Elana Darrus Makeup & Hair

Elana Darrus did one of my friend’s weddings and they did such a great job that they were my first choice for my wedding. Elana was an absolute dream to work with. She is so flexible and so warm I cannot say enough good things about the way she does business. Our hair and makeup artists were fantastic! The trial was so easy and they really listened to my input and gave me great suggestions. The morning of the wedding was so well run with no stress. I cannot recommend them highly enough!

My stylists were amazing! I had a hair and make up trial and on the day of my wedding my stylists were able to make the changes I wanted. I let my hair stylist know that the curls fell out within 5 hours the day of the trial and she knew exactly what to do and on the day of the wedding they never fell! I did have both the makeup and hair stylist come to my venue and they both arrived right on time.

Elana and her team are truly incredible and make your hair and makeup visions come to life! They do exactly what you ask for which all of my bridesmaids and I loved! They were so timely and the best team to work with on my wedding day. All our hair and makeup stayed in tact for the whole wedding day!! Highly recommend this team for your wedding day!!

Elana, Athina and team were excellent! They were able to travel onsite to our wedding venue to have myself and the rest of the bridal party get ready in the bridal suite. Each team member did an amazing job on both hair and makeup. Everyone's hair lasted all night and make up looked natural and not overbearing. Everyone looked stunning when they were finished!

Elana and her team made my girls and I all feel so beautiful! They are extremely talented, prepared with all tools possible, and were able to be flexible depending on if people had picture inspiration or just wanted the artist's input. They were also so fast and we were ready ahead of schedule which I've never experienced being in other people's weddings. Elana was communicative, personable, and amazing to work with. I very much recommend them for your wedding or any event!!

I couldn't be happier on how mine and my wedding party's hair and makeup turned out! Nicole and Vesna were so friendly and accommodating at both my trial and wedding day. They were on time and efficient! Elana and her team were so communicative from the beginning all the way to the wedding day and made me feel so comfortable in my choice. I am so happy to have worked with them!

Elana and her team are incredibly professional, kind, and talented at what they do! Jessica, Joyce, and Athina did a fantastic job at hair and makeup for my bridesmaids and me. The trial was a great opportunity to prepare for the big day and ensure a relaxing morning before the wedding. I highly recommend Elana darrus and her team.

We could not be happier with the makeup and hair services from Elana's team for our wedding day. Kim, Nicole, Vesna, and Joyce were all fantastic! We had a large wedding party and the hair & makeup team showed up early, did great work, and had us finished ahead of schedule. They really listen to makeup preferences and are able to tweak as needed to ensure that everyone is happy with their work. Would highly recommend Elana and her team!

Booking through Elana was a great experience. My trial run with Rachel went very well and when I modified my vision closer to the day of the wedding, Rachel did a really wonderful job switching gears. I could not have been happier with my wedding day makeup! It was the best make up application I've ever had and one of my bridesmaids immediately came up to me and said, "Michelle, she's good! I've never looked this beautiful!" I would absolutely recommend working with Elana and team and felt the experience, value and quality were so much better than when I've worked with other makeup artists.

Sheesh, I don't even know where to begin. I guess I will say I am someone who is very picky with makeup, and I don't wear much to begin with on a daily basis. Elana was one the only makeup artist I've ever worked with who began our trial with questions such as "how do YOU do your makeup if you are going out for the evening?" This meant so much to me that she cared about my preferences and not just getting the job done quickly & the way she would like. Aside from her kindness and warmth, Elana is an extremely talented artist who has a deep understanding of color, texture, and mixing formulas. Our entire process coordinating with her was extremely smooth and I highly recommend the rest of her team as well. They are all talented, thoughtful women who will make you feel like the best version of yourself! Thank you Elana & team!

