Makeup Consultation and Shopping

Nearly everyone who sits down across from me has a makeup bag with twenty products in it and uses four. I’m Vessy Mineva, a professional makeup artist with over 17 years of experience, and this page covers my makeup consultation and makeup shopping in Sofia — in three options. You can book the review and the shopping trip separately or together.

• Personal consultation — a review of the makeup you already own · €55
• Live shopping — 2 hours at the mall with a makeup artist by your side · €168
• Personal selection — a plan built around your budget, then shopping from the list · €199
• Personal selection with the course — personal selection plus the self-makeup course

Three ways to book a makeup consultation

Choose by what you need. Each card links to the full description further down.

Personal consultation — clarity on what you already own

Most of what’s in your makeup bag was bought with the best intentions — a friend swore by it, an ad sold it to you, or the shade looked different on your hand. Now it sits there, quietly reminding you of the money you spent.

This session sorts exactly that out. I don’t sell you anything and I don’t send you to the shops — we look at what you have and turn it into something you can use from tomorrow morning.

How the consultation works

Bring your makeup bag exactly as it is — no tidying up, nothing to be embarrassed about. There’s no judgement here, only a starting point. We go through it one product at a time: what works for your skin and your colours, what’s good but you’re using it the wrong way, and what’s ready to go. I’ll ask about your mornings — how many minutes you really have — and about the occasion you most often do your makeup for.

Finally, we work out your colours: which shades light you up and which ones age you. For most people this is the first time anyone has told them — and afterwards they stop buying lipsticks they never wear.

What you leave with

• A clear split of your makeup bag — keep, let go, use differently
• Your colour direction for foundation, lipstick, blush and eyeshadow
• A short list of what’s missing, ranked by importance
• A PDF of everything we covered within 3 days, so you don’t have to remember it all

Format: 45 minutes, 1:1, unhurried — online or at the studio in Sofia. Price: €55.

This session is also where most people start. If you decide afterwards that you’d like to shop together, I deduct its price from personal selection.

Book a consultation · ↑ Back to the three options

Live shopping — two hours at the mall with a makeup artist by your side

A beauty counter is designed to make you like a product, not to make sure it suits you. The lighting is warm, the sales assistant is there to sell their own brand, and a swatch on your hand tells you almost nothing about your face. That’s why so many products look beautiful in the shop and wrong once you get them home.

This is where I come along. We go into Sephora, Douglas, MAC, Inglot and more — wherever we need to — and test on your face before you pay for anything. I’m not tied to any brand: I recommend what works, not what happens to be in stock. Think of it as having a personal makeup shopper who is also a working makeup artist.

How the shopping trip works

• A ten-minute chat before we start. I ask what you use now, what you’re looking for and what you’ve set aside to spend today. I also flick through a few photos on your phone to see how you usually wear your makeup.
• We go round the shops together. We choose shades, textures and brands to suit your skin and your colours — not the label.
• We test on your face. With my own brushes and disposable applicators. We check everything in daylight, not just under the counter lights.
• You decide. I’ll tell you honestly what’s worth the money and where there’s a better alternative two counters down.

What you leave with

• The products we tested together and that I know suit you
• A short list of alternatives for later, in case something runs out or is out of stock
• A discount or a code where I have partner terms

Good to know: products are paid for separately. We meet at a mall in Sofia of your choice. You can bring a friend (on request). Price: €168 for 2 hours.

No review beforehand and no plan to prepare — you turn up and off we go. If you’d rather sort out the budget and the list first, that’s personal selection below.

Book a shopping trip · ↑ Back to the three options

Personal selection — the plan first, then the shopping

Two sessions that put an end to wasted purchases. This is the option I recommend to almost everyone, and the reason is simple: when we walk into the shop with a ready list and a clear budget, two hours is enough for a kit you then use every day. Without a list, the same two hours often go on browsing.

Session 1 · Review and plan

We go through your makeup bag one product at a time and work out your colours. You tell me two things: the rough budget we need to stay within, and the specific result you’re after — an easy everyday look for work, evening makeup for special occasions, or one particular thing that never comes out right and has bothered you for years.

From those three things — what you have, what you want to spend and where we’re heading — I build the plan: what to buy now, what can wait, and what you don’t need at all. You leave with a list of specific products and shades, ranked by priority and kept within your budget.

This session is online or in person — I decide for each client, depending on what I need to see.

Session 2 · Shopping at the mall

Two hours, working from the list. We test the shades on your face, compare textures and brands, and you buy only what I’ve seen work. If something on the list isn’t there or doesn’t sit well, we have an alternative on the spot — that’s why I’m there with you.

What you leave with from personal selection

• A kit of 8–10 products that work together for your face
• A written plan and a list that stay with you for future purchases
• Your colour chart — the shades that are yours
• A discount or a code where I have partner terms

Good to know: products are paid for separately. Both sessions take place within one month. There’s also an option for two people (on request).

Booked separately, the personal consultation and live shopping come to €223. Personal selection is €199 and includes more — the plan built around your budget.

Book personal selection · ↑ Back to the three options

Personal selection with the course

If you want more than the right products — if you also want to learn how to use them — we add the self-makeup course to personal selection. You learn on your own new products, not on mine.

• Session 1 — your makeup bag edit, a plan built around your budget, and the result you’re after
• Session 2 — shopping at the mall
• Session 3 — the self-makeup course, 2.5 h

Three sessions for €339 instead of €367 booked separately. Book the package.