Bridal Beauty

Top to Bottom, Left to Right: Bare Face, Eyes and Left Brow finished, Lashes, Finished look

A few months ago, a friend asked me to do her bridal makeup -- I've done a tutorial before, but she wanted to do a proper lesson where I talk her through tools, colours and long-lasting textures.  You know by now that I love to ramble on about beauty, so I jumped at the chance.

Emma is a fair-skinned, blue-eyed redhead -- a fantastic combination to work with.  Extremely pale-skinned or dark-skinned girls are essentially a blank canvas for colour, so a wide range of colours and looks will work.  Her only request was to become "an extremely hot version of myself."  The lady was in luck -- that's what I do best.  I wanted to focus on a defined eye with lots of lashes and to make sure her brows and lips didn't disappear into her face.  

Base:  For her base we picked up Urban Decay Naked foundation which she'll apply with her fingers. Working with your fingers will essentially give you a mini face massage, which will add an extra glow to your skin.  This foundation is extremely buildable so she can layer it over any blemishes, if any pop up.  For her contour, I used NYX blush in Taupe to shade in her cheeks -- try not to take the contour too close to the mouth or it can leave you looking a little skeletal.  Finish with a sweep of Dior Amber Diamond on the brows, inner corner of the eye, and the tops of the cheekbones and you'll have all the shape you need in your face.

Brows:  If there is one thing you should do on your wedding day, it is your brows.  Emma has an amazing brow shape, so there wasn't much shaping needed.  Her brows have a lot of blonde in them, so I used MAC Lingering to colour in the hairs and make them reflect less light.  For brow beginners, try not to colour in your skin.  That is, lightly feather the brow pencil into the hair; it really shouldn't touch your skin at all.  See how far you can get with just that bit of colour in the actual hairs -- if you need more coverage or shaping, then you can start applying the product directly to your brow bone.

Eyes:  I used Marcelle's Face Powder in Translucent to prime her lids -- for brides, I prefer powder to prime the lid because it helps shadows go on much more softly.  A regular primer will help intensify the colour, but the increased pigment will be harder to work with.  A loose powder will give you the same smooth application, but help the colours blend.  Next, I used a shimmery, bone-coloured shadow (from the Dior Incognito palette) to go over her mobile lid.  I used Urban Decay Busted to shade in the entire crease, from the inner corner to outer corner.  This makes her eyes look a little more deep-set.  I also took the same shade and shaded under the eye for more definition.  I used a Prestige Waterproof Eyelienr in Sepia to tightline her lashes to give them a little more depth.  I winged out the liner just a tiny bit to help give her eyes a little lift.  For the reception, she's going to add a tiny bit of L'Oreal Telescopic Liner in Black to the tightline for more intensity. 

Lashes:  We used the Andrea ModLash #21 lashes -- a really short, natural-looking lash that just added a tiny bit of bulk.  I originally went with my go-to lash, the Ardell Demi-Wispies, but they were way too big for her face.  Something to keep in mind when you try lashes on!  I used the Duo Dark Tone lash glue and we applied them to mascara'd lashes.  I chose a waterproof, volumising formula: Prestige My Waterproof Lashes.

Cheeks:  Tarte Amazonian Clay blush in Dollface is my go-to bridal shade.  I've used this colour on a number of people and it has yet to fail me.  It's the blush I go to when I'm not sure about the rest of my makeup.  Since there's going to be flash photography at the wedding, don't be afraid to put more blush on than usual.  A good way to check how much makeup you're missing is to take a photo in full daylight.  

Lips:  I love a good lipstain for weddings.  In terms of colour, I try not to do too bright -- it's hard to maintain as it is, but with all the drinking and kissing and talking, it'll just be another unnecessary source of stress.  I don't condone a nude lip -- I know a lot of girls who like nude lipstick tend to go with what they're comfortable with, and the hideousness that is flash photography will just leave you dead-looking.  I like a bright (not neon) pink.  Here I used Tarte Matte Lipsurgence in Hope, which works for a variety of skin tones.

A few bonus tips for brides:

• Practice!  The more you do your makeup, the better acquainted with your face you'll become.  You'll learn exactly the way your face contours and the sort of blush placement that suits you best.  You'll also learn where exactly your brows get sparse or where the hairs are unruly.  Little things like that make all the difference when it comes to a photo.
• Keep it simple -- don't try to rock a colour you're not comfortable with.  Stay in the family of what you normally wear (or if you don't wear makeup, colours that are already in your face), and just apply it slightly more vibrantly than you would normally.
• If there's one place to spend money, it's your base.  Skin is the most finicky thing to photograph, so spend money on a good foundation and powder.  Skip any and all silica powders as they tend to flash back in photography and make you look ghostly.

Got a wedding makeup tip? Sound off in the comments below!