Choosing your wedding makeup can be tricky. Things to consider are the season, location, venue, theme, dress, skin colouring and undertones, and your regular makeup look. If you’re having a spring/summer wedding most brides tend to go for something light, whereas if you’re having an autumn/winter wedding, it’s the perfect opportunity to rock something more dramatic. Of course, you also don’t want to look unrecognizable as you walk down the aisle, so if you don’t typically wear makeup, go for something more natural.

Bridal makeup is designed to last all day, photograph well, and look beautiful. Just like regular makeup, there are lots of styles you can choose from. These include natural, classic, dramatic, red-lipped, boho — the options are almost endless. You’ll want to choose a look that reflects you and your personality but also brings out your best features.

Natural Wedding Makeup

Natural makeup is ideal for ensuring all-day longevity, focusing on dewy skin and neutral tones. A nude lip means no colourful smudging after a ceremonial smooch, and if you can’t touch up regularly, it won’t be noticeable. A natural bridal makeup look is also perfect as it highlights your features, ensuring you are the best version of yourself on your special day.

Classic Wedding Makeup

A classic makeup look is a lovely option for your big day and is possibly one of the more popular looks. Its elegant, timeless, and won’t go out of style. Keep the eyes soft with velvety browns, and depending on your eye shape, a clean-cut eyeliner. To soften the look further, try a dark brown eyeliner rather than black or even use an eyeshadow along the lash line. Teamed with soft pink lipstick it really is beautiful. Keep your natural features enhanced and not masked for a classic, all-day glamour.

 Dramatic Wedding Makeup

It is absolutely possible to achieve flawless, romantic wedding makeup and make a statement at the same time. The key is to keep it relatively soft, feminine and flirty. A dramatic bridal look will take your wedding makeup to the next level, playing up your features in the most flattering way
Go for thick full lashes and eyeliner, teamed with smokey brown hues. For bigger eyes, run a pencil eyeliner in your waterline to make your eyes pop. In keeping with the dramatic theme and to make the eyes stand out even more, opt for a nude lip.

 Red Lips Makeup

Timeless and classic, a red lip has long been a favourite of the beauty world and if you’re someone who has a bold, modern style, then this is a perfect option. In choosing the right shade, take into account your skin tone and whether you have cool or warm undertones – this will ensure you get the right colour and hence, the right makeup. If your skin tone is naturally cool opt for a blue toned red, if your on the warmer side, red with an orange undertone will work perfectly. Additionally, go for a long-lasting formula, so your pout is perfect all day.

Boho Bridal Makeup

Boho bridal makeup is the ultimate romantic style for your wedding day and it is so easy to achieve. Keep skin natural and dewy, priming with an illuminator for bright and glowing base. Highlight the high points of your face to accentuate your features while adding some sparkle, and pastel rose lipstick to keep the makeup soft.

Winter Wedding Makeup

Winter is notorious for drying out your skin, so make sure your skin is moisturized and prepped with a good hydrating primer. Additionally, a bold lip for your wedding look will add even more glam – go for plum, berry, and red wine tones for the ultimate winter shade. Keep lids simple and not too dramatic, allowing the lipstick to be the star of the show.

The last thing you need on your special day is worrying about your makeup and whether it is staying on, still fresh, and as beautiful as when it was first applied. To avoid these issues choose an experienced bridal makeup artist. We are trained in how to accentuate your best features and will use only top quality products giving you the perfect finish that will last all day. We know everything that needs to be done to ensure that you will be the glowing bride that you deserve to be.

P xx

Wedding day hair and makeup is so important to most brides. You want to look back at your photos knowing that you not only looked amazing but felt amazing too. As a result of this 99% of brides will opt to hire a professional hairstylist and makeup artist.

However, with the new restrictions in place and your hairstylist and makeup artist no longer permitted to work this isnt an option at the moment. Brides are now faced with having to do their own hair and makeup. Doing it yourself can be daunting, so, with that in mind I’ve put together this little piece packed full of little tips and tricks that I really hope you find useful.