I am so happy that Elana and her daughter Athena were a part of our wedding day! I am someone who is very particular about my hair and I was blown away by what a wonderful job Athena did with my hair. I even changed my hair style form my initial trial, and she was happy to come out and do another trial to get my hair exactly how I wanted it for my wedding day, and it was absolutely perfect! Elana and Athena are such kind, sweet people, they were such a joy to have while we were getting ready. They also did such a beautiful job on every single one of my bridesmaids. Throughout the planning process Elana was very responsive and flexible which was wonderful as well! I would absolutely recommend Elana and her team for your wedding day!!!

I was in a wedding where Elana was the makeup artist and knew I had to have her for mine! Her warm personality alone is totally worth it - she is exactly the kind of energy you want on your wedding day. I don't wear a lot of makeup and Elana was able to make me feel gorgeous and confident while also still looking exactly like me. I showed her how I normally do my makeup and she elevated that so much. She was also so patient with all of my bridesmaids, mother, and mother-in-law as they specified what they did/did not want day of. I'm definitely going to miss working with Elana! With Elana came Sofia - who I cannot recommend enough! All of my bridesmaids commented on how much they loved her style and her friendly demeanor. Even though each bridesmaid has very different hair, she created a romantic, soft look for each that all went together perfectly. She was soooo patient with me as I wanted to do multiple trials because I couldn't make up my mind. My hair ended up turning out PERFECT and more than I could have imagined. If you are going to use Elana, I highly highly highly encourage you to ask if Sofia is available. I wish her studio was closer to the city so I could have her do my hair all of the time!

Booking with Elana Darrus for my hair and makeup for my wedding was one of the BEST decisions I EVER made! From the start I knew I was going to have a great experience. From start to finish Elana was VERY responsive and would reply to any questions/concerns in a VERY timely manner! Her communication throughout the whole process was absolutely AMAZING! She made me feel like I was talking to someone I had known for many years! For my hair I worked Kim R. and she was absolutely amazing! She listened to what I wanted and made my hair look exactly like I pictured it on my wedding day! She was very open about making sure that if there was anything I didn’t like that I tell her because she wanted it to be perfect just as much as I did! :) Then, for my makeup I worked with Samantha! This was the first time I ever had professional makeup done and I could not believe how beautiful she made me look. She explained everything she was doing and using and why. She is very passionate about what she does and it REALLY shows in her work because she is sooooo good at what she does! She made sure to stay true to what I wanted and I couldn’t have been happier with how my makeup turned out! If I ever have another important event that I need my hair and makeup done for I will not think twice about booking with Elana! Absolutely top notch service, you will NOT be disappointed if you book with her!!! :)

I hired Elana Darrus for my wedding September 2021. From start to finish, it was a great experience. Elana was very responsive with emails when I initially reached out, as well as throughout the months leading up to the wedding. Something unique about Elana Darrus is that that a deposit is not required until after your makeup trial, which I feel makes more sense than before the trial. This allows the customer to ensure a good fit before booking a vendor for their wedding. This policy made me feel that this company is not just focused on money, but also on the customer and staff experience. For my trial, Sarah came to my house equipped with a chair, a ring light, and all the makeup and supplies she could need. Sarah reviewed my inspiration pictures and talked with me about what I was looking for. She checked in throughout the process to ensure I was happy with what she was doing. Sarah also recommended lip products for me to purchase for the wedding day when I'd need to touch up my makeup. Sarah is very nice, personable, and great at making you look beautiful for your wedding day! On my wedding day, Elana and Sarah arrived early so they could set-up and were finished ahead of schedule. They worked seamlessly and efficiently with myself, my 6 bridesmaids, and my mom and MIL. Elana and Sarah executed beautiful makeup for everyone and it all lasted for the entire day, even with a little bit of rain during our pictures. I requested airbrush makeup and it truly didn't feel like there was anything on my face, which was important to me as someone who wears minimal to no makeup daily. Overall, we had a great experience- from communication, to service, to execution, durability, and affordability- we definitely recommend Elana Darrus. Thank you Sarah and Elana!! I look forward to working with the Elana Darrus team in December for my sister's wedding!

