Face Forward Carmel

When it came to our wedding day, we picked vendors that were two things: excellent and genuinely endearing– Cara these things and more. I chose to have Cara do my hair and make up for our engagement pictures and then for my 3 jr bridesmaids, flower girl, and mom and myself on our wedding day in October. She and Nikki are FANTASTIC. Here’s why:
— She only uses high quality make up and her colors match your skin perfectly. You will feel confident and beautiful and recognizable on your wedding day.
— she is so much fun and is so bubbly and cheery. She was laughing with my maids and made everyone feel at ease and calm– which is exactly what I wanted. I’m convinced that the mood in the bridal suite set the tone for the rest of the night — it was fun, cheery, and totally silly.
— She is super responsive and enthusiastic– she’s like a great friend who rocks at hair and makeup. I emailed her as soon as my puppy bit me and bruised me (5 days before the wedding) and she took care of covering it up.
— She is a serious bride advocate and will get things taken care of. Our power went out (see my review of the Portola Hotel) and we were behind schedule because of it. As I was getting ready to leave the ceremony, I saw Cara at the front desk… she was complaining on my behalf.
Cara is the best and she will bring so much heart to your big day!

I decided to book Cara and Nikki for wedding hair and makeup based on their glowing Unilocal reviews, and they completely lived up to their great reputation! They were timely, friendly, used great products, and really understood and nailed our «vision». I would hire these ladies again in a heartbeat!

Cara did my makeup for my wedding on September 13^th and I can’t tell you how beautiful I felt! She did such an amazing job and it was exactly what I wanted. My husband will not stop raving about it and told me to buy everything she used on me. That says a lot because he doesn’t like me wearing a lot of makeup but she made it so natural but dark enough to show in photos.
From the start she was so speedy with email replies and always had the most professional approach to her work. When I saw her for my bridal trial she had already reviewed my photos for inspiration and completely understood the look I wanted. She took the time to discuss my entire wedding and showed true excitement for my big day which I loved.
She did all of my bridesmaids (6 ladies) and the two moms and was right on schedule! She made sure to get me done near the end so it was fresh but not too late so I wouldn’t be rushed! All the ladies loved their makeup and they are picky ladies.
She has great prices and is the sweetest most talented makeup artist I have ever met. I would definitely recommend her for your next event. :)

I booked Cara and Nikki for my July wedding in Monterey, completely blind. I read reviews others had posted and looked at pictures of their work. After Cara and I emailed back and forth I felt comfortable that they were the right fit for me, even without a trial run.
Cara is great with communication, I had a ton of nervous questions that she always answered, even when she was on vacation. I was nervous about getting my make up done, from bad past experiences. But Cara showed up to my hotel on time, very friendly and did a beautiful job! She did exactly what I was looking for, but better!
Nikki was great to work with too! So friendly and even styled my grooms hair! I showed her pictures of the look I was going for and she knocked it out of the park– it was perfect!
Both ladies were great! I’m so glad that I chose such talented ladies to be apart of my special day!

Cara is the sweetest! She and Nikki are incredibly talented. She was able to work with us with only 2 weeks notice when I was scrambling to find a good artist for our big day. You will not be disappointed.

Had my hair and makeup trial today with Cara and Nikki! Can’t wait for my wedding day and to see this beauty with my dress on too! They listened to my ideas and were very conscientious about asking me how I was liking the look along the way. They will make me and my bridesmaids look stunning! So easy to work with and love the outcome.

We had a limited budget, and many of the elements of our wedding were DIY to keep costs down (I even altered my own bridal gown, eek!) I seriously considered doing my own hair and makeup, but I am so glad I chose to hire Face Forward instead! We were very deliberate about the items that we did decide to splurge on, and we spent a good amount of time making sure that the vendors we did select were high quality and exactly the right fit.
Cara was a pleasure to work with; enthusiastic, prompt with her correspondence, and very talented. Nikki was an excellent complement, and I loved how my hairstyle turned out for the wedding!
I appreciated that Cara accommodated our need to keep the services basic (Only my mother and I had our hair and make-​up done, we decided to forego the trial appointment, and we did not have the Face Forward team travel to us) — many wedding vendors chafe at the word «budget» but Cara never flinched and made us feel just as important as if we had arrived with unlimited funds.
I was so relieved that I did not add the stress of attempting to execute my own hair and make-​up on such an important day! I could never have achieved what Cara and Nikki and did, I still looked great at the end of the night, and the wedding day photos turned out fantastic!

