As we all know, it’s important to have a professional to do your makeup on your special day, or at least someone with a keen eye for detail, who understands everyone’s face shapes, colours, tones, skin type and preferences. However it is always a good idea to be clued up on what’s being applied to your skin and why.
So, lets’ start from the beginning and work our way up!
Primers
The overall goal of a primer is to make your skin look smoother and reduce how your pores look to the naked eye. It acts as a base to help keep your makeup on for longer and is especially good for oily skin as it can acts as a barrier between your skin and foundation.
Concealers
There are so many ways to get concealers wrong. Should you put it on before foundation, after foundation, do you even need it, which consistency should I use? It’s all very confusing. Your makeup artist will know the best ones for your skin but here are a few of my tips:
Green Concealer: If you have redness in your skin, a green concealer will counteract this. This must go on before foundation (unless you are planning to hulk out at your wedding?).
Yellow Concealer: This one is the most popular concealer to use. It is for concealing our dreaded dark circles under our eyes. Everyone has them, some more than others, but we all have them or had them at some point in life. This concealer in my opinion is best used after foundation as you may have already covered what needed to be concealed during the foundation application. For skin that has a pink undertone, yellows will look a little orange, opt for a pink toned concealer instead.
Purple/Lavender Concealer: Lavender concealers are great for covering any unwanted yellow patches on your skin. This is also best used before a concealer. If you have overly yellow skin, opt for a purple based primer as it is a little lighter in consistency than a concealer.
Foundations
A makeup artist really is key here. They will be able to pick the perfect foundation for you that looks great in photographs and up close too. The main aim of a foundation is to even out your skin tone and make it look flawless. It is not to mask beautiful freckles or to create an entirely different face, it accentuates your natural beauty and gives a good canvas for blushers and bronzers. Once your artist has applied the foundation, take a mirror and head towards natural light. The foundation should match your neck perfectly!
Blush/Bronze
Blushers and bronzers can add great definition. Pop a bit of blusher on to the apples of your cheeks to give a healthy summer look. Add bronzer to your cheekbones (suck your cheeks in to find this) to give definition to your face. Bronzer can also be dusted lightly all over to give a sun kissed glow. Don’t get too carried away with it though!
Highlighters
These can come either as a powder or a liquid. You can put a drop or two of highlighter in to your foundation to give a healthy glow (not too much as you may end up looking like the tin man). It can also be applied to the brow bone and the tops of your cheek bones. This looks great in photographs.
Mascara
Waterproof, waterproof, waterproof. Please make sure it is waterproof! You may cry at your wedding, you may not, but don’t take the risk of having mascara running down your face and on to your beautiful dress!!
Lips
Try to opt for a lasting lipstick or stain. Of course throughout the day the colour will fade and come off as you talk, eat and take your first kiss as a married woman, but make sure it has a little staying power, or that your partner likes it enough to be wearing it too!
In the end, it is your day, choose the colours you want, the style you want and the theme you want. Make sure to tell your makeup artist exactly what you want and what you aren’t sure about. They’ll be happy to give you advice and help in any way they can.