Merced Hair and Makeup by Jeanine at Blades Salon in Merced, CA

As a fellow MUA it can be hard to trust someone else on your big day but that wasn't the case with Jeanine at all! She did all of the makeup for my bridal party and did a wonderful job. Everyone looked stunning! She is friendly, courteous and on time! She definitely helped us stay on schedule.

She does a lot of things right, but also a lot of things not so right. She's got a lot of knowledge and is willing to share it, but only if you pay her high prices. Problem is, there are plenty of other folks with cheaper prices and just as good, but you have to drive to get to them. I get the impression that she thinks she can charge such high prices, just because she's a big fish in a little pond here in Merced. I went to Jeanine for a color and to possibly discuss bridal hair. She was friendly and sweet. She somewhat overprocessed my hair in the front, but quickly dealt with it. I wasn't super pleased with the look at first, but after a week or two it set in quite nicely. I looked at her bridal photos and wasn't super sold, but I was still considering her. A week later she did my eyebrows; they were OK, not the best I've had done, and there was wax left in the hair on my temples (how did it even get there!) which annoyed me for the rest of the day. I wanted a product that she used for my hair and she offered to go pick it up from their supplier and have it for me. She forgot and a few weeks later, I messaged her and she quickly went and grabbed it. I wanted to try to see her and talk about wedding hair, but she was too busy to offer me much more than a quick word. She did comp the price of the product though, which was a nice offer to accommodate for it taking so long to get. I finally approached her over text, because she is difficult to reach in person, about how high her prices are for bridal work, and instead of acknowledging any of my questions, she simply responded that she had already booked over the dates I had been looking at. For someone who is building a client base, this was a major faux pas. I understand that she has to book and make money, but she could have offered me an idea of somewhere else to look, or give an indication that she gave a tiny little crap about me. I am not some passing person wanting my hair done one time, I was looking to create a lasting relationship with someone who would routinely do my hair. Instead, I was treated like just another face in the crowd. When I confronted her for her lack of effort, she simply said she was too busy and that she knows she's expensive and I'll surely find someone in my price range. Thing is, my price range is well within normal limits, she just wants an exorbitantly high price for her work. I guess I just find her attitude a little demeaning toward her clients and impersonal. She wants to make a name here and build an empire, but she's screwing people over a little in the process.

I typically wear light make up but recently felt like I needed to jazz up my eyes a little, I see Jeannie of Blades in the corridor at Bear Creek Galleria at times with her beautiful make up on, thinking I need that. I was very pleased with the FREE demo and tutorial she did, I purchased glittery shadow, and need to go back for more sparkles. Plus her make up is a fun, good product and inexpensive.