Expert Beauty Tips

How to create beautiful wedding day makeup

Make sure you’ve read our other blog here on the wedding beauty routine countdown too. So, what is the most important thing about bridal makeup? That the bride looks like herself, only a more polished, beautiful and confident version. Makeup artists who try to persuade you into wearing or buying something that doesn’t feel like ‘you’ should be avoided. Instead, a great makeup artist will create a look with ‘balance’: the key to a beautiful look.

Base

The first thing a makeup artist will do for a bride is create the perfect canvas. This even-toned base makeup can be the most technical part of a look, and you’ll find that a professional will spend a large proportion of their time making the skin look beautiful.

Preparing

Primer is like wearing shapewear under your favourite dress; it will just look better for longer. Primers work by providing a silky smooth base for your face products to sit on. Always choose one that is designed for your skin type as there are different formulations available.

Make sure your face products work properly together. The main ingredient in many primers is silicone, and if there are silicones in your foundation these can repel each other. If you find the foundation is ‘pilling’ (tiny balls of product are rubbing off) then the products you are using are not compatible.

Concealment

Trouble shoot with your concealers before applying foundation. Choose a colour correcting concealer such as ReCover Correct & Conceal Red which has yellow pigments to neutralise red tones, or choose a peachy toned concealer for dark under eyes. Use a fine brush to work accurately and blend seamlessly.

Be sparing with the use of highlighters and brightening concealers as these can make you look bleached out in your photos due to the high level of reflective pigments in them.

Foundation

For a ‘your skin but better’ look, avoid heavy full coverage foundations. If you’ve concealed and colour corrected you can choose a soft, ‘veil' effect foundation such as Laura Mercier Candleglow. Start in the centre of the face then work outwards towards the hairline using a flat foundation brush with a pointed tip, which will help you to get that ‘airbrushed’ finish around the nose. Remember you do have some downy hairs on your face so always work with the direction of the hairs on your last sweep, to keep the finish as natural as possible.

It is often a good idea to choose a primer and foundation from the same brand or range, as these will be designed to work well together.

Cheeks

Your cheek colour is really important for a balanced look. We’d advise against trying strong contouring looks or stark highlights on your wedding day, as these can be technically difficult to achieve and look natural in both the photos and real life.

As a bride use a creamy cheek colour as it is more natural. Smile into the mirror and apply to the ‘apples’ (the roundest part) of your cheeks, sweeping outwards, for a youthful glow. Start with very little on your fingertips, remembering it is harder to take away than to add.

Even quite bright cheek shades can work really well for wedding makeup as white dresses can make brides look a little washed out. Rosy pinks are most popular, but corals are also worth a try depending on the tone of your eye and lip colour choices. Kevin Aucoin’s Creamy Glow blush in Tansoleil and Pravella looks bright in the palette but are beautiful on the skin.

You now need to set your base and cheek products with a powder and a soft powder brush. Check your face in daylight from all angles (look under your chin and around your hairline for ‘tide marks’) before you apply powder, as once you have powdered, it will be difficult to blend any harsh edges out. Be careful with your choice of finishing powder, as some have iridescence that can reflect and cause camera ‘flashback’ in your photos. Chantecaille HD Perfecting Powder, looks really natural on camera and in daylight.

Brows

Brows really frame your face, so it’s a good idea to have your brows shaped by a professional before the big day, then just fill in gently with a soft brow pencil. Use short feathery strokes rather than a harsh line, as this will give you natural definition. Amita Patel at Four London will give you a bespoke brow shape, which you can then maintain in the days leading up to the wedding.

Eyes

A soft, delicate smokey eye on brides brings all eye colours to life and is flattering for all skin tones, if you pick the right browns or greys. Apply your eye shadow along the lash line and into the crease of the eye if you’d like definition for your eyes. Then smudge a long lasting eye pencil into the lash line for extra pop. Perhaps Suratt Smokey Eye Baton in Fumee Noir as it has a lovely soft kohl crayon, and a smokey powder smudger on the other end.

Be wary of using very glittery or shimmery eye colours as these can fall on to the rest of your face and make you look a bit less polished, and they can also reflect badly in photos.

Lashes

If you are using eye lashes then apply them at this point. Some of the most natural looks are created by using single ‘clump’ lashes and applying them on the outer corners of the eyes, however if this is too tricky then use a strip which you have trimmed to the right length for your eye. Many professionals use Shu Umera lashes,

Hold the lashes with tweezers (glue applied), and come down towards the eye to apply, at a 45 degree angle. This will give the most natural effect.

Now add a coat of mascara to finish.  Perhaps try Lancôme’s classic Définicils which works well even on sparse lashes. Look down when applying, take the brush right to the roots, then zig zag gently, pulling the brush up and out for the best application.

Try this test to check if your mascara needs replacing: unscrew the lid and pull out the wand. If you don’t hear a gentle ‘pop’ as the wand comes out, it would be worth replacing. An older mascara won’t give such a precise or clean application as a newer one, as the formula may have thickened through air entering the packaging.

Lips

Do wear a lip colour, as if you don’t your look will be incomplete and unbalanced. Whether you go for a strong pop of colour or a gentle rosy wash is up to you, as both can look great. Just don’t try something that you’ve never worn, as you may feel uneasy in a high maintenance strong lip all day if you are normally a lip balm kind of girl.

The new range Surratt has some great pink shades of lip colour. If you have naturally quite pigmented pink lips, pink lip colour on top can be too much. Surratt’s shade A La Mode would be ideal for you as it is a reddish pink.

If you wear a lip pencil in a neutral shade, this can help your lipstick last longer. Also, apply lip colour with a brush, blot and then reapply for the most durable finish. If you don’t want a matte look then choose a gloss for a softer, more delicate finish, but be careful of sticky lips and veils. Try Nars lip glosses as the colours are nicely opaque. Choose a flattering peachy pink shade such as Giza.