LANCASTER, Pa. — Holly Boyer, also known as Holly Kline, walked out of the Lancaster County Courthouse on May 25th after pleading guilty to theft by deception charges related to her bridal makeup business.
On the way out of court, FOX43 Finds Out asked her if she had anything to say, a man walking with her said she did not. Although Boyer did speak with FOX43 Finds Out about the case back in January.
Dozens of brides say she took their money and then never did their makeup for their wedding day. Boyer eventually filed for bankruptcy.
A few of her victims showed up at the courthouse to see their case come to an end.
Dana Dashiell, a bride from Camp Hill who had booked Boyer to do her makeup said, "It kind of made me feel like she finally realized that she was in the wrong."
No more makeup, with a catch
Boyer was sentenced to house arrest for 6 months and intensive supervision for 2 months, along with probation. She must also pay restitution, complete community service, and seek/maintain full-time employment. This was all part of a plea agreement.
Jeni Nulty, a bride from Lebanon County who started the movement against Boyer said, "I'm glad she's being held accountable."
Boyer did continue to book makeup appointments after she was charged and filed for bankruptcy.
She has three more scheduled weddings this year, with the last one being in September. The judge will allow her to complete those weddings, which shocked some of her victims. After that, as part of her sentence, Boyer can no longer be employed as a makeup artist or own her own business related to makeup.
Nulty said, "It's going to be really important that we don't allow her to book anything else and the most important thing is that she won't be able to practice makeup any longer."
Zita Cody, a mother of one of the brides impacted by Boyer, said "I just don't want her to do this to anybody else, it's not even the money."
A group of women, who all lost money to Holly, found each other on Facebook.
Demi Hoffman, who hired Boyer to do her makeup this coming September said, "Actually, I started researching it and Jeni popped up."
More than 40 brides came together calling themselves the "Brides of Justice."
They credit the group and their persistence for Boyer's case making it to court.
Allison Schafer, a bride who lost more than $600 to Boyer, said "If it had only been just one of us I don't think any of this would have happened. So it was terrible to happen but at least we weren't in it alone."
Prior to this case, Boyer was a makeup artist for years with plenty of references and good reviews, which is why these brides felt so duped.
Cody said this situation is making her extra cautious from here on out, "I'm going to be extremely careful and probably pretty rude when I book somebody else."
This group is just glad the who ordeal is over, say the fee Vindication, relief, happiness.
Is your makeup artist licensed?
For anyone looking to book a makeup artist, you can also check if they are licensed with the state to actually perform certain services.
Holly Boyer did admit to us months ago that she did not have any cosmetology or esthetics license in Pennsylvania, even though she worked as a makeup artist. She said anyone who worked for her who did hair, did have a license though. She says she never did anything that was permanent in terms of makeup.
The following information is from the Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees this type of licensing in the commonwealth:
According to Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Beauty Culture Act, it is unlawful for any person to practice cosmetology or esthetics for compensation without first having obtained a license.
“Cosmetology” includes any or all work done for compensation by any person, which work is generally and usually performed by cosmetologists, which work is for the embellishment, cleanliness and beautification of the human hair, such as arranging, braiding, dressing, curling, waving, permanent waving, cleansing, cutting, singeing, bleaching, coloring, pressing, or similar work thereon and thereabout, and the removal of superfluous hair, and the massaging, cleansing, stimulating, manipulating, exercising, or similar work upon the scalp, face, arms or hands, or the upper part of the body, by the use of mechanical or electrical apparatus or appliances or cosmetics, preparations, tonics, antiseptics, creams or lotions, or by any other means, and of manicuring the nails, which enumerated practices shall be inclusive of the term cosmetology but not in limitation thereof. The term also includes the acts comprising the practice of nail technology, natural hair braiding and esthetics.
“Esthetics” means the practice of massaging the face, applying cosmetic preparations, antiseptics, tonics, lotions or creams to the face, removing superfluous hair by tweezers, depilatories or waxes and the dyeing of eyelashes and eyebrows.
This is a question to ask your makeup artist, but it's not foolproof either, meaning someone with a license may still not show up on the big day or vice versa. However, it is a way to verify their services in some cases, depending on what you are looking for.
Professional licenses in Pennsylvania can be verified here: BPOA - Pennsylvania Licensing System (pa.gov).
If you have a story you want Jackie De Tore to look into, FOX43 wants to find out. Send her a message on Facebook or send an email to FOX43FindsOut@FOX43.com.