The Look

First and foremost, decide on the look you want to achieve. Do you want dewy skin? Are you more a full coverage kinda gal? Are smokey eyes your go to? What about lip colour? When brides come to me for a trial, these are the questions that I ask and depending on the answers I use them as a guide to create the look. I also ask my brides to bring some pictures of makeup looks that they like as these are a great way to get inspiration. Another great idea is to look back at photos of yourself and pick 2 or 3 that you really like your makeup in and base your look around this. Try to stay away from trends as they will come and go, your photos however, will be with you forever. Put all your focus into looking like the best version of you and you are guaranteed to look beautiful.

Use top quality products

If there’s one time you shouldn’t go for the dupe versions of your makeup, it’s your wedding day.  All eyes will be on you, and there will be a ton of pictures so the last thing you want is uneven eyeshadow or foundation creases. High end products have a higher price tag for a reason, because they are good and in my opinion worth it. This is particularly important for foundation. Cheaper foundations may not last well, aren’t geared towards professional photography and can be hard to work with to get the flawless base we all crave.

Do a trial run

This is especially important for brides that don’t usually wear a lot of make-up. Its the best way to figure out what you want and to avoid stress on the big day. Take lots of photos afterwards so you can review them later and decide if you want to make any changes. Be sure to take photos outside so you can see how the natural light affects your make-up application too.

So, how do you actually apply the makeup? Keep reading to find out.

Step 1: Prep your skin

Much like your foundation you need choose the correct primer for your skin type. If your oily, you need to mattify your skin. If your dry, you need to add moisture. And if your a combination of both then personally I would use 2 separate primers, one to target the oils and the other to hydrate the dryer areas. (If having 2 separate primers isnt an option then focus on combatting the oils as this will break down your foundation quicker) If your someone that has a lot of open pores in the centre of your face then I would lightly recommend a pore minimising primer too.

My favourite primers are:

Oily Skin –

Estee Lauder, Mattifying primer

Laura Mercier, Oil free foundation primer

The Ordinary, High adherance silicone primer

Smashbox, Pore minimiser lotion

Dry Skin –

Bobby Brown, Vitamin enriched face base

MAC, Natural radiance base

Estee Lauder, The Illuminator, Radiant perfecting primer

Remember, before applying any primer, all skin needs to be moisturised regardless of being dry or oily. I love the Embryolisse, Lait Creme Concentre for this. Its a super light moisturiser designed for all skin types.

Once your primer has had time to sink in you can then look at applying a liquid illuminators to give that lit from within glow. (Use sparingly if your very oily or have a lot of open pores.)

I love both the Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter or NARS Tinted Glow booster for this. They work amazingly under foundation and wont cause it to slip while giving the perfect amount of glow to your skin.

Step 2: Your eyes

Once I’ve prepped the skin I always move straight onto eyes. If there’s any mistakes or eyeshadow fall out, it’s easy to correct without disturbing the rest of your make-up.

Its a good idea to neutralize any uneven colour on the eyelids before applying any eyeshadows. The eye base should double as a primer and make your eyeshadow waterproof and longer-lasting. I love MAC paint pots in Painterly and Soft Ochre, BPerfect Eye Primer or Urban Decay Primer potion for this. They don’t necessarily need to be set but I like to give a light dusting of powder to stop any creasing.

A subtle smokey eye can look amazing for a bride but stay away from black shadows and anything that can look too heavy in photos. A more natural make-up look  with the focus on brightening and opening up your eyes will be much more complementary. Use light brown or taupe shades and build your colour intensity by applying a small amount each time. MAC Saddle, Swiss Chocolate, Cork, Wedge, Soft brown and Brown Down are just some of my favourites to work with. Remember to blend, blend, blend and when you think you’ve blended enough, blend some more.

A little pop of shimmer on the lid can be very flattering in your photos but try to avoid anything too glittery or chunky. MAC Woodwinked, Expensive pink or Honest are gorgeous on brides and give the perfect amount of frosting needed.

If your not confident with gel liner then your wedding day is not the day to attempt it. Using a black or very dark brown eyeshadow, you can press it gently along your lash line to minic liner and give you a fuller lash effect. Smudging is slightly will soften the look and remove any harsh lines. A sweep of the mid tone browns underneath the eyes will define them perfectly.

