Help. .....my wedding is next week and my make up looks flat in photos

[byanymeans]

My wedding is a week away
Im really not a big makeup wearer and our budget is less then tiny but I have put together the basic makeup bag including a new no7 fondation, pinky blusher, lip tint, eyebrow colour stuff and eye shadow primer plus eye make up. In the shop the lady said I didnt need any thing else other then lip tint and it looks good, I have tested it a few times and was happy until I took a photo of myself.

I dont know what I can do to stop myself looking so flat, puffy and pink in photos. Plus i seem to rings below your eyes.....Help......
I have some consealers but I dont know how to us it really or if its what I should use.

What can I do any ideas anyone?
Does anyone have any cheap ways to get my makeup photo ready?

Try Aldi's light-reflecting concealer for under-eyes (look on YouTube for tutorials on how to apply it). You will need a yellow-based foundation to counteract the pinkiness, and use a slightly darker powder underneath your cheekbones to sculpt your face if you are worried about puffiness. This is not a substitute for blusher.

The YouTube tip is good actually- have a good old search of make-up tutorials, and I bet you'll find answers to all the issues you mention.

How tiny is the budget? it's about £25 to have make-up done professionally. They use the really good stuff so it stays put during the day and really, you get what you pay for with make-up (although as BOF says Aldi do some really good stuff).

I had mine done for my wedding and still get it done occasionally for big nights out (friends know this so tend to buy me vouchers for birthdays).

It really does make a huge difference, I've watched some amazing transformations while waiting to get my own done.

RE colouring: your foundation may be too pink for the look you want, even if it's a good match for your skin. Lisa Eldridge recommends using a slightly yellow-based foundation rather than a pink-based foundation if you want to tone down ruddiness in your skin. It might be worth going back to the No7 counter and getting them to try a foundation of the same colour value (i.e. dark/lightness) but with a different undertone (i.e. neutral/warm instead of cool) to see if it helps - they will most likely exchange if you feel that you were mis-matched by them last time.

RE "flatness": you may want to try a lip stain underneath your lip tint. I think a slightly purply-pink would suit you, and give a bit of "depth" to your look. A subtle smokey eye will also help - watch this, and maybe get a couple of (cheap) Sleek eyeshadows in pale silver/grey for a more toned-down version of the look. You'll also want an eyeliner (Avon Supershock pencils are great and v cheap on ebay), mascara and eyelash curler. Finally, are you sure that you're applying your blusher correctly? (If not, try this tutorial.)

Good luck, hope the above helps!

Do you have a big store like a John Lewis or house of Fraser or big Boots you could go to in the morning? You could go in the pretence of trying out some bits for your wedding and get them to do a whole face for you but not buy the stuff? Bobbi Brown counters also do very cheap wedding tutorials with their make up. One of the things with wedding make up is it needs to be much heavier than you would wear it for day to day use, for the photos. Tis feels very odd when you trial it in jeans with hair not done but once you're in your finery it doesn't look overdone.

How are your eyebrows? a good tint and wax makes a massive difference to the appearance of your face. I could sit here and tell you all about Mac foundation in N1 for pinky toned skin and primers and YSL touché éclat but you'd spend less on the one off professional do than you would for one of those products. I won't recommend rubbish to you because it's a false economy. I really do think your best bet this close to the day is to do what SoYo suggested or book into a local salon that does make-up; which would be done with the kind of products I just mentioned. The reasons your photos look flat is because 1) you're new to make-up so understandably reluctant to really experiment with it 2) the camera won't pick up on subtle make-up which is why wedding make-up is quite heavy which I assume is something you're not yet at the stage of experimenting with, especially not for your wedding.

Sister (not really into cosmetics) had fab 'natural' make-up on day of her wedding at local Laura Mercier counter (by trained make-up artist). £25 but redeemable against products. She looked like herself but better and it lasted all day.

Calvin Klein once said that the natural look is always best but you need make-up to look natural. I realise I've given the impression of huge, in yer face make-up but it really is natural when on and you can choose to have stunning eyes or concentrate on your lips depending on which is your favourite feature to emphasise. If you go with eye popping eye make up then don't go for major lip colour. Tis the rule

Unless you're me when you go for the whole smokey eyes and bright red lippy but the only way to carry that off with with complete 100% confidence.

Ditto mrs cocoa-check the counters & plump for Laura mercer, mac or mars.

You really do need a lot heavier make up than you usually would for photos. Try it at home or ask friend to help & take photos til you see. My sil is a beautician & she did a trial for me-I thought I looked like Katie price but took a few photos & looked back & checked with trusted friends who said it looked good.

Good luck & congrats!

Professional photos will look different to e what you get with your own camera too.

Don't forget waterproof mascara, focussing on the top lashes only. Anything underneath - mascara, liner - will draw attention to under eye area.
Good luck and don't be hypercritical of your 'look' - big smile, mascara and lips rain should do it! I love the Revlon chubby stick lip tint/balms.

Also choose colors that look "fruity" - berries - rather than browns, purples or nudes which do look a bit corpse-like.

Also lighting makes a huge difference - sunshine and restaurant lighting will be far more flattering than selfies which rarely look right.

I have just spent an hour watching Lisa Eldridge tutorials thanks to the above link.
Really easy to follow advice and she using many high st brands.

If your makeup looks flat my biggest advice is to get a highlighter to sweep over your cheekbones.

Soap and Glory do a lovely one called Glow All Out.

Or Sleek in Superdrug do a fantastic contour, blush and highlighter palette that would give your face dimension and create lovely cheekbones and a glow.

Carry on with youtube tutorials. I also love the Pixiwoo makeup artists. wedding tutorial

Oh, and be careful with foundation/bases: think you need to avoid anything with an SPF as the titanium dioxide content appears white in flash photography.