On June 1st, as part of Phase 2, Belle Boudoir will be able to re-open! Update: Belle Boudoir will be able to re-open as part of “Modified Phase 1” announced by Gov Inslee. King County’s application is pending approval. Once approved, we have the green light! Date TBD.

Using all of our brainpower and creativity, we have crafted a studio safety plan that includes all of the requirements/precautions to keep you safe but does not sacrifice any part of providing our full-service experience and delivering the beautiful finished work that we are known for.

This plan includes procedures that are legally required by Washington State for personal services and photography. We have also gone above and beyond to add even more safety precautions. In reality, the majority of the sanitation and cleaning procedures in this plan have always been done in our studio — so not much will change there!

As far as we know, these procedures are NOT temporary and will be in place for a long time — presumably until a vaccine or therapeutic remedies for covid-19 are widely dispersed. We will continue to look to the CDC and WHO to follow recommended best practices and update our procedures as required by Washington State.

Have a fever? Please reschedule

Our first safety requirement starts before you enter our studio doors. We ask that you notify us if have a fever, signs of a fever, a cough, or other covid-19 symptoms -OR- if you’ve had any known exposure to covid-19 and we will reschedule your session without penalty. We will also monitor ourselves for fever, symptoms, or exposure prior to your session and let you know as soon as possible if we need to postpone.

We are very low volume

At most, 20 people total enter our studio doors PER MONTH, and that includes the makeup artist, me (the photographer), and cleaning personnel. So rest assured that time spent in our studio is very low risk, especially with this safety plan in place.

We will send you instructions on how to enter our studio before your session, which will involve texting us when you arrive so we can open the door for you.

No Guests Please

We normally welcome clients bringing a friend to the session — but Washington state is prohibiting visitors at this time and will only allow one client at a time. The exception to this is immediate family members — but please ask us first because we do want to know who will be coming to our studio and we want to keep the volume of people entering our studio low.

Our studio is comprised of two separate locations, one right next to the other. Each location has its own bathroom, address and entrance door from the street. The largest of the two is the photo studio. It has two levels and is dedicated entirely to photography and it also includes the dressing room and area for viewing the photos after the session. The smaller location is primarily for makeup/hair but it also has two photography sets that are occasionally used. We often do two sessions on the same day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, and if the first session runs long that client will still be in the photo studio location wrapping up choosing photos when the second client arrives and enters the makeup/hair location. A single door connects the two locations and will stay closed and locked so two clients will never occupy the same location at the same time.

Masks and Protective Gear

There will be signage as you enter strongly encouraging you to wear a face mask, as posting this is required by Washington State. But obviously you do not need to wear a mask during hair and makeup or during the photo shoot.

The makeup artist and I will wear a face mask throughout the entire time we are with you.

Clean, Sanitize, Wash, and Disinfect

We will clean and sanitize the studio before, after, and throughout each session. We will wipe down high-touch areas after each use. After each session, linens, towels, capes and clothing/shoes/accessories that are used will be laundered or cleaned. Deep cleaning of the studio with a local cleaning company will be done routinely as well.

We will use a disinfecting UV light between sessions in the three areas where the most time is spent: the makeup table, the dressing room, and the photo viewing area.

The makeup artist and I will thoroughly wash our hands before and after as well as frequently during our time with you. We ask that you do the same. We have two bathrooms with ample hand soap and disposable towels.

Hand sanitizer stations are located in every room. Additionally, while supplies last, we have a complimentary bottle of hand sanitizer as a little gift for you as well!

All makeup brushes will be cleaned between each client. Brush handles will be sanitized with alcohol. Disposable applicators for mascara will be used. Any creams or liquid will be used from an artist’s pallet and not from the container. Hard powders (eyeshadows, etc) will get a dry wipe after each client. Lip & eye liners will be sharpened and sanitized between clients. Lashes are never reused – we always give them to you to wear home after your session. All product bottles/spray bottles will get an alcohol wipe down between clients.

No celebratory hugs

Aside from when it is impossible to do so, the makeup artist and I will keep a 6+ ft distance from you at all times. We will also forgo hugs and handshakes.

During hair and makeup, a time when the artist must get closer than 6 ft, the makeup artist will wear a disposable medical procedure mask. Additionally, the makeup artist will wear a clean cape, as well as provide you with a clean cape to wear.

During the photo shoot, I sometimes make a hands-on adjustments to move hair or help you attach garter straps. I will do a lot less of that and do more talking you through it. And certainly, if you don’t want any adjustments at all, just say the word… Meaning, let me know “I’m following the no hands rule right now” and I will totally respect the distance between us.

Reminders will be in the studio

We will have safety messages and reminders posted throughout the studio and a copy of the above plan will be posted in the studio as well.

Let us know if you have any questions! We are SO excited to open our studio doors again! Never in the past FIFTEEN years of business have we been away from our work and our clients for such a long period of time. We just simply can’t wait to be back again!

There are several different directions we can go when using the bath tub in the studio. I’ve included all of your options below so you can start deciding which direction you want to go for your bath time photos!

Dry or Wet

Do you want to use the bath tub just as a setting but not actually fill it with water? Or do you want to fill it with water and get photos soaking in the tub? Obviously, you’ll get wet with the 2nd choice, so bring a towel and a plastic bag to put your wet items into afterwards.

Clothing or No Clothing

Do you want to wear clothing (such as a tank top, lace robe, nighty, or even a towel) in the tub or do you want to do the photos without clothing? If you want to wear clothing, keep the following in mind:

– Our delicate lace/lingerie items can not be used in the tub, so bring your own with you. Here are some popular items that be purchased on amazon: lace dress, lace robe, and lace teddy.

– None of our clothing can be used with flowers (flowers will often dye/stain the clothing and thus damage our items), so if you want to wear clothing and accessorize with flowers, bring your own with you.

Flowers

Do want to fill the bath with flowers or flower petals? Bring your preference of fresh flowers with you. Don’t bring fake or dry flowers (fake flowers sink and dry flowers turn brown and icky). If you like the look of the rose petals below, bring a couple dozen roses and we will break them right up into the tub – easy peasy!

Milk Bath

We have a bag of dry milk in the studio and we can mix it into the water. You can pair the milk bath with fresh flowers. Same as above, bring the fresh flowers you want to use with you.

Bubbles

Bring a bottle of bubble bath with you and we can get some suds. Our tub has low water pressure, so we can’t get mile high bubbles, but a little bit goes a long way to creating alluring images.

Faux Shower

Skip the tub for our shower set. It’s simply a plexi glas sheet we spray with water droplets. You can opt for a wet tshirt look or no clothing.

Below is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the setup used to create the image above.

 

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