Right from the start Elana made me feel like family. She was so warm, friendly, and kind. I instantly felt at ease with her. Elana was also so kind to my mom who was nervous about having her hair and makeup done. Elana listened to what my mom wanted and worked with my mom to get a look she was happy with. I have never felt so beautiful as I did on my wedding day and it was all due to Elana and Athina. All four stylists who came and worked with my bridal party were funny, engaging, and fantastic at their jobs. All of them are artists! LOVED everything about my time with Elana and her girls.

Rachel (make-up) and Sofia (hair) did an AMAZING job on all of my girls and me!! We were all SO happy with our looks, and our hair and make-up lasted through the happy tears, laughter, rain, and dancing!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Great place for wedding hair and makeup. For the trial, the hair and makeup stylist came to my house which was convenient. I had 2 trials done and on the wedding day, they drove out to Wisconsin for my wedding hair. I paid a travel fee, which is common. Highly recommend them. Everything turned out perfect!

Elana and her team are simply the best! I am so grateful that a friend recommended them to me for my wedding. Elana was amazing to work with- so responsive, helpful, and flexible- couldn't have been better! I had Athina (hair) and Jessica (makeup) for myself, my bridesmaids, mom, and MIL. Everyone looked absolutely beautiful and they were so happy with how it all turned out. It was the most relaxing, stress-free getting ready experience. I can't recommend them enough!! Thank you Elana, Athina, and Jessica!

I was so happy with Elana Darrus Makeup & Hair. I knew even before my hair and make-up trial that this was the hair and make-up place for me. Elana and her staff and amazingly accommodating, and they made my bridal party and myself gorgeous for my wedding day. They are also very knowledgeable. I had an outdoor wedding, and both my hair and make-up lasted the whole night. I am recommending them to every bride. Elana was so very easy to work with, accommodating, and her rates are fantastic! Her staff is so very friendly, I felt like everyone knew each other for years!

After standing up in my best friends wedding and getting to work with Elana and her team and seeing how beautiful the entire bridal party looked, I knew I wanted them to be part of my big day someday. I am so glad I choose Elana and her team for hair and makeup. My bridesmaids looked absolutely gorgeous and they were all raving about both their hair and makeup (which held up despite some rain the day of the wedding!!) Not only are they amazing at what they do, they are amazing people and were so sweet to work with. From day one, Elana was so communicative via email and I did both a hair and makeup trial which was a fun and good way to test out things prior to the big day. I would recommend Elana and her team to anyone who is looking for a dedicated, talented, and fun group to work with.

Elana was recommended by my photographer, and I'm so happy I was able to work with her for my wedding! Elana did makeup and Stephanie did hair for my two bridesmaids, my mom and me, and it was all perfect. Elana was patient and helpful during my makeup trial when I was indecisive about lip color, and she worked with me to find an alternative to the strip eyelashes we used at the trial because I thought they were a bit too much. She used individual lashes instead and they turned out so well. I don't wear much makeup generally so wanted a natural but enhanced look and she nailed it. I didn't get hair done because mine is short, but Stephanie still helped pin my headband on. My mom's and bridesmaids' hair looked great! She listened to them and made their hair look exactly how they wanted it. We all felt beautiful and our makeup and hair lasted all night. They were both so sweet and easy to work with. I highly, highly recommend Elana!

I LOVED working with Elana Darrus and her team! I had been in two other weddings that also used their services, so I knew I was in good hands. Hair trial was very easy to set up, and Mary Jo really listened to what I wanted, even trying out 3 different styles on me. Kelly also did the hair of my mother and mother in law, and they LOVED the simple touches she gave to their short hair. Cannot recommend them enough!

I am so happy with how everyone's hair and makeup turned out for my wedding. Kelly was our hair stylist and Julia was our makeup artist, and everything came out perfectly. Not only that, but they were a ton of fun to have in our bridal suite all day while we were getting ready. The stylists were friendly, personable and talented, and Elana was very flexible, responsive, and easy to work with. Their rates were also much more reasonable than a lot of the other vendors I found in the area, without sacrificing any quality. I would definitely recommend using this company to anyone planning a wedding.

