Own make up and hair

[Flopsy145]

In order to save money I've decided to do my own make up and hair. For my make up especially I wanted to look like me and I'm not into a full face, but more a tinted moisturiser/mascara girl. I'd like to instead of having a pro do it spend some money on some really nice make up and looking for product recommendations please :) wedding is in summer so especially a good primer and setting spray and a mascara that doesn't smudge.

For my hair I'm going for curls and half up half down look, what are the best products to use for long very thick hair to keep it curled?

Thanks all!

I'd suggest making some appointments at makeup counters and having a trial.

Charlotte Tilbury might be nice for what you want. That way you can try the products, see the techniques and if you make a morning appointment you can see how well it lasts.

I did my own make up as didn’t have the time in the morning to get to the hairdresser and get my face done professionally. I went to a make up counter and had a makeover, bought all the products and practiced it every day for a week or so. My make up looked perfect on the day.
For curls I use a curler that sucks up my hair and the curls last for two days.

By the time you buy all the products you probably won't be far off what a professional make-up artist would charge. Of course you'd then have the products to use in future. Do you have a professional photographer? Very natural make-up doesn't always look good in photos.

Do you normally curl your own hair? If it's not something you normally do I'd be reluctant to choose my wedding day to start.

I did my own make up for my wedding and used Bobbi Brown products after they were recommended to me by a friend. The lady at the make up counter I went to was really lovely and talked/demonstrated through loads of products and gave me so much advice.
I'd definitely agree with a previous poster who suggested going to a store to try products, ideally a department store such as John Lewis where they have a few brands in one place.
Hope you have a lovely day

Practice your hair and make up to make sure both will last all day. Work out if curls work
on a hair wash day or the day after etc.

You’ll end up spending money on products that you may not use again so I would pay for the artist! No comparison.

I did my own make up on my wedding day and used Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray. Worked really well! Can't remember anything else I used though. I was a bridesmaid last year and used the Beautiful Skin foundation by Charlotte Tilbury - that was nice.

Thank you all! I should have also added I actually also really hate people doing my make up and especially touching my eyes 😂 I'll do a trip to John Lewis!
@KimmySchmitt I used to looooads but not since lockdown really other than trying my friends air wrap which was pointless as my hair was flat within the hour.

OP get a curler that sucks up you hair (£40 from Amazon). Pin half up, curl all the underneath, unpin the top half, curl once more all the way around. Turn head upside down , hairspray, flick head back up, sort of scrunch it and then lightly spray. The whole process takes less than 15 minutes.

Really wish I'd have done my own make up, my make up artist was shit quite frankly. I was just so caked on and the make up sat in all my lines and just hated it. Thing is I told her aswell after the trial (politely) that I was wasn't too keen and she reassured me on the day she would go with what I wanted, did she fuck 😩 and It didn't even make a difference to the pictures to be honest.

I use illamasqua skin base and it's brilliant, a really lovely coverage and a little goes a long way but you can build it up if you like. It's about £30 but imo a good buy as it'll last ages.
I also mix it in with elf halo glow. I always use a damp sponge to apply my foundation rather than a brush/fingers.
You don't need to spend a fortune on make up, just have a decent foundation and a powder (max factor do a good one) and the rest you can just use basics !

@davegrohll thank you for that, that's good advice! I'll check out those products. Agree a good base is the main thing.

@CandleCandleCandle checking out Amazon now! I've used just a standard curling tong before but it's a good 14 years old and was great when the style was just as many curls as possible as opposed to the natural look haha!

I did my own make up - I know what I like and I wanted to look like me on the day. I've never understood the MUA's who insist you've to go heavy makeup 'for the photos' and yet your groom standing beside you with his normal skin is fine in the photos

Anyway, I usually wear make up from time to time myself so I just used what I know works and what suits me.

When I got married, I did my own makeup, I never bothered with hair as I am a Muslim and was married in the mosque so wore a light gold coloured shimmery hijab to match my white and gold wedding dress.
I knew exactly how I wanted my makeup, soft and light but still glam.
I love the idea of simple makeup and half up curls. Sounds so lovely. I hope you have a wonderful day 💗

Watch an absolute ton of Lisa Eldridge makeup tutorials and then definitely do your own. Things that matter to the camera - getting a good even coat of tinted moisturiser or foundation over your whole face, even if a very thin one, to get a nice even look on your skin, probably emphasising your eyes a little bit more than normal and really knowing where to place your blusher. Most brides do like a nice natural look anyway, just a bit more polished than normal, so I say go for it.

