on my wedding day! You were absolutely fabulous!! Elaine did my hair and make-up for my wedding and I love how I looked. She is an awesome and talented hair stylist and make up artist! She will make you look AND feel beautiful on your special day. She is very friendly and patient. If you want to look gorgeous on your wedding day, call her! It's worth it! I’ll highly recommend to all of the bride-to-be!!

Cynd Chao - 04/12/2009 Awesome
Elaine was great and very professional. She traveled all the way to Ventura for my wedding, and left early enough to finish 8 people according to my wedding day timeline with her assistant. She also offers a variety of bridal jewelry, veils and head pieces for loan with deposit. I had already bought my accessories ahead of time, but had I known she offered this service I would have loved to save the money since I would not be using them again after the wedding day.

My trial run went well, but I did ask for some minor changes for my wedding day hair and make-up, which she was able to carry out perfectly. She is not the least expensive vendor I looked into, but still very reasonable with her extensive experience and great reputation. I would recommend getting a consultation, if not trial run with her as early as possible, so she can provide any necessary skin and hair treatments before your wedding day. I didn't need any skin treatments, but Elaine's suggested some hair-cut changes to prepare my hair for the wedding day style. A couple of bridesmaids had some trouble with their hair style because of hair differences, and it would have been helpful if I brought them to see Elaine ahead of time. Overall, Elaine and her assistant did a wonderful job, and I would recommend her very highly.

jennice - 03/21/2009 Awesome
I will totally recommend Elaine Chou for makeup and hair. I love the makeup she did on my big day. Makeup and hair is very very important on the wedding day because there is no repeat and try again. I believe pictures worth a thousand. If anyone want to see my wedding pictures for sample, you can email me at info@jenniceandwayne.com. Good Luck ladies!

Jennifer F - 03/18/2009 Awesome
I have heard about Elaine through recommendation from friends and heard so many good things about her that we decided to book her for my sis-in-law's wedding. By looking at her website, I also noticed that she is very proficient in Asian makeup and that her makeup was done subtlety but yet defines their features so well.

Elaine did a wonderful job for my sister-in-law wedding and Elaine did a very good job in covering up her post acne scars. Elaine took extra care and time to even out her complexion and the result was remarkable and flawless. The makeup stayed whole day until the wedding ended. She also makes my sister-in-law's eyelashes super long. However, there is a need to touch up during the wedding but it's just the lip color and the powder.

Elaine is also very good in hairstyling, she was very fast and the hair stays put throughout the wedding too. Elaine uses high quality products for hair and makeup and she also advises her brides before the wedding to take care of their skin. However, Elaine is very polite and not pushy at all. She gives honest opinion about what hairstyle and makeup that works best for you. I think it is good to go in and have a trial session with her before the real wedding. The best thing is she lends the bridal veil for us for free.

We were all very pleased with the makeup, especially my brother! I highly recommend Elaine to everyone.

Cyndi Chao - 09/30/2008 Awesome
Elaine and team did an unbelievable job. I've never gotten so many "you look gorgeous" compliments in my life :)

Charmy Chiu - 08/17/2008 Awesome
TALENTED+PROFESSIONAL+DEPENDABLE. I recently had a morning wedding ceremony in Long Beach, which meant Elaine & her team had to be at my hotel by 5am...5AM in the morning - and yes she was there on the dot, wide awake and ready to make me beautiful.
I give credit where credit is due, and I feel very lucky to have had a dream team on my wedding day. Elaine made me beautiful, my photographer really captured the beauty & excitement, and my day-coordinator kept us on track and stress-free the whole time. I loved our wedding!
My cheat sheet on the vendors I loved!!
Elaine Chou, Makeup
http://www.echoumakeup.com/
Nathan See Photography
http://nathansee.com
Weddings by Melinda
http://www.melindasweddings.com

Advice to you brides-to-be out there, trust Elaine when she says, try on the fake-eyelashes! And, on the day-off, remember to stop and absorb the moment-and repeat often. It all went by so quickly...so take your love by the hand and say..."Remember this."

Viviane Chiu - 06/11/2008 Awesome
I would like to recommend Elaine Chou and her team to any bride to be...She did an awesome job! The makeup was perfect, not exagerated but she kept it simple and beautiful! She also put my hair up the way I wanted. As for my bridesmaids, Elaine's makeup team was also professional and did really a good job! We all love it! She really knows how to choose the colors for your type of skin. Thank you again Elaine for being so professional and punctual on my wedding day!

Charlene - 07/09/2007 Awesome
Elaine is absolutely wonderful! I wanted a natural look for my wedding and she delivered. For someone who doesn't wear makeup often, I was nervous on how things would turn out.
I went to Elaine for a trial run and we ended up using extensions for my hair and it came out beautifully. The trial was also the same date as my brial shower and everyone was raving on how gorgeous and natural my makeup looked. For the wedding, I went with the same look and changed outfits twice. The makeup & hair went well with the other dresses and all I did was change accessories, pinned cymbidium orchids and added little sparking powder to give myself a more dramatic look into the evening. Her prices were very affordable so I ended up booking her for my mom, mom-in-law as well. They say that you get little for the pricey services of today but with Elaine, you get A LOT---exceptional service, gorgeous results, endless compliments, unforgettable wedding!

Kitty - 05/11/2007 Awesome
Elaine is so awesome. No doubt she did a great job. She is very professional & creative. Some people probably said her price is a little bit higher, but I think is reasonable 4 her more than 10 years experiences. The price was worth since she gave me a unforgetable day.

Renee - 05/02/2007 Awesome
Elaine was awesome. I got so many compliments on my wedding day how great my make up and hair-do was. I'm taking make up lessons from her now! I would highly recommend her for your wedding if you want to look beautiful!

Novita - 03/07/2007 Awesome
Elaine is so awesome....!!!!The price is very reasonable.Some say a bit pricy, but in the other side, her skill and professionalism that she provided are very invaluable.She is very CLEAN and HYGIENIC (that the most important thing), professional, patience and easy to talk with.
I like the way she's doing the makeup. The way she used the tape for my eyes is look natural. The eyebrow was soooooo awesome.She can create a lot of expression for my face, from natural clean makeup until very dramatic look and those bring me in different look. My husband is very picky about the makeup, but once he saw me down the isle with Elaine did my makeup.......he was falling in love with me in the second time. Hiring Elaine for my wedding is the best decision I ever made in my whole life....THANK YOU SO MUCH ELAINE......I LOVE YOU....

Christina - 12/02/2006 Good
I heard Elaine's work is good. If you like her you should try Nicole. She also worked at Promise with Elaine and she is a bit cheaper than Nicole but just as good. Tell her I referred you for a good price! Nicole 626-864-2059

Julia - 06/29/2006 Awesome
Elaine was exactly what I was looking for in a makeup artist - she's incredibly good with asian eyes (i'm single-lidded and that's always bugged me). She did very natural, subtle color for me for my daytime ceremony - it was in San Gabriel and hoooot - and the makeup stayed on perfectly, didn't smudge, and I didn't even have to blot. For nighttime, I asked for a little more sparkle and color, which she did quite nicely. She'd checked out my skin, looked at my dresses, my hair things, gone over pictures with me before hand - so what I got on my wedding day was exactly what I wanted. I liked her so much, and her prices were so reasonable that I was able to hire her for myself, my 4 bridesmaids, my mother, and mother-in-law. Everyone - asians and nonasians were really happy with the job she did. I totally recommend her!