Wedding Make-up - HELP!!

[kersh33]

Hi All, I am hoping that you S&B mavens will be able to help this rather clueless bride to be.

I am getting married in early September in the South of France (where I live, not the dreaded destination wedding ;-) ) and all the wedding make up artists here are extremely expensive so I have decided to do my own make-up.

This is where I need your help - I really don't wear makeup day to day (if I'm meeting clients or going out I'll put on a bit of eyeliner, mascara and lipstick, I never wear foundation as I'm lucky enough to have reasonable skin). I've heard that you definitely should make more of an effort with make-up as a bride as wedding photos can be quite unforgiving and obviously I want to look nice in them!

Have any of you DIY-ed your wedding makeup ? Is there anything I should look out for in particular and if you think I should wear foundation, does anyone know one that won't slide off if it's hot?

Thanks for reading this rather long post and for any advice or pointers you can give to a complete novice. :-) I will be in the UK in July, so can pick up British make-up brands if needed, otherwise I have access to the major high street brands such as Maybelline, L'Oreal, Bourgeois etc... as well the big international brands such as MAC.

Can you book a make up lesson with a MUA, I know an excellent one in the North East that offers bridal makeup lessons for those brides that are having a destination wedding.
Also you want a foundation with low or no spf, because spf flash back is what causes the ghost/white face.

Thank you for your response @IggyAce, I'm afraid I won't be in North East but I guess it would be an option to find one near London, though I would rather avoid the cost of a MUA and then having to buy all the make-up on the day as well, but I may have to bite the bullet... The SPF tip is a good one, thank you!

Hopeful bump

A lot of MUA have video tutorials with product details and tips for bridal makeup. Try instagram/YouTube etc

Try shelbey Wilson or Ashburn on YouTube (she's married now and I cant remember which is her name 🤦🏻‍♀️) she does a really good wedding tutorial and her other basic tutorials are so easy to follow and natural :-)

Congratulations in advance on your wedding!

Could you book an appointment with a makeup concession stand in Boots/John Lewis/Selfridges? I know MAC charge £50 for a full makeup lesson but I think you can then put that towards the makeup you buy. They generally give you helpful tips and it'll be suited to your face rather than a generic YouTube tutorial.

m.maccosmetics.co.uk/makeup-services

Book yourself a pre bridal make up lesson at Bobbi Brown, concessions in John Lewis branches, Selfridges, elsewhere. They will really help, highly recommend. Small charge however but redeemable against purchases . Do book though, you need a proper hour long session. Good luck ! I’m sure you can book online.

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding! Im not married but I am a makeup artist so have done makeup at weddings. What is your skin type oily, dry, normal or combination? What type of look are you going for? And what's your budget? Let me know and I'll do my best to help :) x

Thank you all for your responses and your congratulations.
I had wondered about going to a make-up counter, but am always a bit worried I'll end up with a really full on face of make-up, which isn't really me - and I'd prefer the groom to recognise me under the make-up!
@Laceygabriella - I have combination skin and I guess I'm looking for a natural "English Rose" type look. I have dark hair with fair skin if that helps! I'm happy to spend up to £100 on make-up, though would rather not buy loads of things I'm unlikely to use again like highlighters etc...

Hi, I did my own. My day to day makeup is about the same as yours plus bb cream, so that plus a tiny dab of concealer is all I wore for my wedding. I look great in the photos - I reckon if your wedding photos are unforgiving you might just have the wrong photographer not the wrong face!

Here a make up artist for a wedding for a day will cost about £50/60 and then a trial is usually a bit cheaper and to be honest it's money well spent. I think if you are willing to spend £100 on make up and then the added costs of learning how etc then you might as well just pay for the make up artist for the day especially if there is a possibility that you might not use the left over makeup.