A couple of individual lashes on the outer corner will open your eyes up beautifully but if the thoughts of applying false lashes puts the fear of god into you then avoid and fire on a couple of coats of good waterproof mascara. Max Factor 2000 calorie is my own personal makeup bag staple but MAC Extended play, NARS Climax and Benefit Bad Gal mascaras are highly rated too.

Step 3: Foundation

When selecting a foundation it’s important to work with your skin type instead of against it. If you have oily skin – Avoid foundations boasting a dewy finish. If you have dry skin – Avoid a matte formula.

Some of my favourite foundations for bridal are:

NARS, Sheer Glow ( a good all rounder and suits most skin types unless extremely oily)

Estee Lauder, Double Wear Light ( Brilliant for Combination or Oily Skin)

Georgio Armani, Luminous Silk ( Amazing for dry or mature skin)

Selecting the correct shade of foundation can be tricky but  and if in doubt I would always opt for a lightly lighter shade and use a bronzer to darken if needed. If your planning on wearing tan on the big day make sure your foundation is matched to your tan shade and not your natural skin tone.

The key to your bridal makeup lasting is layering so when applying your foundation, start with a very light layer and build gradually in areas that you feel you need a bit more coverage. Avoid going in too heavy with product as it’ll be hard to blend along the jaw and hair line. Blonde ladies especially take note!

Step 4: Concealer

Concealer is best applied after your foundation and should really only be used in areas that you need it. Over use will give a mask like effect and wont look natural. Using a shade or 2 lighter than your foundation for under the eye area and centre of your face will have a brightening effect. If using to cover blemishes try match it to your foundation shade and use sparingly so as not to have the opposite effect and end up highlighting the blemishes.

The most common areas to conceal is the inner corner of your eyes, around your nose, the chin and centre of your forehead. Using a tapping motion ensure its blended seamlessly into your foundation.

My most used concealers are:

MAC, Pro longwear concealer

NARS, Radiant Creamy concealer

Estee Lauder, Double Wear Stay in Place Concealer

MAC, Studio Sculpt Concealer

NARS, Soft Matte Concealer

Step 5: Powder products

Powder is always a must to ensure longevity! Using a finely milled translucent formula it will help set your base and blur the look of fine lines and pores without adding any weight. I don’t powder all areas though, I focus more so on the areas that tends to get shiny like the T Zone. Too much powder can look cakey so use a light hand.

My go to powders are:

Laura Mercier, Translucent loose powder

By Terry, Hyaluronic powder

MAC, Mineralise Skinfinish Natural

MAC, Studio Fix Powder

Charlotte Tilbury, Airbrush Flawless Finish Powder

Once your happy with your base its time to add some colour with bronzer and blush. Using bronzer first apply it directly under your cheekbones sweeping it both up onto the temples and below the jawline. You want to bronzer to add some gentle warmth to the skin so try to avoid anything too dark.A cooler toned bronzer can be used under the cheekbones for some extra sculpting/contouring if your after a more chiselled look.

Some bronzers I love are:

MAC, Mineralise Skinfinish natural powders in Medium Tan, Dark Tan, Dark Golden & Dark Deep

Charlotte Tilbury, Airbrush Bronzer

Benefit, Hoola Bronzer

NARS, Laguna Bronzer ( I adore this is the cream version but it can be tricky to blend cream products so powders are best if your not confident enough)

For blush there are so many options to choose from, cream, powder, matte, shimmer etc. Personally, I love a peachy toned blush with a satin finish but it really is personal preference. I would recommend trying out a few before the big day to see what one you like most. I have to admit, I adore a liquid blush on a bride but they do require practice to get the hang of blending properly. Powder is definitely the safer bet.

If your skin tone is fair/light look for soft pink, light coral or peach tones.

Those with a medium/dark skin tone rich pinks, warm mauves or deep peach will work beautifully.

Blusher should always be placed on the high apple of the cheek (the fullest part when you smile), try not to go too close to the nose or too high up onto the cheekbone.