Elana Darrus Hair and Makeup was my saving grace for my wedding! I had a few hiccups trying to find a hair and makeup artist, when one of my bridesmaids found Elana Darrus I was so relieved! Elana is so sweet and responsive to any question or concern, and the ladies that did our hair and makeup (Pam, Judy and Jessica) arrived exactly on time, listened to what everyone wanted and once they were finished everyone looked beautiful! My hair and makeup lasted ALL day through countless ugly crying and happy tears! Thank you Elana Darrus Makeup and Hair for making me feel beautiful on my wedding day!!

Bridal party and bride got our makeup done and it was amazing! Bride and a few bridesmaids hair was done by Mary Jo! She is awesome! Elana is amazing at makeup. Such a beautiful touch to our wedding.

I used Elana for makeup and Jessica M. for hair for myself and my 5 bridesmaids. I absolutely loved Elana's makeup - she kept it natural but made everyone's eyes pop for the photos. Whatever lashes she offered looked beautiful on everyone, so I would definitely recommend getting those. Elana also allowed me a second hair trial - I did a poor job of communicating what I wanted initially, and she matched me with a new hairstylist when I was better able to explain the look I was going for. Jessica did a beautiful job with my hair and with all of bridesmaids. I enjoyed working with both of them and would definitely recommend to any bride.

Elana and one of her hair stylists came to my hotel room and did hair and makeup for me and one of my bridesmaids. Beforehand, there was a cost to have a test run of the hair and makeup. I opted to do a test run of the hairstyle but not the makeup to save money. My experience with Elana was fantastic! Even without the test run, the makeup was beautiful, and her warmth and positive attitude helped start my wedding day well. My experience with the hair stylist was more mixed; the hair styles of myself and my one bridesmaid were beautiful, but she (the hair stylist, not Elana) did try to push hard to get another bridesmaid to get her hair done as well, which I had not requested at all, and seemed hurtful as the other bridesmaid had already done her own hair and it looked lovely. We understand that Elana contracts out to different hair stylists for these sorts of events; my experience with Elana herself was top notch. I recommend Elana wholeheartedly and without reservation, but would suggest making sure to meet with the anyone else she may be working with ahead of time and make sure you are completely comfortable and clear about what services will be included.

Elana helped schedule hair and make up for my wedding. She was very good about getting back to me and helping schedule timing for hair and make up on the day of my wedding! They did a fantastic job and would highly recommend them to anyone!

Elana recently did my bridal make-up for me, my bridesmaids and my mom, and she did an absolutely beautiful job! My make-up was perfect and I felt beautiful on my wedding day. My make-up lasted all day and night. All I had to do was touch-up my lipstick a time or two. Also, my mom and bridesmaids really liked their make-up as well. Elana was so sweet, and truly an artist. She does great work and could not have been nicer to work with. I highly recommend her!

Elana made me look and feel perfect on my wedding day. She is unbelievably talented. I received so many compliments and my wedding photos came out perfect. Elana is professional, punctual and so easy to work with. I would definitely use her again and recommend her to everyone I know.

Elana did a great job with our makeup and Kelly was a great hair stylist for my daughter's wedding. They worked with us and listened carefully to understand the look we each wanted (bride and MOB), and gave us a very natural and beautiful look. Elana and Kelly were easy to work with, warm, and very professional.

Scheduling my makeup/hair trial with Elana and her team was super easy - I had my trial done by the hair and makeup artists (Pamela & Elizabeth) who would be there on my wedding day, which made me feel at ease since they would know exactly what would look good on me after the trial and there would be no hiccups on the day of my wedding. Throughout the planning process, Elana was very organized and would send me updated contracts throughout, showing me how many bridesmaids would be getting hair & makeup done (trust me...people change their minds a lot!) and the time slots they would have to make sure everyone would be done on time. Pamela did my hair as well as my 6 bridesmaids, and Elizabeth did my makeup and the bridesmaids + 1 of the moms helping out the day of. They made everyone look PHENOMENAL and they were SO speedy! We were done early, which was great because we had more time for pictures/relaxing before my photographer got there. I love how they come to you, wherever you and your bridesmaids want to get ready (we got ready in my hotel room). We all had such a fun time getting ready, it was very low-stress. I truly recommend them, they are great!

