Wedding Ideas

10 Wedding-Day Makeup Tips

Posted on March 31, 2016 by New Jersey Bride

New Jersey Bride Amanda and Matt Real Wedding
Amanda’s wedding to Matt at The Castle at Skylands.                                                                   Photography by Ting Yi Photography.

 

Here, Alexis Wolfer in her new book Radiant Bride (2016: Running Press; $22) fills us in on great wedding-day makeup tips:

1.PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Like with most things, practice goes a long way with your makeup, especially if you’re doing it yourself. Not only will it help you to perfect your skills, it will also help you to gauge how you need to tweak your everyday makeup for your wedding so that it wears and photographs best. For the best results, wear a shirt in the same color as your dress when you’re practicing (so it will help you to see more clearly how you’ll look when donning your gown) and ask a friend to take some pictures of you in various lighting conditions to see how your look will photograph.

2. TEST YOUR EYE MAKEUP UNDER VARIOUS CONDITIONS. You don’t need to wear your full bridal face makeup around town or to the office, but you should wear your desired eye makeup a few times to test and ensure it doesn’t flake or run throughout the day.

3. CONSIDER THE CLIMATE. If you’re getting married in a hot climate, use mattifying and/or oil- free products to help diminish unwanted sheen.

4. USE A PRIMER. On your face and your eyes, a primer will help to ensure your makeup stays in place all day long.

5. DO YOUR EYES FIRST. If your eye shadow falls onto your cheeks (which it will!), you won’t have to redo your face makeup.

6. PUT ON FOUNDATION BEFORE CONCEALER. Foundation will often take the bulk of redness out of a blemish or the majority of blue out from under your eyes, limiting the need for concealer and keeping your makeup from looking cakey.

7. USE DIFFERENT CONCEALERS. The best concealer to cover blemishes or other facial redness will have a green undertone while one that covers blues will have yellow undertones. Make sure you have one for each.

8. MIND YOUR BROWS. They frame your face, especially in pictures, so don’t forget to use brow gel and to fill them in, as needed.

9. CONSIDER FALSE LASHES. They may look silly in their packaging, but they photograph beautifully. Just make sure to test them out plenty of times beforehand to ensure your eyes aren’t sensitive to the glue or weight of the lashes. You should also experiment with various styles to find the most flattering ones for you.

10. KEEP IT SIMPLE. I know I’ve said this already, but don’t go overboard. Sure, a smoky eye looks pretty in magazines, but if you’ve never worn it before, you may feel uncomfortable on the big day and you may not like your pictures in the future. The best wedding makeup leaves you looking like you at your prettiest, not like someone else.

ALEXIS WOLFER is the founder and editor-in-chief of the popular online women’s magazine TheBeautyBean.com as well as a beauty, fashion, and lifestyle expert. Alexis’s unique and effective beauty secrets led Access Hollywood to dub her the “Female Beauty MacGyver” and People Stylewatch to call her “The DIY Beauty Queen.” She is also a certified holistic health coach and the author of The Recipe For Radiance: Discover Beauty’s Best-Kept Secrets In Your Kitchen. She currently lives in Los Angeles.