ok so i've had my wedding makeup consultation and...

[totalmisfit]

I'm not sure i like what the makeup artist did. She put bronzer on me without asking. She emphasised the roundness of my eyes, rather than extending the liner beyond the outside corner (a basic trick one would think). the makeup felt dry, esp my lips which are one of my least awful features but she made them disappear.

I spoke to her about it afterwards and basically said 'we'll sort it out on the day'. The day is next saturday and i'm panicking now that she won't know what i'm on about and ill end up looking a state. It's a v small wedding, quite last minute and having my hair and makeup done is the only thing i've actually spent money on cos i'm completely unphotogenic.

I'm 27 and i'd like to look either my age or younger but i have pretty terrible, acne scarred skin, so understandably she had to put the concealer and foundation on with a trowel. That's fine, but surely in this day and age there's a way to apply lots of makeup and still look natural? I basically want to go for an english rose type look and she made me look like a trampy old whore (which i'm really not, honest!) I live in the middle of nowhere and there's no-one else around here who can do it, esp at such short notice. i'm crap at makeup myself. How do i get her to help me create the look that i want? I'm worried that if i say rosy cheeks and lips i'll end up looking like worzel gummidge's aunt whatever-her- name -was.

get her to do it again!

you aren;t happy and it isn't good enough to sort it out on the day

TBH, i have acne scarred skin and i never slap make up on - it makes it look worse. Concealer doesn't hide scars either

What you need is a very good base - so good cleanse, tone and moisturiser and this makes the skin look fresher

I hated what my make up lady did to me for my wedding and cleaned it off about half and hour before I got married! Went down the (register office) aisle in my usual lipgloss, foundation, mascara and a wee bit of eyeshadow. I looked like me, felt comfortable and don't look washed out in the photos.

If you don't like go elsewhere or do your own. If you're unhappy with your make up and self conscious, then you won't look nice in photos anyway.

I had awful acne when I was your age and also lived out in the sticks. In the run up to my wedding I went into my nearest city (still a fair hike) and invested in an appointment at Clarins and all the recommended products, got some acne antibiotics from GP and made an effort to drink loads of water. My skin cleared up quiet nicely and I got away with a normal amount of foundation.

Good luck, but don't be uncomfortable or self conscious on your wedding day.

Yes definitely get someone to take a photo (if you still have the slap on) - it will look much more subtle on camera.

If you're still not happy, then make her come back and try again until you're happy.

bikerunski - yep i'm on antibiotics too and applying benzyl peroxide cream which is probably why my skin felt so dry under all that slap.

Norky - I did have a couple of photos taken after my trial and yes, it did look more subtle but my eyes still looked massively deep set and round, like a bushbaby in headlights

watsthestory - thanks, do you have any tips on how i could look less round eyed?

rubyslippers- she did apply her own cleanser, toner and moisturiser beforehand but i have no idea of whether it was right for my skin. it definitely felt like it needed more moisturisation, but i know too much can make it slide off. however i had cracks in the makeup around my mouth appearing a few minutes after she left, where i have faint smile lines, but surely makeup is supposed to conceal such things, not exaggerate them by cracking? I think it might be too late to ask for another consultation, and anyway i'm all out of cash!

Can you put the pic on your profile and we'll have a look, it might not be as bad as you imagine?

You sound like me, I'm getting married next year and I'm quite nervous about having my make up done, I'm rubbish at it myself so its NEEDS to be done right as theres no way I will manage on my own!

I would definitely say don't use her if you don't like what she does, or ask her to come a bit earlier than you thought so that you can ask her to redo stuff, or so that you have a chance to remove the whole lot! It is miserable not to feel comfortable on your wedding day. Having foundation heavy enough to have cracks in when you are 27 sounds wrong tbh, and I loathe the look of bronzer even under electric lights, I agree with you.

I have very red skin and finally learned not to trust makeover people who all plastered me in base all over my face (usually without even looking at me) - what I need to look the way I like is a light base over the cheeks and nose. the really top people will do this, but I can't afford really top people. The best help I ever had was at the Prescriptives counter where I spent £45! on my wedding foundation but boy was it great. TBH I have found since then that Barbara Daly for Tesco is a very acceptable substitute, and noone gives a toss in Tesco if you take a mirror in and do a bit of experimenting with the testers - if you're actually going to buy some, why would they worry.

What about doing a bit of Googling? I found this step-by-step video www.handbag.com/beauty/Wedding-Makeup-and-Bridal-Beauty/video which I couldn't watch as I'm supposed to be working Make some notes, find a few variations, maybe there'll be some specific advice for scars etc?
As a last resort why not ring up the Wright Stuff or something and lay it on thick about needing a makeover and having no cash - they might go for it...

oh noo. i'm far too embarassed about how yuk i look, sorry!

benzoyl will dry your skin out so you do need a good moisteriser

cracks should not appear in the make up and if it appears to be sitting on top of the skin then it isn't right either

hmmm - is there nowhere else you can go/try

TBH, i would do what a PP said and do your own make up ... you will look gorgeous as all brides do

I hated what the make up artist did at my trial too. I went to a make up counter in a department store, which sold make up that I liked and had used before, and just bought some new products for my wedding.

I did my make up myself, and I also love the fact that in my photos I just look like me, I mean apart from the white dress and everything, just a better version of myself!

A friend of mine who recently got married had her wedding make up practice done on the day of her hen night. It looked awful: too much bronzer and blusher, wrong colour eyeshadow, etc. It aged her by one or two decades and she looked like she'd been made up for a pantomime

The make up "artist"'s excuse was that it was strong in order to show up in the photographs. Funnily enough, plenty of people manage to have perfectly nice photographs of themselves taken with their own make up on, whether by an amateur, by a semi-pro, or by a professional - who would make it their business to make you good look whatever you're wearing anyway.

Just get a lot of practice in the coming week but don't leave it on too long in order to prevent breakouts.

Do what you're happy and comfortable with, because the thing which will make you look your most beautiful, after all, is your smile

have a look on youtube for wedding make-up tutorial, if all goes wrong you will be able to do it all yourself. And practice between now and then.

I got married in Jamaica and part of the wedding package was hair and make-up. My hair was perfect and I told her that I don't wear make-up, so I wanted to look natural. I have auburn hair, so also have freckles, which is part of me and I don't try to hide them. She plastered the makeup on me so thickly, that you couldn't see any of the freckles and thick lipstick and salmon coloured eyeshadow - bleurrrgh! So I wiped it all off with a wetwipe when I got back to the room and did it all myself! My sister said it looked nice, but it wasn't me. I'm so glad i did it myself though, because it looked perfect on the pictures.

If you experiment loads between now and the wedding, at least you will have an idea of what you like and you can tell her when she does it for you. Or look for pictures of other peoples makeup to show her which ones you like.

I'm sure you will look perfect for your day.
Just remember to have fun - your husband is marrying you for who you are and he thinks you look perfect just as you are. Thats all you have to remember. Have a great day.

Am shocked at my over-use of the word "perfect" in my last post.

try some mineral make up perhaps. It does seem to give good coverage.

I feel for you - really. I didn't like my make up trial either (I also get married next Saturday ). Mine put silver eyeshadow under my eyes ?! FFS - like my dark circles need any assistance ?!

I've told her exactly what I want differently on the day and I've got her coming early so if it doesn't work out, I'll take it off and do it myself.

Have you got some pics of how you want it to look you can show her ? Can you put your own base/moisturiser on so you know its one that suits you ? Have you got time before next week to go and have a free make over at a department store so you can get some firm ideas of what you want her to do ?