Your makeup portfolio deserves
Velvet Editorial, not a Linktree.

Can I migrate my Square Appointments client list to VeloCMS?

Yes. From Square Dashboard, go to Customers → Export and download your client contact CSV — it includes names, emails, phone numbers, booking history, and total spend per client. In VeloCMS Admin → Members → Import, upload the CSV. Your existing clients import as free members and appear in your admin as contacts with their full history. VeloCMS doesn't replace Square's in-person payment terminal or on-site scheduling functionality, but it does replace Square's public-facing booking page with a branded inquiry form on your own domain — and replaces Square Marketing with your VeloCMS newsletter at no additional per-subscriber cost.

How do before/after portfolio posts handle tight-crop detail shots?

Each portfolio post in VeloCMS supports a multi-image gallery block with no cap on the number of images per post. You upload your full-frame before shot, your full-frame after shot, and then as many tight-crop detail shots as you want — eye detail showing the shadow blend, lip detail showing the liner precision, cheekbone highlight angle. In the Velvet Editorial theme, these gallery images display in a masonry grid that supports mixed aspect ratios (portrait full-frame shots and landscape tight-crops coexist without forced cropping). Each image in the gallery is served from Cloudflare R2 and delivered via global CDN — the tight crops load fast on mobile, which is where most brides review vendor portfolios at 11pm while planning. Captions on each image let you note the product used for that specific step.

Why is Velvet Editorial the recommended theme for makeup artists?

The Velvet Editorial theme was designed around the visual language of luxury fashion publishing: Cormorant Garamond italic — the same typeface family used by Vogue Italia, Porter Magazine, and high-fashion agencies — for display headings. A burgundy and cream palette derived from editorial photography art direction, where deep jewel tones and warm ivory are used as neutrals that make skin tones in photography look natural rather than oversaturated. A wide-margin editorial layout that prioritizes large photography. On a Velvet Editorial site, a bride lands on your portfolio and instantly reads the visual signal of the price point and aesthetic before she reads a word. Compare that to a Linktree generic list or a Square booking page that looks identical to every other Square business. Velvet Editorial is the theme equivalent of walking into a boutique studio vs. a shared salon suite. Alternatives: Aperture if your work is more photography-portfolio-forward and you want maximum visual real estate with minimal text interference; Atelier Modern if you run a contemporary studio and your brand is cleaner, more neutral, less opulent.

How do paid advanced-technique mastermind tiers work via BYOK Stripe?

In Admin → Settings → Membership, connect your Stripe account via 60-second OAuth. You then create products in three patterns. One-time workshops: a fixed price for a defined session (e.g., 'Advanced Bridal Prep Masterclass — $75', 90-minute video replay access + PDF product notes), payment collected upfront, buyer receives a confirmation email with replay link. Recurring masterminds: a monthly membership fee (e.g., 'Technique Mastermind Monthly — $120/month'), billed automatically each month via Stripe's subscription engine, members access ongoing technique deep-dives, Q&A sessions, and your exclusive product haul reactions. Hybrid bundles: a one-time workshop purchase that also includes 3-month newsletter access (e.g., $180 one-time). Each product type gets its own public checkout page at your domain. VeloCMS takes 0% on all of them — only Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee applies. Your Stripe account receives payment directly.

Can the booking inquiry form capture vibe / mood-board references?

Yes. The Form block in VeloCMS supports a long-text field type that you can label 'Vibe / Mood Board — describe your aesthetic and paste any Instagram or Pinterest links you love.' Clients can type a paragraph describing the feel they want or paste 2–3 reference links from their saved boards. These submissions arrive at your email immediately and are also stored in Admin → Members alongside the rest of the inquiry data (date, location, party size, budget range). A client who fills in a detailed vibe description has already done most of the pre-consultation work for you — by the time you respond with a quote, you understand their aesthetic. Clients who say 'natural and glowy for outdoor ceremony in Tuscany' and clients who say 'full glam editorial for rooftop sunset' are already self-sorted before the first email.

Should I still post tutorials on YouTube? (yes — but they should also live on YOUR domain as longform tutorial posts that build SEO)

Yes, keep posting on YouTube — reach and discoverability there are real, and a strong YouTube presence sends traffic back to your domain. But every YouTube tutorial should also exist as a longform tutorial post on your VeloCMS site: step-by-step photos of the same technique, product list with affiliate links, and a call-to-action to book you or join the mastermind. The tutorial post on your domain builds Google search authority for that technique query ('smokey eye for hooded eyes', 'glossy skin bridal prep', 'SFX horror burn wound') in a way that YouTube does not — YouTube results appear in a separate SERP block and don't pass link equity to your brand. A tutorial that ranks on your domain in 2026 is still sending you Sephora affiliate commissions and booking inquiries in 2028. A YouTube video from 2024 that stopped getting recommended when the algorithm changed is dead traffic.

How do affiliate-link disclosures work for product reviews?

VeloCMS includes a Product List block in the editor that supports per-item affiliate URL input. When you tag an item as an affiliate link, the block renders a visible FTC disclosure label ('This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you.') at the top of the product list automatically — you don't manually write the disclosure every time. For brand partnerships (Sephora, Ulta, individual brand gifted product reviews), you can add a disclosure note at the post level in the publish panel — a persistent banner above the post body that reads 'This review was created in partnership with [Brand].' Both disclosure types are visible in the rendered post HTML and satisfy FTC guidelines for affiliate and brand-partnership disclosure. You stay compliant without remembering to manually copy-paste a disclosure block on every post.

Can I run Aperture or Atelier Modern instead of Velvet Editorial?

Yes. VeloCMS themes are swappable with one click — you're not locked in at signup. If you apply Velvet Editorial now and decide six months later that Aperture's photography-portfolio-forward layout fits your studio better, you switch in Admin → Themes → Aperture → Apply. Your content doesn't change — themes change CSS only, not HTML structure. Aperture removes the editorial text-heavy layout and puts full-bleed photography front and center — better if your portfolio work is so strong that it should speak without much descriptive text, or if you shoot in a style that's closer to fine-art photography than editorial makeup. Atelier Modern is the right choice if your studio is a contemporary clean-line aesthetic and you serve a client base that expects a minimalist palette (think agency studios, editorial clients who expect a Squarespace-era clean look). All three themes are available on the Free plan.