Wedding Makeup:
Setting The Tone For Your Bridal Vibe
Article By | Lizzie West
It’s easy to assume that wedding makeup follows simple guidelines – natural or full glam. Sorry friends – it’s not that simple. Every wedding is as different as the couple getting married, from the venue, to the palette, and of course that extends to the bridal vibe. From head to toe, you want to be your best self, and that likely different from person to person.
Trust the professionals you’ve hired to know how to make your vision work. What looks good in real life doesn’t always translate well in photos. Hopefully, the information you find here can help you communicate with your beauty team to create the bridal vibe that best suits you!
Your Overall Vibe
Are you more of a natural or “clean girl” makeup person? Or do you prefer a high coverage, ultra-glam feel? This is a great place to start when determining your sense of style for the big day, and it will help connect the dots for your beauty team of to create a seamless bridal look from head to toe. Be sure to speak with all the professionals you are working with and don’t be afraid to show inspirational pictures when you can’t find the words. Here, we will focus on translating the makeup look you are dreaming of to your artist step-by-step.
Is It A Glow Up?
As they say, it’s all about that base! Do you want a glass-skin vibe, a matte velvety finish to your skin, or a “my skin but better” natural look with soft highlighting? Recently, full-coverage matte velvety skin is making a comeback with the return of 90’s styles. Another option is asking for a matte finish to your skin with specific areas of highlight. This is a great way to minimize the appearance of skin texture in photos but maintain that bridal glow. If you’re planning an outdoor soirée, consider a “natural” look, not too matte or luminous. This tends to work better with any kind of weather or humidity you might face. Less layers of makeup means less likelihood of it wearing off in some odd way or looking cakey in photos. Makeup with a prominent glowy appearance tends to work well with lighter color palettes and brighter more open spaces to create a sweet, ethereal atmosphere. Matte/velvet looks go very well with a moody, romantic ambiance and deeper hues or jewel tones.
A Blushing Bride or Not?
Yes, always blushing! Take a lot of pictures with different levels of blush to find the right concentration. Side Note: If you prefer a more bright and airy style of photography, you may need a bit more blush than you typically wear to translate in these lower contrast photos.
The shade of blush is so important. Neutral, soft rose, or peach blush tones tend to work better for occasions like this because they blend well with natural skin tones, rather than an intense pink or coppery blush.
If you’re planning on getting tan for the big day, test it out with makeup trials at your desired level of tan-ness. This is the best way to be sure you won’t have any issues on the day with your makeup not looking how you envision.
Also, it’s a great idea to coordinate your highlighter tone with your jewelry. The undertones of your own skin play a big role in determining if you need a warm or cool palette of makeup and jewelry. Gold jewelry works best with warm undertones to bring the look together, and silver pairs best cool undertones. You can use neutral hues that don’t skew too yellow or pink/blue to play it safe. Yellow/olive undertones are defined as “warm”, and Pink/Blue are determined to be “cool”. Pro tip: traditional pearls are stunning on everyone and considered neutral! If you aren’t sure, ask your makeup team to define your undertone. Here’s an easy way to find your skin’s undertone from https://www.maybelline.com/:
White Cloth Test: Put a white cloth next to your bare face and observe what cast your skin takes on. Skin with warm undertones will appear yellowish or olive, while skin with cool undertones will seem blueish or pinkish.
Side note: Any contour you plan to use should also coordinate with warmth of your skin.
The Eyes Are The Window To The Soul!
So many choices – Classic, Natural, or Glam are a good place to start. Determine early on if you want false lashes, because that can affect your other cosmetics choices. No extra lashes, an accent lash, individual lashes, wispy, and fluffy lashes are all solid choices. Next, do you want smokey, shimmery, or both? A smooth and neutral blended matte shadow look with a small winged liner is a super classic look. A light and shimmery lid with a gently contoured crease plays into the natural, sheer look that many brides love. If you’re into the “go big or go home” vibe, a smokey eye is the way to go for you. Big lashes, cut crease, and a metallic lid color will be your dream come true. As always, your undertones should all coordinate.
“You May Kiss Your Bride”
Lips are one of the most crucial elements to cultivating your wedding makeup look. Most people opt for a long wearing lip color to limit transfer. This is smart, but typically means you’ll be wearing a matte lip. There are some newer lip products on the market that offer some sheen or glossiness with minimal transfer, but you will need to reapply and you’ll be sharing your lip color with your spouse at least a little bit. For my classic gals, a red lip is a must, but definitely trust your artist to create a crisp red lip with the correct undertone to complete the vibe. Wanna stand out in the crowd of brides during wedding season? Pick a unique lip color, like a fuschia or tangerine matte lip that coordinates with your wedding palette if you have a funky vibe! Or a very neutral lip to offset a vibrant or bold eye look. Choosing a more glam or vibrant makeup, could require touch-ups. Discuss any additional fees your makeup artists charges to work through the all-important formal pictures.
Lastly, this is YOUR day with your perfect partner. You can mix and match any style you want to make your vibe feel unique. We’d love to see your wedding day makeup looks! Share them with us! Tag us @brazosvalleybride on Instagram along with your makeup artist, so we can see your stunning wedding day looks!
Lizzie is a local B/CS make-up artist, baker, and Mary Kay Consultant. She is also the Digital Content Coordinator for Bryan Broadcasting! Find more of her articles and recipes in prior magazine issues at BrazosLife.com.