Meet Sandy Nguyen, Bay Area Bridal Makeup Artist
I'm a makeup artist, hairstylist, and licensed esthetician, the founder of Glam By Sands, and the lead artist behind our team, The Sands Collective. I've been doing makeup professionally since 2015.
My favorite place to be is a bridal suite on a wedding morning, helping you feel calm, beautiful and completely like yourself.
My Story
Beauty has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up competing in pageants and was always the one doing my aunties' hair for family events. I also danced on my high school dance team and later on collegiate and competitive teams until 2019, including time as dance captain.
In 2012, a friend and I started a little prom hair and makeup business in high school, at $20 per service. It was my first taste of how good it feels to send someone out the door feeling beautiful.
At Sephora, I started as a cashier, but my heart was always on the beauty floor, so I kept asking until I got there. One day a sweet client sat in my chair who had just finished chemo, and I gently filled in her brows. When she looked in the mirror, she cried happy tears. I'll never forget that moment.
That's when I knew makeup could be so much more than pretty. It could be life changing.
I went on to become a makeup artist in the Sephora beauty studio, and I was one of the first artists to lead Sephora's client makeup classes.
In 2015 I earned my makeup artistry certificate from the Academy for Salon Professionals. From there I worked for MAC Cosmetics and Urban Decay, and I was lucky enough to assist celebrity artist LeiV on glam for Heather Rae El Moussa, an experience I still carry into every bridal suite.
I wanted to understand skin on a deeper level, so I went back to school and became a licensed esthetician. Learning how skin really works changed the way I prep and build makeup, which is why your skin looks blurred and perfected, never cakey. Lash training taught me how different lash shapes and lengths change the look of every eye, so I can choose lashes that open up your eyes and photograph beautifully.
Everything I've learned along the way, from the beauty floor to esthetics school to brand and corporate photo and video sets, comes together on your wedding morning. And bridal is where my heart is.
Soft Glam That Looks Like You
My signature is soft glam that enhances your features instead of covering them. When you look in the mirror, I want you to see yourself, just elevated.
Your skin is always blurred and perfected, and it never looks or feels cakey. Your eyes are defined to your liking, whether you love them soft or want a little more drama. Brides also often come to me for Thai style makeup with a western spin.
For hair, I love creating all kinds of styles, but my signature is half up Hollywood waves.
View the portfolio
Calm, Organized Wedding Mornings
Beauty isn't my only background. I've also worked in corporate admin roles, managing projects, spreadsheets and pipelines. That's where my organization comes from, and I bring it to every wedding.
Every bride gets a personalized beauty timeline, so you know what's happening and when, and your morning stays on schedule. If you live by your calendar, you'll feel right at home with me.
Brides tell me I'm very calm and warm, that I really listen, and that I always nail it in the end. Most of all, they tell me I made them feel so special. That's exactly how I want your morning to feel.
Tea Ceremonies and Filipino Traditions
I'm Vietnamese and my husband is Filipino, so we celebrated with a separate Vietnamese tea ceremony and wove Filipino traditions into our western ceremony. I've lived these days myself.
I understand how the timeline flows, and how to create glam that works beautifully with traditional hair pieces and detailed dresses.
Tell me about your traditions and I'll plan your glam around them.
The Moment Before the Dress
My favorite part of any wedding morning is when your glam is done, right before you step into your dress, and I get to watch you light up.
I also love hearing your wedding party talk about how much they love you. I get to see you through the eyes of your family and closest friends, and it's my favorite view of the whole day.
The Sands Collective
The Sands Collective is our team of passionate artists, and every one of us was chosen intentionally. We met working jobs together and loved each other's energy and work, and some of us go back to the very start of Sandy's career.
Energy matters to us as much as artistry, so your whole bridal party is in warm, like minded hands.
Meet the Collective
Sandy with two of our seven Sands Collective artists
“Sandy is truly one of the most incredible human beings on earth!! ... Beyond being one of the kindest people ever, Sandy is incredibly talented at what she does.”
I'd Love to Meet You
Tell me about your date, your venue and your traditions, and I'll take it from there.
Check your date