Wedding Beauty

Here we go with part 3 of the wedding series ... the all important wedding beauty.

In the run up to your wedding I would suggest a bit of pampering. Not only does this help relieve any stress or tension from planning it will also rejuvinate your skin. If you don't want to go to a salon for a facial it's easy to do a d.i.y one at home. Essentially it is just a deep cleanse, tone and moisturise whilst massaging the face to help hydrate, exfoliate and moisturise. This helps prepare your skin for the day and if done regularly you will start to notice a natural luminous glow to your skin.

Whether or not you use a professional make up artist be sure to practise your make up application before the day. I have been to so many weddings where the make up has let the Bride and Bridesmaids down. One in particular had the bride looking like Brian May in drag!! Poor girl. Also, orange tide lines are something I see often. It seems that some MUA's believe that they need to pack inches of foundation on your skin so that it lasts all day and 'shows up' in photos!!

For anyone doing their own make up or wanting to make sure their MUA is giving the correct advice, check out some of these tips;

- Choose a foundation with a yellow undertone as this works well with flash photography
- Avoid any products that are too shimmery or have light reflective properties again this will not work well with flash photography
- Double blush. Without looking like Aunt Sally, apply more blush than you would normally - wears off fast on the day.
- Avoid YSL Touche eclat
- Line your lips to help lipstick stay put for longer. Remember to blend it well so to avoid the Pammie look
- Wear an eyeshadow primer to avoid your eyeshadow creasing and will also help it last longer
- Warm the skin with a light dusting of bronzer. This will also avoid a washed out look on camera
- If you want luscious lashes, why not get your own permed or have semi-permanent extensions added. Alternatively, wear false lashes or false single lashes. It can really make the difference.

If you do not want to go down the natural 'bridal' look and opt for something a little more dramatic, try to keep it as simple and clean as possible. For example, simple make up with red lips or alternatively nude lips with a smokey eye. Or you can even stick to a natural look but add some drama with bright red nails. Whatever happens, you want your make up to be beautiful but you don't want it to take over your gown, hair or accessories. Everything should compliment each other in a very organic style.

Take inspiration from pictures you see online or in magazines. Tear them out and keep them in a file so you can look back to them for reference or so you can show your MUA. If you are using a MUA, be sure that they do a trial a few months before the Big Day and also let them see swatches of your dress and colour scheme. This will help them determine the right colours to use to compliment your day. When you have your trial make sure you get someone to take photos of you so you can judge how you should look using flash photography.

celebrity make up inspiration by saskiathesalsafairy on Polyvore.com

I did my own make up for my Wedding. I had up to 6 make up trials and was not happy with any of them. I also had various consultations at beauty counters - some good some bad. In the end I chose a mixture of Bobbi Brown and Mac products and was very pleased with the result. Bobbi Brown can sometimes seem a bit of a safe option but I highly recommend their foundation stick, creamy concealer and blusher. I used Mac eyeshadows to give myself a soft smokey eye. Of course any look of mine would not be complete without my Nars Laguna and I wore lipliner blended into my lip with a Lancome juicy tube (this was before i wore lipstick!!).

Most of you will know Pixiwoo from You Tube. Admittedly, they are my favourite guru's and at the moment they are doing a series of wedding turorials. If anyone is best to tell you about the do's and dont's of wedding make up, it is Sam and Nicola so I seriously advise you to go and have a look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvwRO8xY2-c

xx