Cara and her assistant were wonderful and came all the way down to the rental house we had in Big Sur to do my hair and make up for my wedding! I would highly recommend them. They were very professional, friendly, and did a great job. I asked for a very natural make-​up look, which Cara executed perfectly (I don’t usually wear make-​up so was a bit concerned about getting it professionally done). I was able to send some photos of hairstyles I liked and her assistant did a great job with that too. She was also priced very reasonably for that expensive area of the world! I highly recommend Cara and Face Forward Carmel!!!

WEDDING REVIEW:
Highly recommend Cara and her team for your hair and makeup on wedding day. She was sweet, dependable and did a great job. I got married in Capitola and she drove up from Carmel even though she had to be there at 6:30AM! It was also fun to take a little trip to her cute salon and get a facial with my trial session. If you want an honest person and someone that will give you a fair price for very high quality results, Cara is your gal.

Cara was so sweet and I felt very welcome at her skin care salon. She took my last minute appointment for lash extensions (see photo attached) as well as a body wrap so that I can look prettier for my wedding the next day. I noticed that my skin was definitely tighter after the wrap and the wrap had a soothing minty feel to it. I liked it so much that I bought an extra wrap to take home with me.
Regarding the lash extensions, I got tons of compliments on them and they definitely feel softer than the extensions I got from a salon in San Francisco. At my wedding, I applied extra mascara just to make my long extensions more dramatic. The glue was not affected at all and I loved how my eyes looked in my pictures. The only thing I didn’t like about getting extensions is the part where she has to cover your bottom lashes so that your eyes don’t get glued shut. The tape used to cover the bottom lash is hard to remove so it hurts when she peeled them off. I don’t mind having a little pain if I end up with fabulous lashes, which I definitely did. Cara is officially my go-​to gal for lash extensions. The lashes are staying put and I’m at day three already! The pricing is also reasonable and better compared to the services available in San Francisco. Definitely stop by Face Forward if you want to look awesome on your wedding day!

Cara was AMAZING! She did the make up for myself and bridesmaids for my wedding on 5÷18÷13. For the trial run she had wine and snacks waiting for us at her suite. On the day of she came on-​site and took care of everything. I have never felt as beautiful as I did after Cara worked on my make up. She made my vision become a reality, we all look like stars! Not only is she a fabulous make up artist but she is also a fantastic person and so much fun to be around.
Thank you Cara for being a part of what made my day so special!

Booked a silk peel appointment with Cara after finding this place on Unilocal.I checked their website and some silk peel videos on YouTube since I never had a silk peel before but do get clinical strength micro on regular bases to treat scars.
The place is located in the beautiful Court of Fountains in Carmel. The place is cozy and welcoming. I found Cara to be caring, genuine, and passionate about her work. She took the time to explain her approach and talked about the results I am seeking and what to expect. i did not feel rushed to go in and get the treatment and off to the next apt.
I have to say that I thought it would be like any micro plus the liquid treatment infused into ur skin but it was superior to any I have had before. Skin was glowing, scars looked much smoother and less noticeable, and I received complements on my skin from family and friends alike. I would tribute these results in part to the skillful hands of Cara who took the time to do several passes over my areas of concern. She really knew how to treat/​approach my condition with her wand and I think it made all the difference.
I highly recommend Cara at Faceforward and I look forward to my next visit.

I had never heard of a silk peel before until I met Cara! I can honestly say that my skin has changed for the better! The products she recommends and sells are amazing! They smell nice and they do work on my skin! She just recently got in Bare Minerals and I was really excited to have somewhere locally to buy it from and learn more about the product! They also sell goddess wear clothing there which is one of my favorite brands. You have got to check this place out.