@kersh33 great. Does the foundation you use normally work well for you? If so you could always use that to save you having to buy extra ! Honestly I don't use massively expensive makeup on my clients or myself. If you have combo skin try maybeline fit me foundation. It's matte but it doesn't look dry. Good coverage without it being cakey. It's about £6. Use a sponge to blend it in. They have a really good sponge in home bargains it's £1.29 and exactly the same as the real techniques one! (Just gives a more natural finish). I'd definitely recommend adding some highlighter for your wedding day and if it's something you don't normally use then buy a cheaper one (makeup revolution do some great ones and you can get that at Superdrug). I'd recommend buying a product that has more than one use too. For example I often just use a bronzer/bronzer palette for the eyes and add a pop of shimmer using my highlighter. (I love the Nyx bronzer/contour palette but makeup revolution do a much cheaper one that's just as good). That way you aren't paying extra for an eyeshadow palette too. Most important thing is to set your face. If you only get oily in the t-zone just take a pressed / loose powder(I love Rommel stay matte pressed powder), whichever works best for you (something with a little colour as you don't want a white cast) put some on your wet beauty sponge and really push it into your skin. It won't look dry and you won't have excess powder on your face.

Hope this helps xx

I did what others have suggested, booked a makeover with MAC and they showed me what to do so I could do my own. Cost of session was offset by purchases. They will give you the look you ask for so if minimal for hot weather they won’t give you a full face of tango!

Bobbi Brown specialise in a natural look.

I prefer Bobbie Brown to Mac.

For my wedding I got a trial with a MUA (personal recommendation and works for magazines etc) but I have to say she didn't make me look like a super model and took ages.

So I just did my own make-up, didn't buy any primers or fixers as I wasn't really aware of them, but I would now.

I just stick some 'natural' false eyelashes on and did my make up. I then let it sit for 30 mins and re-did another layer (I think I must have read online that helps it 'stick' all day.

I looked bloody amazing in the photographs (did have an expensive photographer) you can't really see my makeup, but it's there.

I think one of the biggest regrets of my divorce is that I can't have any photos of my wedding day out...it's the best I've ever looked in photos there's always next time!

I did my own. I had a trial in a department store and the 'natural' look I got made me look like a parrot! I went to Boots and bought some nice make up, practiced a few times before the big day and I look lovely and fresh and dewy in my photos. I was only 22 mind you!

I didn’t, but a friend did - she booked a Bobbi Brown tutorial and bought the products they used on her and copied the look. Looked amazing.

Have a look at Hannah Martin on you tube and Instagram. She used to be part of the pro team for Bobbi Brown, but is freelance now. She does lovely looking natural makeup. She had also the makeup for royal weddings.

I got the bridal make over from a posh counter before the wedding, bought the foundation and lipstick and then got cheaper makeup from other places like boots but they discussed what look I was going for and on the day I felt confident to do my own make up as I wanted to look like my self, natural but slightly nicer and it was all fine and much cheaper and I used the make up for the honeymoon

I second Bobbi brown! Their signature bridal look is very natural and not at all heavy. They are also not st all pushy on buying products

Thank you all so much for your replies! OK - so Bobbi Brown looks like a strong bet to go and have a tutorial with them. I'll need to look up where the counters are and see if I can find a time that would work to have an appointment when I am in the UK.

@Laceygabriella - thank you very much for your recommendations and for taking the time to go into detail on the products, that's super useful!

I am definitely feeling a little bit more reassured about it all. It sounds like it can definitely be done, even by novices like me!

@EgremontRusset I love your comment - my photographer is great, but I still would rather have belts and braces and give him as much as possible to work with!

@Apolloanddaphne I wish I was still 22!!

@kersh33 so do I! I have been married 34 years now and am no longer fresh and dewy of skin.

I used Clarins Beauty Flash Balm and something else that was more like a primer but it was a bit shimmery. I think it was from Elizabeth Arden. I don't wear foundation. There are products out there now specifically for photos although they aren't foundations. My wedding was long enough ago that selfies/Facebook/Instagram weren't a thing, so there has been an explosion of products since then.