Beauty Tips for The Big Day

You have worked for months--possibly years--preparing for your wedding.
The big day has finally arrived! Your gown is pressed, hair done up, and your bouquet ready... With everything falling into place, don't fret over your face! Use these tips to help your natural beauty to shine through and put your best face forward!

Plan Ahead

It is important to keep in mind that regardless of the product, shade, or application technique, makeup is only as good as the skin it covers.

Spend time pampering your face in the months leading up the wedding, but avoid beauty products that irritate, redden, or dry out your skin. Do not have a facial, peel or any other dermatologist treatment that can cause irritation within two weeks of your wedding date. If you feel you must include a spa treatment for your bridal party, then treat your bridesmaids to a deep tissue massage, manicure and/or pedicure.

Anticipate your skin's needs based on your history and weather. Is the event in a location where it will be more humid or arid than your skin is used to? Choose products accordingly.

Outdoor vs. Indoor Makeup

Anticipate being photographed and take into account the lighting. Outdoor wedding photographs demand different makeup than indoor photos under controlled lighting.

Tips for Outdoor Ceremonies: Schedule photos for the late afternoon, near sunset. Photos taken when the sun is directly overhead are unflattering and cast shadows on your face.

Less makeup is preferred. Use a sheer, satin-matte foundation, with a light dusting of pressed powder, adding color with a powder blush. Accent your eyes with soft colors with a matte finish. For your lips, chose a color you like, but keep in mind that outdoor makeup looks best with creamy lipsticks and that opaque lips against sheer makeup may look too contrasting.

Tips for Indoor Ceremonies:

A camera's flash emphasizes pink skin tones, so use a neutral-or yellow-toned foundation as a camouflage. Avoid foundations and powders containing titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. These minerals have an opaque, reflective quality that makes facial skin look lighter than the neck in photos. Trace amounts of the minerals are fine, but don't use makeup where it is an active ingredient.

Be sure your foundation matches your skin color exactly and there is no line of demarcation at the jaw, hairline, or temples.

Liquid foundations with a soft matte finish work best because they let your natural skin tone show through. Cream-to-powder and stick foundations offer heavier coverage that can look mask-like unless carefully blended. Do not mix liquid shimmer products with your foundation to make your skin look more radiant. In photographs, the shimmer makes skin look slick and greasy, especially after wearing it for a few hours.

Pressed powder is portable and easy to use. Look for one that matches your skin tone and has a silky texture and skin-like finish. Today's modern powder formulas leave skin looking polished, not powdered or ultra-matte. Apply powder with a professional brush, not a puff or sponge. If you have normal to dry skin, powder only your forehead, nose, and chin, leaving your cheeks with the soft matte finish your foundation provides.

Look Your Best!

Blush:

Powder formulas photograph best and will look fresh all day. If you have fair to medium skin, chose a shade in the rose or pink family. If your skin tone is medium to tan opt for rosy-plum shades. Make sure your blush is in the same tonal family as your lipstick (for example, pair a pink blush with a pink, berry, or rose-toned lipstick). Remember that wedding makeup is formal and requires more color than you may normally wear. Do not under apply your blush.

Eye Shadow:

The color of your makeup design stems from the blush and lipstick you choose, not from your eye shadow. Keep eye shadow tones muted and matte so that they emphasize your natural eye color. Colors that have a brown, tan, taupe, or neutral base are excellent choices, such as shell pink and bronze or more neutrals such as cream, caramel, and coffee. If you want shimmer, use the sheerest product possible and apply sparingly to highlight your brow bone and the inner corners of your eyes. Take photos before hand to ensure you like that look in photos before your big day.

Eye Liner & Mascara:

Avoid looking harsh by choosing an eyeliner that is gray or dark instead of black, and choose brown mascara if you have blonde hair (dyed or not). All other hair colors should stick with black mascara. Prepare in advance for the emotions of the day, and always wear waterproof mascara!

Eye Brows:

Do not attempt any new tweezing techniques on yourself. Do, however, see a professional brow groomer who can show you how to make the most of sparse or thin eyebrows and frame your eyes as attractively as possible. During the wedding, use a matte powder eye shadow, brow powder, or tinted brow gel rather than a brow pencil to shape and define.

On the Big Day

For touch-ups after the ceremony or before the reception, carry a small purse with your lipstick, lip liner, a pressed powder and small powder brush. Also bring a clean makeup sponge to smooth any smears or lipstick marks you might incur from all the congratulations!