Paris Fashion Week: hair and makeup for Chiara Giuffrida at the Elie Saab show
How do you get someone ready for the Elie Saab show when you have two hours and the street outside the hotel is blocked?
On 3 October 2026 I did hair and makeup in Paris for Chiara Giuffrida, a guest of the Elie Saab show. I did not do the models and I did not work behind the scenes. I got one person ready, from bare skin to walking out of the door.
How it came about
Chiara wrote to me herself. She asked whether I could get her ready. She bought my tickets and organised everything.
We already knew each other from work. I had done her makeup before, in Italy, for photoshoots.
I dreamed of Fashion Week, not of Paris
I never dreamed of Paris. I dreamed of Fashion Week. And now I dream of going back.
I was afraid of two things: the logistics, and whether I would cope with that much stress.
My whole kit on the floor and one question: how do I fit this into 10 kg?
I pack very carefully, sometimes for two or three hours. I check everything and think through what I want to do, how and with what, so that it all makes sense.
This time it was harder. I only received Chiara's outfit the day before, so I travelled with everything I own.
A high bun and a cat eye
I knew the makeup, because I knew Chiara's face. The hair I did not know until the last moment.
We settled on a high bun. With it, a cat eye pulled strongly outwards, with lashes. A very feminine look and quite a demanding one.
Two hours that kept getting shorter
In ideal conditions I had two hours for hair and makeup. That day everything kept getting shorter. The street was blocked and we had to leave earlier.
The hair alone, from straight hair to finished, took thirteen minutes.
Very little time, a lot of pressure, and it all went well.
And outside: crowds, phones, chaos
That is what Fashion Week looks like. Paris Hilton was at the same show, invited together with Chiara. I did not do her makeup. But I filmed her leaving the show from close up: security, photographers, everyone with their phones in the air.
What Paris Fashion Week taught me
Lesson 1. Make a checklist. Thanks to mine I noticed I had forgotten one palette, and I still squeezed it in.
Lesson 2. Courage is my middle name. Stress? It means you care.
Lesson 3. Eat. On an empty stomach the eyeliner comes out crooked.
Lesson 4. When a dream knocks on the door, say yes. You will work out the rest on the way.
What I remember
That it can be done. If you want it, you will do it.
If someone had told me a year ago that I would do hair and makeup in two hours on a day like this, I would have been surprised. It can be done. You just have to be very focused.
And that Paris really is beautiful.
I feel honoured. Grazie mille, Chiara.
What this has to do with your wedding
A great deal. A wedding morning looks the same: one person, little time, everything at once and an hour that cannot be moved.
That is why I arrive the day before, pack with a checklist and build the plan with a buffer. I get my brides ready the same way on the wedding day, in Italy and wherever you are getting married.
Frequently asked questions
Do you do makeup and hair at the same time?
Yes. In Paris I did both in just under two hours. For a wedding I plan three to three and a half hours for the bride, so the morning stays calm.
Can I book you for an event other than a wedding?
Yes. I work on photo and film sets, on shoots, on destination wedding makeup and at Fashion Weeks. I get brides ready, and also women for any important occasion, from A to Z.
Do you arrive with everything you need?
Yes. My whole kit travels with me, packed with a checklist.
Getting married in Italy, or getting ready for an important day? Message me and we will plan your look and a calm morning together.
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