Makeup maven
Glamorous wedding day makeup: Professional tips for the blushing bride
The flowers are gorgeous, the cake is a little taste of heaven, and the dress fits like a glove. Every detail of the Big Day is planned to perfection and when the bride walks down the aisle all eyes will be on her. Every moment will be photographed and frozen in time forever. So let’s talk about what is really important: the bride’s makeup.
The easiest, least stressful way for a bride to get the perfect look on her big day is to hire a professional makeup artist. But, if you do not have the budget for a makeup artist or you would just prefer to do it yourself, here are a few ideas to make sure the most important detail — your face — is gorgeous throughout your wedding day.
Glowing Bride
The most important element of a flawless face is beautiful glowing skin, the perfect canvas for any makeup style. Choose a light, water-based foundation that matches your skin tone perfectly. It should disappear onto the skin. You may need to pick a shade slightly darker than your face, so it blends down onto your neck leaving no lines. We exfoliate and use sunscreen more often on our face then the other skin on our body, so it can often be lighter. A moisturizing foundation will give you a fresh look all day. Always use one with a sunscreen if you are getting married outside.
Try: Rae Cosmetics Climate Control Mineral Tint. It is a water-based mineral foundation, non-chemical sunscreen and anti-oxidant moisturizer all in one. If you are a complete minimalist, Omorovicza Complexion Perfector BB SPF 20 is a BB Cream that comes in one shade and says it is all you need as a moisturizer, foundation, sunscreen, concealer and antiaging cream.
Glam It up
The natural look is always in style, but many different looks strolled down the runway this year and it seems that glamour is back. Old Hollywood style dominated the catwalk and the makeup was just as glamorous. You can adapt a few of these runway looks to a more natural, down-the-aisle style.
Red Hot Lips
Red lips are always a classic and will never go out of style, but red can be difficult to wear due to bleeding. I suggest you exfoliate first to eliminate any dry, flaky skin and leave lips soft and smooth for a prettier application.
For longer wear, apply lip liner to your entire lip and then apply lipstick. Lightly blot, then reapply lipstick to the center of your lips. When wearing red, I skip the gloss. Finally, to further prevent lip products from bleeding use a small, soft brush to apply powder to the outside edge of your lip line.
Some women think they can’t wear red, but they probably are just wearing the wrong red! You have to pick a color that complements your skin tone. The paler the complexion the more bold the red will appear. If you are very pale choose a red with a hint of pink or orange, probably best to stay away from the bluer shades of red. If your skin is darker, opt for a brick or burgundy red.
When I do red lipstick colors I tend to go more natural on the rest of the makeup. I really like to pair a red lip with a simple black lined eye. Very glamorous but simply classic.
Try: The Lip Scrubb by Sara Happ. It come in several great flavors like blood orange, green apple and vanilla bean. Rae Cosmetics Sinful Kisses Lip Kit, a lipstick, liner and gloss in very versital red shades, that look great on almost every skin tone. Serge Lutens The Ultimate Red Collection: Lip Palette Four, with different shades designed for you to create a custom red lip.
Colored Smoke
A “smoky eye” has been a trend for a while. This year try putting away the gray, black and dark brown eye shadow. Instead, try green, blue, purple or golden bronze. Not too bright — use a soft, muted color that compliments your skin tone. You want to look sophisticated not shocking.
Blending is the key to a beautiful “smoky eye.” There should be a smooth transition from color to color with no edges, like smoke fading. Blend, blend, blend and if you are wondering if you have blended enough, blend some more.
When trying this look, or anytime you apply a lot of color to the eyes, start by applying the eye makeup. Finish the entire eye before applying concealer or doing any corrections. Pigment from the shadows tend to fall under the eye and can be hard to clean up, which is especially tough when using blue or green.
Try: Rae Cosmetics Extrmely Violet or Terquoise Tantrum Eyeshadow Palettes or mix and match to create your own. If you want to try a complete rainbow of eyeshadow shades, check out the 68 shades of the NYX Eyeshadow Palette.
Cat Eyes
This look can be done big or with a less extreme line and a lighter shade, for a softer wedding day look. Start lining very thin at the inside corner of the lash line. Gradually get thicker as you line towards the outside and extend up, just a bit past the edge of the eye for the more subtle look. Or drag the liner further and draw it thicker for more drama — both are beautiful. Apply the same color eyeshadow right over the liner with a thin angled brush, this will set it in place and keep it from smudging.
A cat eye wouldn’t be complete without lot of lashes and if you were ever considering wearing false lashes, this is the day. I suggest you use strip lashes rather than individuals because they are much faster and easier to apply. You will probably need to trim down the length of the lash strip; they are usually too long and made to be cut to fit any size eye.
Apply a very small amount of glue to the edge of the lash strip and place the false lashes right on top of your own. Softly press the lash into place. The key to making false lashes look natural is to make sure the edge of the strip is as close to your lash line as possible, actually touching your own lashes. The false lashes should barely touch the skin - do not place it up on the lid.
Once the glue is dried, apply liner right down into the lash line. This will make the “little dots” on the strip disappear and make them appear even thicker. Finally, apply mascara to blend your lashes in with your new beautiful, long ones.
Try: Ardell Fashion Lashes #110. They are a beautiful but natural looking length and volume. For extra drama, I would go with the #118. Rae Cosmetics Lush Mascara. A Protein-rich silk powder formula builds strong flexible threads for long, lush lashes.
The most important thing to remember is that it is your wedding day and you want to feel pretty. Don’t rely too heavily on any trend. Pick colors that go well with your skin tone and styles that compliment your personality and lifestyle.
Whatever advice you get, you need to feel comfortable with the way you look. Don’t let anyone, including me, talk you into anything you do not want to do. If lipstick is not your favorite and you’re just a gloss girl, then gloss it is. You’re the boss — at least for this one day!
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Rochelle Rae is a professional makeup artist and CEO of Rae Cosmetics.