It's no secret that all brides want to look their best on their wedding day. They want to enjoy the party without worrying about raccoon eyes or excessive shininess! Because of the pressure for perfection, lots of brides hire a professional makeup artist to do their looks for the big day, and that is great. There is nothing wrong with assigning the task who someone who is an expert.
But with wedding costs higher than ever, brides everywhere are doing more DIY. I think makeup should be included in that category, especially if you have any experience doing your makeup at all. I'm by no means an expert, but I love doing my makeup and spend a lot of time perfecting application techniques, and I think I've gotten pretty good at makeup that will last 8 or more hours.
Here are some tips and tricks for doing your own wedding makeup that will last through kisses, dancing, photos, drinking, and still look good at the end of the day.
1) Start with a prepped and primed canvas
The most important part of making your makeup look good and last all day is your skin. Big surprise right? It's important to properly exfoliate, tone, moisturize, and prime before you ever start doing your makeup. It also doesn't hurt to use an indulgent face mask if you have time.
For exfoliating, there are various scrubbing face washes that you can buy, but one of my favorites has been Dr. Brant's Microdermabrasion skin exfoliant. It's a little pricey but I think the results are worth it. My skin felt smooth and firm after using it, and my makeup applied wonderfully. Another option is to invest in a Clarisonic. If that's a little too much, there are lots of cheaper options on the market now. But seriously, after using my Clarisonic for the first time, my skin felt cleaner than it ever had before. My skin felt more sensitive and my pores were basically invisible.
Toner is something I hadn't really ever heard of until about a year or so ago, and boy was I missing out. You apply toner to your face after washing (personally I like to use it at night after removing my makeup with a plain old makeup wipe,) and it helps remove any excess oil or dirt, and it helps close your newly cleaned pores right up. It feels tingly in a good way. There are lots of different kind of toners on the market, but my personal favorite it Dickinson's Original Witch Hazel Pore Perfecting Toner. It isn't made with alcohol like some toners are, and witch hazel is good for your skin.
Now it's time to moisturize! You probably already have a favorite moisturizer, and that's fine. Everybody's skin is different and I tend to switch between different moisturizers depending on the day and how my skin is behaving. If you have no clue what to use, I got this one by Air-Repair in one of my Ipsy bags and I am in love with it. It is made with Hyaluronic acid, which is pretty trendy in skincare right now. I finished my whole sample which rarely happens. Another great one is Mario Badescu Rose Water Spray. (Note: Be sure to let your moisturizer fully soak in before moving on!)
Next comes priming. There are a million different primers out there and it can be overwhelming even for me. The most important thing to remember is to use a water-based primer if your foundation is water-based, and use an oil-based primer if your foundation is oil-based. I honestly just learned this a few months ago and it changed my life. I always wondered why my makeup was sliding around or breaking apart on my face. My foundation is water-based, so my all time favorite holy grail primer is Smashbox Photo Finish Primer Water Spray. I basically bathe myself in this before AND after my makeup is done and it's magic. It's like it's made with fairy dust or something.
2) Foundation/Contour/Blush/Highlighter
Now for the scary part: Foundation. This is the trickiest part, but once you get this down, application isn't too hard. My holy grail foundation is Urban Decay Naked Skin. It's water based, light-to-medium buildable coverage, and shade 1.0 matches my skin tone perfectly. Be sure to swatch foundation along your jaw line and neck for the most accurate match. As for concealer, use Tarte Shape Tape. Sorry, no other options here. Just use this one.
For application, I've found that you can't go wrong with a damp beauty blender. Your foundation won't look cakey or thick. It'll look like your skin! Just remember there is no such thing as over-blending. Sit there and bounce your little beauty blender all day. Take your time. After foundation is when I apply Shape Tape under my eyes in a V shape, and any other areas that need a little extra coverage. A little goes a long way with this.
Now it's time for setting powder! I've always used Tarte's Smooth Operator Finishing Powder but to be honest I'm not 100% sure how it'll turn out in pictures. I need to do some experimenting with this to see if it gives any flashback. You want to try to find a translucent, finely milled, mineral setting powder or else you might have white blotches on your face in pictures. That's not good. Use your damp beauty blender to pick up the loose powder and pat that on under your eyes. Now do more. And more if you want. After letting it set for at least five minutes, use a fluffy brush to dust off the excess. I usually apply a light layer of powder to the rest of my face at this time.
Now to add some color back to your cheeks! I think contour should be VERY subtle for your wedding day, IF at all. Contouring tends to look best in photos but can sometimes look fake in real life, (in my opinion at least.) Lately I've been using Too Faced's Sweet Peach Glow for my cheeks and I love it. The bronzer is light and hard to mess up and the blush is a perfect peachy pink that looks natural. The highlight is a little glittery, but if that's your thing, you'll love it! Tip: Apply blush just a little heavier than you normally would because you want it to show up in photos.
3) Eyes and Lips
Now for the fun parts. There are a billion "bridal look" tutorials out there so I won't try to tell you what colors to choose, but be sure to use an eye shadow primer! You can never go wrong with Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion. For eyeliner, I might just opt to skip it in order to achieve a more natural look, but if you're confident in your winging skills, go for it! You can never go wrong with a classic cat eye. You'll probably want to go with a waterproof mascara cause you might be crying. I know I will be. Any mascara will work for this, I've found that drugstore brands like Maybelline work just as well if not better than luxury brands.
Your lip color is really up to you, but you're going to want something that won't smear on your new hubby's face. (Or maybe you do, I don't know your life.) Matte liquid lipsticks are good for this because they are pretty much transfer-proof. My favorites are from NYX, Anastasia Beverly Hills and Jeffree Star. He also makes an awesome lip scrub you can use before applying your lipstick.
For my wedding, I'm probably going to wear Mac Satin Finish Lipstick in the shade Viva Glam II with the lipliner in shade Soar. It creates a sort of "my lips but better" look, and after letting it fully dry it didn't budge too much. I tend to have trouble with matte liquid lipsticks because they settle in all the lines in my lips and make them look like raisins. Something you can do to set your lipstick is to put a tissue over your lips and lightly dust some setting powder over and that should help!
Last but not least, set your makeup with that setting spray! If you think you're using too much, you're not. Setting spray helps meld everything together and locks it in place. Now you're ready to go get married! Make sure your Maid of Honor keeps some blotting papers on her, just in case.
I know this was long but hopefully you learned something that'll help you on your big day! And remember, if your makeup doesn't turn out perfectly, that's okay. The most important thing is that you're marrying the love of your life.
No comments:
Post a Comment