by Georgina.S

Created on: September 27, 2010

A word of advice, one really should be confident of their make up skills before making the decision to do their own make up for the wedding. After all, if there is any day you want to glow and look your absolute best, this is the day. If you have that confidence, read on!

Before diving into what to do on the actual day, the bride to be will first have to establish the look she hopes to achieve that day. Are you the classic bride, the fashion forward bride or are you after the vintage look to complement your vintage lace dress? There is no standard look for a bride. You need to establish what make up will best complement yourself, your dress or the theme of the wedding.  

Having established the look, it is now time to do your research on the look. Flip through all the bridal magazines you have accumulated and find pictures of the look you are after. Study the colors used and find the best matches within your own make up collection and once you have your tools ready, do a trial session on your own using the same products you will use on the day itself.

After you are done, take a picture of yourself in an environment that will best resemble the day of your wedding. For example, if you are having a garden wedding, take a picture of yourself in the outdoor environment. Now study yourself carefully in the picture. How is the overall effect? Does your foundation match the skin color of your neck? Does your lipstick look too garish or  do you look washed out? This is the single one most important step as it allows you to have a good idea of you will look and how your pictures will turn out on that day and it will allow you to make rectifications to your make up if you need to. 

It will also be a good idea to start doing the make up at the same time you would on the actual day itself and to leave it on for the same number of hours you expect to have it on, on your wedding day. This should give you an indication of the lasting power of your make up. Weddings are long affairs and you do not want the make up on your neck before the day is over. 

Once your are happy with the results, start tweaking your make up tools a little. If you are not already using a primer and long lasting foundation, it is time to get one. Most primers will give your skin the extra boost and give your make up the extra milleage. Also Check that your eyeliners and mascara are water proof. Tears of joy are something spilled on wedding days, but only tears should be running and not your eye make up. A tip to further open up your peepers and prevent smudging of eyeliners is to use fake eyelashes on that day itself. The use of falsies takes away the use of mascara (which even the best will smudge after hours of dancing) and prevents the eyeliner from running. If you do not have experience using falsies, now is the time to practise, practise and practise!

On the magical day itself, do make sure you give yourself plenty of time to do your make up and redo if the need arises. Nerves does strange things to the most calm of people and I will not be surprised if you make a boo boo at your first attempt. Just replicate what you have done on your trial sessions and remember that this is NOT the day to experiment. Q tips are handy tools on this day. Use them generously when you make a mistake and keep some with you to clean away smudged liners at the later part of the day. Also bear in mind to keep a pack of blotter, your lipstick, your compact powder and a bottle of Evian spray with you. These are all tools to help your make up looking fresh on the day itself. Enjoy!

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