Some blush products that I adore are:

Milani, Rose D’oro, Luminoso & Dolce Pink

MAC, Margin, Peechkeen, Melba, Dolly mixture, Well Dressed, Springsheen

NARS, Orgasm & Torrid (Both powder and liquid)

Charlotte Tilbury, Beauty light wand in Pinkgasm & Peachgasm

No bride is complete with out some highlighter to emphasize her already glowing cheekbones. Apply lightly to the highest points of your cheek bones, sitting directly above your bronzer and sweep it up towards your temples. Down the bridge of your nose, the tip of your nose and cupids bow are also great areas to highlight and will look beautiful in photos. Again use a very light hand to keep it natural. You can always add more in areas that you like more intensity. Liquid highlighters are absolutely stunning on the skin but as with the liquid bronzer they can be tricky to blend correctly so unless you know what your doing, id tend to stick with powder.

My all time favourite highlighters are:

Anastasia Beverly Hills, Amrezy highlighter

MAC, Soft & Gentle

MAC, Lightscapade

Becca, Champagne pop

Charlotte Tilbury, Beauty light wand in Glowgasm

Step 6: Eyebrows

Your eyebrows should look naturally full and well-shaped. Use a precision pencil to fill in areas of sparseness with small, hair-like strokes. Finish them with a brow gel to fix them in place and create the look of a flattering full brow.

Benefit gimme brow pencils are fab.

BPerfect Indestructi’Brow are also super.

Step 7: Lipstick

The lipstick you choose for your wedding day can alter the whole look of your bridal makeup so it’s important to get it right and feel comfortable wearing it. If you don’t normally wear colour on your lips, your wedding day is not the day to be road testing.

The shade you wear is very much a personal choice but I will help choose a colour combination that I think will suit you & compliment the rest of the bridal makeup I have applied.

Below is a list of shades that I know works well for brides and many of my clients continue to wear their bridal lip colour long after their wedding day.

Nudes
Nudes are by far the most popular option when it comes to bridal lip colour. They are perfect for the natural brides or those who want their eyes and dress to do the talking.
Some of my favourite nudes are:
Mac
Modesty
Faux
Blankety
Honeylove
Velvet Teddy
Creme Cup
Peach Blossom

Charlotte Tilbury :
Kim KW
Penelope Pink
Dancefloor Princess

Pinks
Pinks are beautiful on a romantic bride. From baby pinks to deep magenta theres wide range to choose from.
Some of my favourites are:
Mac
Plumful
Please me
Patisserie
Crosswires
Hot Gossip

Charlotte Tilbury
Secret Salma
In Love with Olivia

Reds
A red lip on your wedding day is a massive commitment but when worn with confidence is absolutely stunning!! Finding the perfect red can be a challenge but there is a red lipstick out there for absolutely everyone!! If your natural skin tone is fair with pink hues look for a red with blue undertones. If your more olive skinned a red with an orange hue will work best.
My favourite reds are:
Mac
Ruby Woo
Lady Danger
Russain Red

Charlotte Tilbury
Red Carpet Red
Walk of Shame

Nars
Heatwave

Tom Ford
Ruby Rush
Cherry Lush

BONUS TIPS

Give yourself enough time to finish your make-up and then step away for a while. You might feel like you’re wearing too much, but leave it to settle for an hour and then re-visit it.

Wear a white dressing gown or t-shirt while applying your make-up trial to mimic the colouring of your dress on the day (if you’re wearing white, that is!)

Practice your wedding day look a few times and take lots of pictures inside and outside with flash and no flash.

Some people enjoy doing their own makeup; others find it stressful. If you know your going to be stressed, think about clearing the room so it’s relatively calm, and just having one person on hand to help.

Set aside an hour and a half for your make up on the day. The best way to avoid getting flustered is to take your time.

Work out a time you need to be in your dress by (usually an hour before your due to leave) and aim to have your makeup finished about 1/1.5 hours before this.

Finally, enjoy your morning. Dont let the events of 2020 ruin what should be the happiest day of your life.

P xx