If the thought of a full hair and make-up team hovering around you whilst you wait to begin the best/most stressful day of your life is enough to tip you over the edge, then doing your own wedding make-up could be the solution.
The pros? Lose the entourage and embrace a more chilled behind the scenes vibe where you can take control of creating a make-up look you feel comfortable in.
The cons? It’s easy to get the whole thing a bit wrong. And when those wedding photos last forever (no pressure), you want to look your most beautiful, and that means good make-up.
Read on for pro make-up artist Trish McEvoy’s tips, tricks and definitely-don’t-dos for how to look like a bridal goddess (and save a couple of bucks in the process)…
How To Do Your Own Wedding Make-Up – The Guidelines
You should keep weather, location, and colour schemes in mind.
But also consider your style and the look you like to achieve regularly. On the day you should still feel like yourself but pump it up because it’s a special day and there will be a lot of photos taken.
Don’t stray too much from your usual make-up routine.
Remember to take your time and that definition is important. If you usually wear light make-up, you should focus on defining your eyes with liner and lashes. If you usually wear a full face of make-up, then go for it.
A subtle smokey eye can be great for a bride.
Stay away from black shadows and anything that can look too heavy in photos. Also consider your wedding location — a more natural make-up look might suit a beach wedding better. Focus on brightening and opening up your eyes, sculpting your face with highlighters and go for rose or nude lips.
Trial runs are very important.
Especially for brides who don’t usually wear a lot of make-up. This is the best way to figure out what you want and to avoid stress on the big day. I recommend doing the trial two months before the wedding and taking lots of photos so you can review them later and decide if you want to make any changes.
If you’re having an outdoor wedding be sure to take photos outside so you can see how the natural light affects your make-up application.
Set aside an hour and a half for make-up on the day.
The best way to avoid getting flustered is to take your time. If you’re doing your make-up yourself, practice the look a few times before your wedding day. I always start my make-up applications with eyes first so if there’s any mistakes or eye shadow fall out, it’s easy to correct without disturbing the rest of your make-up.
Do your make-up before you get dressed to avoid spilling anything on it.
Do your hair first so it can set while you apply your make-up. Remember, when you’re putting on your beautiful wedding dress, cover your face carefully so as not to stain the dress.
Blend! Blend! Blend!
The most common pitfall for brides doing their own wedding make-up is not blending enough. When you think you’ve blended, blend some more.
