Wedding make-up - please help...

[TapDancingPimp]

Hi everyone,

I'm getting married in 6 weeks, had my make-up trial on Saturday and was disappointed to say the least. Trouble is I suffer from acne, both active spots and previous scarring. Nothing drastic but you can see when I have spots, if you know what I mean (I'm 29).

Anyway I'd explained to the make-up artist beforehand of my situation and that I was looking for someone who could make me look as flawless as humanly possible! 'Ok' she said (via e-mail). So Saturday came and she explained to me very clearly "I like skin to look like skin..." eh, ok, fair enough... Basically she did me up pretty au naturel and you could see my scarring, dark circles etc etc. I felt like shit.

Anyway, I'm now considering just doing my own make-up. I know my own face and I'm not bad at making my skin look pretty decent, I just thought as it's my wedding day I would like to have someone else do it, (I thought an industry porofessional would do a much better job than me). Also having the opportunity to sit back and relx etc.

Maybe I'm expecting too much??

Can anyone recommend flawless-esque make-up? I currently use Double Wear topped-up with some Max Factor creme puff (don't laugh, it's amazing!). I'm terrified of ballsing up my own make-up on the day.

Any advice welcome.

Sadly there are rather a lot of rubbish Make up artists that give the rest of us a bad name! I've read so many threads on here saying "Don't get a Make up Artist" they'll make you look awful/like a drag queen/not like yourself etc. But that's not true of all of them.

I don't mean this to sound patronising, but I would have a really good look at portfolios on their websites before choosing someone to do your make up. Do a Google search using various terms - Bridal Make Up, Wedding Make Up etc and just look through and see if the pictures on the artists' websites reflect anything near to how you would like to look on the day. A good MUA should be able to tailor the make up to the individual rather than decide what they want to do themselves. It needs to be a compromise.

If you do your own, I would agree that going for blanket coverage all over is not necessarily the way to go with acne though as it can look a bit heavy and mask like. Try to go as light as you can with the base and invest in a really good coverage cream concealer and concealer brush and go into somewhere like MAC, Space NK etc and ask them to show you how to apply and blend concealer properly. It's also best to get a different concealer for under eyes as they are doing two different jobs. Cream or very opaque liquid concealer for spots and lighter one for under eyes. Spots, I'd go for something like MAC Studio Cover or Laura Mercier and for dark circles, Dermalogica's Total Eye Care cream and Nars' new concealer (set with a loose powder).

Good luck!

I went to clinique ahead of time and got a girl to do my makeup. I bought the undereye concealer and redness
solutions foundation and loose powder (I have rosacea so I feel your pain. I just wanted to not be bright pink on my day!). I did my own makeup on the day using my new products and a couple of tips I picked up. The trial makeup was so heavy that I could feel it on my face which was so uncomfortable. When I did my own I could use exactly how much I felt was enough.
My wedding pictures only show someone with a rosy glow and not a blossoming tomato!
Congratulations on your big day and good luck, I'm sure you'll be beautiful!

Whatever you do, don't use the ELDW foundation for your wedding pics (or any other foundation with SPF) - it reflects the camera flash too much and makes you look white!

Skin: I'd try Bourjois Healthy Mix foundation applied with a really good brush - Real Techniques Expert Face Brush is ace for getting an "airbrushed" look. Use a pan concealer applied with fingers for blemishes and pat some very thinly onto your dark circles (I like Boi-ing by Benefit, but it only comes in 3 colours), then brighten the under-eye area with liquid highlighter. Really focus on minimising the amount of make-up you use - build it up where there are blemishes, and blend out so that it's very thinly applied to the clearer skin. Lisa Eldridge has a great video tutorial on this technique here. For blush I'd go to a MAC counter - they'll find something flattering for far less money than most counters.

Eyes: I'd recommend Max Factor Masterpiece liquid eyeshadows - they last a very long time without smudging and are nice and subtle. The creamy gold and coffee brown go beautifully together if you have a warm complexion, and so do the silvery/lilac/green shades if you have a cool complexion. You'll want some brushes to blend them with - Ecotools does a set of about 5 good ones for under £6. For mascara, No7 Lash Adapt is v good - doesn't clump or run, but adds lots of volume and length. If you want to use eyeliner, L'oreal Superliner is great - it has a very thin, spongey nib that's basically foolproof, doesn't run, and comes in a very dark black or a softer charcoal colour.

Lips: Depends on what look you're going for, but I'd recommend one of the Revlon Lip Butters as it won't transfer onto your DH or wear off unevenly. Raspberry Pie, Candy Apple, Red Velvet, Peach Parfait, and Macaroon are all lovely shades but there are many other nice ones!

Whatever you do, get your eyebrows done a couple of days before the wedding, ALWAYS make sure that you've removed all of the make-up after practicing, and avoid touching your face between now and the big day :).

Good luck, whatever you decide - I hope you have a wonderful day :).

Try bare minerals-go and get 'done' at a counter.

Fantastic tips, thanks so much