An award-winning Illawarra make-up artist has been accused of taking deposits and in some cases full payments from brides-to-be and not showing up on the day.
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ACM has spoken with nearly half-a-dozen brides-to-be who engaged Makeup By Kye to do make-up for them and their bridal party between 2021 and now, only for their chosen make-up artist to block them, stop replying to messages or leave them to do their own faces.
Rhi contacted Makeup By Kye three months before her mother's wedding on the NSW South Coast to do make-up for herself and her mother, choosing the business, run by Kye Mitchell, because she wanted to support a local vendor.
Communication flowed freely between the pair until Rhi transferred the $200 deposit, after which she did not receive a reply for a month.
After following up, Ms Mitchell sent a message to confirm details and ask for the full amount to be paid in the space of days. Rhi transferred the amount and continued to plan her mother's wedding day.
"I sort of started thinking, I wonder if she's actually coming. But then I just thought to myself, 'No, she'll be here. I've booked her in and I've paid.'"
Trail of broken promises
Little did Rhi know, Ms Mitchell had left behind a trail of stressed brides and unfulfilled deposits over the past three years.
Awarded the best Bridal Makeup Artist in 2020 and 2021 at the Australian Wedding Industry Awards - Shoalhaven and South Coast, Ms Mitchell's reputation spread throughout the South Coast, with brides from the Illawarra and Sydney hiring her for their weddings.
Others heard of Ms Mitchell through friends and family connections who recommended her services.
Georgie engaged Ms Mitchell after she did the make-up for a friend's wedding and booked in a trial for $75.
This set off two months of back and forth, with Ms Mitchell pulling out of dates booked in advance with less than 24-hours notice.
As the date of her wedding approached, Georgie paid the entire cost for her and the bridal party, totalling more than $1000.
"Eventually we locked in a new trial date and she was meant to come to me because she said that she owed me, and then she said actually it's going to cost you an extra $200 for me to come to you because of travel costs."
This was the final straw for Georgie, who pulled the pin and found a new make-up artist.
"The wedding was still beautiful but I ended up paying for two make-up artists."
It is not only brides-to-be who have been caught out by Ms Mitchell. Another wedding vendor, who asked not to be named, was called in by Ms Mitchell who claimed she was "double booked" the night before a wedding last year.
This woman stepped in as she knew Ms Mitchell, having previously worked with her. After the wedding, she asked to be paid by Ms Mitchell but did not receive payment. Eventually, the bride paid this woman in addition to the money already paid to Ms Mitchell.
A spokesperson for NSW Fair Trading confirmed that the body had received eight complaints in the last 12 months against Makeup By Kye.
Efforts to contact Ms Mitchell via email, social media and phone were unsuccessful.
This week, Ms Mitchell took down her social media profiles but on Friday her Instagram profile returned, and was advertising availabilities in 2024-2025.
While each of the brides was frustrated about the lost deposits and bookings, it was the stress of chasing Ms Mitchell and having to find a new make-up artist with weeks to spare that was the greater burden, particularly during what is already a hectic time.
In coming forward, they hoped that other brides would not have to go through the same experience.
At 8am on her mother's wedding day, Rhi knew Ms Mitchell wasn't going to show, but she wasn't going to let this get in the way of her mother's day.
"She's waited 58 years to be married, you don't get that chance again," she said.
"I just did her make-up and my make-up for the day."
