Bridesmaid refuses to pay bride back for professional wedding makeup, 'I got a Venmo request.' AITA?
"AITA for refusing to pay the bride back for professional makeup?"
My friend since high school invited me to be a bridesmaid at her wedding. On the group chat with the other bridesmaids she confirmed we could get our makeup done with a professional makeup artist for around $70-80 or we could do it ourselves. I confirmed I would be doing it myself and only 2 of the 6 bridesmaids agreed to professional makeup.
I have a small makeup collection but very curated. I do my makeup every time I go into work so 2-3 times a week as I work hybrid. I did my makeup for other events such as weddings and fancy holiday parties and the photos always turns out good. But when I went to the house of the bride to get ready, she made me open my makeup bag so she could inspect it.
I showed her and she said there wasn’t enough products in there and they looked used so I didn’t have what I needed to do what she wanted. I said I do what she was looking for everyday a soft matte face with neutral lipstick and shiny lid look.
I showed her a photo of my daily makeup that I wear to work and said I brought a eyeshadow pot that I would add as a topper and get me to the exact look she wanted. She told me she had told all the girls that were doing their own makeup to buy all new makeup and I hadn’t complied.
She had on the group chat said not to use old makeup and to get new stuff but I took that to mean not to use makeup that wouldn’t work and not that she required brand new stuff for everything. None of my makeup was old and I know how it preformed, the formulas were still good.
I insisted they were fine and she began to raise her voice saying it was her wedding and I was ruining it by not trying to look good on camera. I told her I didn’t want to pay for the extra cost for makeup I could do myself and she didn’t say anything just asked the makeup artist if they could fit me in last minute and they agreed. I saw the other girls doing makeup and they had huge makeup bags and I had a small one but I don’t believe it’s means they are using even close to all of the products.
The makeup looked exactly like what I could do to myself, the makeup artist even used the eyeshadow pot I brought. I thought because I pointed out not wanting to pay for the cost and she didn’t say anything she was paying for it. But I got a Venmo request for payment of the professional makeup.
I called the bride and told her I didn’t agree to it and she got mad and argued I got it done, the makeup was on my face so I had to pay her back. I told her I could have done the exact look by myself and she told me I had “old makeup” with “ratchety brands” which made her have no confidence they would look good.
I’m shocked because at least half my makeup is from Sephora and yes I also use NYX and Essence but they work just fine. I hung up and have been ignoring the Venmo reminders but my bf thinks I should pay to keep the friendship.
Here's what top commenters had to say about this one:
EndielXenon said:
NTA. Why are you friends with this person?
Sea_Body5315 said:
NTA. You're a friend not a decoration, and your boyfriend is wack for wanting you to pay for someone that treated you that way.
Neutral_Guy_9 said:
NTA. If the bride has high makeup standards she should have paid for everyone’s professional makeup and that would’ve been that.
JMarchPineville said:
NTA. The friendship isn’t even worth the effort it would take to salvage.
Red-phone-box said:
NTA. Even if you pay, you might not be able to "keep the friendship."
Clean_Factor9673 said:
NTA. She forced you to use the makeup artist; at that point, it's on her.
Upset-Cake6139 said:
NTA. She insisted the hired professionals do your makeup so she can pay. She sounds spoiled and snobby. Just because something isn’t expensive doesn’t mean it’s no good. Or just because something is expensive doesn’t mean it’s better. If you give in, this will happen again.