The Viral ‘Bride Who Washed Off Her Wedding Makeup’ Drama, Explained

Arbitrators of ethics on the internet: we have another case on our hands. This time, it’s a debate over TikTok wedding makeup drama.

Those few words together (weddings, makeup, TikTok) are bound to get people heated and chattering away. But at the heart of the debate is a simple question: is it rude to wash off your professionally applied makeup? And if you hate a MUA’s work, how do you tell them?

Here’s everything you need to know, in this edition of TL;DR.

Give me the TL;DR.

A bride has gone viral for posting a TikTok video of herself washing off her professionally-applied makeup 20 minutes before her wedding—spurring a debate and a response from her makeup artist.

Wait, I need more. What’s the background here?

This all started with a woman named Lauren, who posted a video last week from her wedding day. In it, Lauren films herself in front of a sink, puffy headband on, scrubbing her face.

“Washing off my bridal makeup,” she says to the camera. She then shares a photo of her look, before cutting back to the video.

In the video, which is no longer available on TikTok because her account is now private, Lauren is helped by a friend who holds her hair back and reassures her that she has plenty of time to re-do it. The friend asks if she should ask the makeup artist to leave, to which Lauren says she feels awkward because she knows the artist will want to do touch-ups. She then proceeds to show her applying her own makeup, before sharing photos of her wedding day and final look.

“So much better,” she wrote, saying in the title for the video that she “hated” the look and re-doing it was a “core memory/fever dream.”

The video immediately went viral, and people began to discuss the ethics of Lauren’s choice. Some sympathized with her, saying that ultimately it is her wedding day and she seemed visibly anxious in the video. After all, being unhappy or feeling not like yourself is a stressful situation at any time, not just on your wedding day.

However, many people felt that Lauren could have communicated her thoughts more clearly, and asked the makeup artist to re-do her look rather than shut her out and wipe it off. Many professional makeup artists also chimed in, saying that it’s frustrating to see a colleague be torn down so publicly online. They pointed out that Lauren had a makeup trial, and had ample opportunity to speak up.

“I think she should have talked to the makeup artist, I know it’s awkward, but it’s way more awkward posting a video like that bashing the artist’s skills,” said one MUA on TikTok.

What happened next?

Then, the makeup artist entered the chat. Kandra Jones, who owns the San Diego-based makeup and hair company Twirly Shears, posted a TikTok responding to Lauren’s video, saying she was the artist who did the bride’s makeup on her big day this past August,