Bridal makeup is all about making the bride’s natural beauty shine. When I work with brides on their makeup, I show them how to enhance their beauty without the focus being on the makeup. Brides shouldn’t look too trendy or too dramatic, because those bridal pictures will hang on their walls, or sit on their coffee tables, or peek out of their wallets, for many years to come. I would hate for a bride to look back in 10 years and ask herself, “What was I thinking?” about her makeup.
Here are the elements of the perfect wedding day makeup look for a beautiful bride.
Great skin. Every bride – and every great makeup look – starts with great skin. Make sure that you cleanse, tone, moisturize and protect your skin every day. Absolutely make sure that you wash your makeup off each night before you go to bed. And make sure you drink plenty of water! If you need help getting your skin ready for your wedding, you may want to see a dermatologist or esthetician.
Natural-looking foundation. Cakey-looking foundations just won’t do on your wedding day. Instead, I prefer to apply a little bit of concealer just where needed, and then even out the skin tone with a lightweight, natural-looking foundation. Better yet, a tinted moisturizer with a light powder can really make skin look healthy and natural.
Neutral, softly defined eyes. I like to contour a bride’s eyes with a highlight, mid-tone and soft accent shade of eye shadow. Dark, or crazy colors may be fun for regular days, but they can be distracting and look out of place on a bride. Instead, I like to use a pearl color for the highlight, a shade of taupe for the mid-tone or flesh-tone shade, with just a hint of copper or other similar shade for the accent. Some brides like their accent color to be similar to the bridesmaids’ dresses ‘” such as a soft burgundy or a hint of violet. Define the eyes with a soft brown liner, and finish with two coats of waterproof mascara.
Slightly flushed cheeks. A bride is often already flushed from excitement on her wedding day. She probably doesn’t need too much blush to achieve that effect! But I do like to swirl a hint of pink or a bit of bronzer right on the apples of the cheeks to help this bride look like she’s shining in joy.
Gentle, rosy lips. The best choice of lip color for brides is one that is very similar to her natural lip shade, but a little bit rosier. First apply a light coat of neutral liner to the entire lip. Then, using a lip brush, apply that soft, rosy shade of lipstick. And for the big finish, I like to dab a little clear gloss right in the center of the bride’s lips. All she needs now is a great smile.