Elena and her team were awesome! The entire bridal party looked amazing! Can't recommend them enough.

Highly recommend!! I have multiple friends who used Elana Darrus for both hair and makeup for their weddings. I used the company for hair only for my June 2017 wedding and from day one, they were responsive and very easy to work with! Christina and Mae did hair for my 8 bridesmaids and both of them did beautiful work!! All 8 of my girls loved their hair which was obviously what I wanted! They are true artists!

I just got married in June and had Elana for makeup and Mary Jo for hair. They were both amazing! My bridesmaids loved that there were all different options and pricing for makeup and the makeup came out flawless. Elana is an expert! Mary Jo was also amazing with hair, everyone loved how their styles came out! The wedding day ended up being windy and our ceremony was outside and each bridesmaids hair stayed in place. They also worked very fast but didn't compromise the quality of their work. I had 5 bridesmaids, myself and my mom for hair and a couple of extra people for makeup and they wrapped up in plenty of time for everyone to finish up getting ready! I also want to comment that Elana was so responsive to e-mails and questions, it made it so easy to work with her! I would highly recommend Elana and Mary Jo!

Elana and Kelly were phenomenal! We were looking for classy hair and makeup artists to do on location hair and makeup for our summer wedding at Cantigny Park and were so thrilled when Elana and Kelly were available! Elana did a wonderful job giving all of my bridesmaids a romantic but natural look despite their varying skin tones and complexions. She also did a great job replicating the makeup we'd agreed upon at my trial (highly recommend a trial a few months beforehand to experiment and nail down exactly the way you want to look on your special day)! When I wanted a little more eyeliner and a little more bronzer without looking over done, she did it in an instant. Kelly was great with our hair! She managed to do a quick chignon for my picky mother and made all of my bridesmaids have similar looking hairstyles while incorporating their different hair lengths and preferences. I showed her a picture of what I was hoping my hair would look like in a low, loose chignon and she replicated it almost perfectly! They did a phenomenal job and everyone was complimenting our hair and makeup - and how well it held up! - all day and night!

Love, love, love Elana and Kelly! I had researched make-up artists for our 5-27-17 wedding. I was not having any luck with any independent make up artists or salons getting back to me but Elana was so quick to respond! I set up my make up trial for our engagement photo shoot and was blown away! I have never had professional make up done before. She made me look absolutely beautiful but still looked like me! I did a hair trial with Kelly and so happy with her work too! The big day arrived and Elana and Kelly added so much to our wedding morning. We had a lot of fun with them getting ready in the hotel. I loved how Elana takes pictures at the trials and adds them to the contract. She is so professional, friendly and quickly responds to emails. She stayed on schedule and everything went smoothly! I felt like a princess on my wedding day and Elana and Kelly helped me look like one! I cannot say enough great things about these two women!

We worked with Elana Darrus for our wedding in September 2016. The wedding was in Delavan, WI and we were very grateful that the artists were able to travel to us for a reasonable rate. Gina was our hairstylist and Maria was our makeup artist. They both did an amazing job and were so friendly and great to work with. No one in my bridal party had had professional hair or makeup down before, and they were great at explaining the different options and what to expect. We had a wide range of women– from my 11 year old niece to my 62 year old mother in law who doesn’t wear makeup and everything in between, and everyone was happy with how their hair and makeup turned out. Elana, Gina, and Maria were so flexible before the wedding and on the day off, as a few family members changed their minds several times about what services they wanted. We got everyone done on time even though a few family members were a little late showing up. We highly recommend Elana Darrus!