I had my actual wedding abroad as my mil was sick (my dh's country) then a big party at home. Had a makeup lesson from the artist who then gave me notes on how to do mine for the big day itself, then she did my makeup for the party. I MUCH preferred my own. Photos look great too.

TBH if things like Lisa Eldridge had existed or if I'd known about them when I got married I could have skipped the lesson completely. She's great on what brushes to use etc. Lovely to treat yourself and then you will have all these nice things to use going forward.

Giorgio Armani Luminous silk foundation or Estee Lauder double wear get recommended for brides a lot as photograph well - I used the equiv of double wear sheer, it did last all day to be fair but I didn't love it.

On the day it's useful to have some shine absorbing sheets, some pressed powder, lipliner and some eyedrops. If you think you might cry, maybe a couple of cotton buds and a concealer. Stick in a tiny makeup bag and ask your mum or a friend to hold. If you're not used to wearing much makeup it's crazy how shiny it can get!

I'm planning on doing my own make up too, I'm getting married abroad and the makeup artist offeredthere has 1 look, which is stuck in in the 90s.
I forgot about make up counters, it's a good idea Plus you can keep the stuff and recreate again and again for the same cost.

I practiced my make up when I could, even if it was going into town at the weekend. Even though I used to always wear makeup 20 years ago, I was well out of practice, plus I'd now a few wrinkles to contend with.

Anyway - my tips - (I've pale skin, blue eyes with freckles and fair hair:)

Get the base right. The most expensive make up in the world will still look crap without good smooth moisturised skin under it. My skin seems to get chapped if
I exfoliate with products so I usually just use a facecloth & water when I shower. Start a regular routine in advance of the wedding so you get to know what suits your skin (and what might cause a flare up!)

I've tried loads of moisturisers- expensive and cheap ones and the best one for me is actually an aftersun if you can believe that! It sinks right in, non-greasy and is a good base for my Estee Lauder double wear. If you want to go sheer, you can apply it a few moments after your moisturiser, a slightly heavier coverage can be achieved by letting the moisturiser sink in a bit.

Then, to avoid the overly powdered look, I tend to go doing my hair at this point and let the foundation dry off for 15 minutes. I find then that when I powder, it's sparingly so I'm still dewey but still takes away that stickiness feeling. I use a matt translucent powder, with a miniscule amount of this over nose and cheek bones- go very sparingly on this as it's very shimmery and it's easy to overdo it.

Next up is the bronzer. I dust this over my cheeks, nose, temples and forehead and it gives that little bit of a glow.

For my eyes I use the Naked 2 Urban decay palette, along with the cocoa or grey Victoria Beckham Kajal satin liner - I find a smudged upper lid liner much softer looking and suits my age (late 40s) it gives me a smoky eyes look- take a look at how it's done on the video clips, as smoky doesn't mean heavy. Last on before mascara is a bit of shimmer with some Lid Lustre in chiffon.

I don't normally wear lipstick even when I'm wearing make up so I picked a neutral pink very close to my own lip shade from the VB collection for the wedding, topped with my favourite lip balm. I look like I'm plugging VB make up but in truth, those are the only bits I have, and I've used each one. The only thing I got that I didn't like was a lid lustre that was just the wrong shade for me so it was gladly rehomed with my niece who it suits much better.

Honestly, practice a few times in the weeks leading up to the wedding - you'll be glad you did.

Hair - I did kind of messy beachy curls for my wedding but do rope in someone to help you - you'll not be able to do the back without help.

Don't wash and condition your hair before you style it. My hair was washed two days before and you should use dry shampoo to match your hair - spray all over then begin curling. Spritz with hairspray after you've curled each section and leave alone.

My hair tutorial lady briefly brushed out my curls after she was done with the tongs - I was worried that they'd go fuzzy but they didn't, they just settled into beachy waves rather than glossy perfect curls. Again - try it out well before the day. Then some sections were twisted up and pinned with tendrils at the front and ears.