A San Diego makeup artist is warning others in the beauty industry after she says a mother and daughter skipped out on a nearly $600 bill following an hours-long makeover. The incident is now under investigation, and the artist says she has since learned she is not the only one affected.

Andrea Velez said sharing her work on social media is part of her job, but she never expected a post meant as a warning to reach millions of people. Her Instagram video has now been viewed more than 17 million times worldwide.

On New Year’s Eve, Velez said she received a last-minute call from a woman and her daughter looking for glam services to celebrate one of the women’s birthdays. She said they sent a $50 deposit through the mobile app Cash App, and she completed the makeup while a colleague handled hair. Velez said her Ring camera recorded the entire session.

“They were love bombing me. They were talking about church and God,” Velez said.

The new walk-in clients arrived with fruit and chocolates. Velez said things became uncomfortable when it was time to pay. She said the pair distracted her with champagne, then caviar.

“I’m starting to clean up, and as I’m going to grab the phone, she’s like, ‘Wait, do you like caviar?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t know, I don’t really eat that really.’ She’s like, ‘Well, we have a really nice jar. Do you want it?’” Velez said. “She goes and grabs it and gives it to me. I give her a hug, and then I look at my phone, and she had already walked out. And I look at my phone, and I see that she didn’t send anything.”

Velez said the payment through Cash App never came.

“I don’t automatically assume the worst with people. And so when that happened, I was physically getting sick,” she said.

After posting about the experience online, Velez said she began hearing from others — including another San Diego stylist who says she had a similar encounter.

“You know what, I know them because they left and they don’t pay me,” said Nadia Espinoza after viewing the viral post.

Espinoza said the same two women contacted her for services. She said the mother went shopping while she worked on the daughter’s hair, until the daughter complained about feeling sick. Espinoza said she was drying the daughter’s hair when the client said she needed medication from her car.

“So she asked me, I was drying her hair at that time, and she asked me ‘Oh, Nadia, I feel so bad right now. I need my medication. So my medication is in my car,'” Espinoza said.

Espinoza said that was the last time she saw the client, and she was never paid.

“I feel a little bit worried for us for this industry right now because we are very vulnerable,” Espinoza said.

Back near Pacific Beach, Velez said she is still disappointed by the experience.

“We did a transformation from the beginning to the end. And I will say they did have good features. They did have really bright eyes,” she said.

Velez said she decided to file a police report in hopes that sharing her experience could help protect others.

“Just to warn people people because I don’t believe that pain should be wasted. It has to have a lesson, and if people have to learn from my lesson, please do,” Velez said.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.