Wedding Day Make-Up

Having a make-up artist on my wedding day to do myself and my bridal parties make-up would be an absolute dream.  I loved having my face done by the very lovely Donna for the beautiful wedding of Anton and Vicky last year and was so very impressed on how amazing it looked and how well it stayed. If you have the budget to get it done by a professional, or aren't very comfortable doing your own make-up on a day to day basis, then I would recommend Donna at Beauty Angels in a heartbeat. Unfortunately for me, my budget doesn't quite stretch so far as to cover the glamming up of seven girls (I have six bridesmaids!) on my big day. I also have a very strong suspicion that I'll be shedding quite a few tears (happy ones of course) that would make the £125 make-over redundant quite quickly. Luckily, I very much enjoy doing my own and playing about with different products (I can spend hours wandering the aisles in Boots), so the thought of being my own make-up artist on the day doesn't scare me too much. If Kate Midi can do hers herself, then I figure I can do mine.

I've been using mineral make-up for about a year now and have to say I am fully converted. Never again will I go back to the heavy and wet cream foundations of my past. Mineral foundation has literally changed my make-up life. My skin looks and feels healthier (with or without product) and much more natural. However, day to day make-up is definitely not the same as wedding day make-up and with only a few months to go, it's about time I brushed up on a few tips for my big day 'look'.

Soooooo, yesterday afternoon I headed down to the Bare Minerals counter with a couple of friends for a 4pm appointment to have a Bare Minerals make-over. All in all, the three of us spent an hour and a half happily getting a bit pampered, enjoying some girly chat with the very lovely Bare Minerals girls and getting a bit glam for our Saturday night out. With a plethora of shades of blushers, bronzers, eyeshadows and buxom lip glosses, each of us ended up with a different but beautiful look.

Not only was it a generally enjoyable way to spend the afternoon, but I picked up some great wedding day perfect products and tips from the make-up savvy Bare Minerals girls. Along with how to apply beautifully natural and covering foundation, they introduced me to the picture perfect Mineral Veil. It's basically a light, translucent powder that you put on over your face make-up (blusher, bronzer and all!) that takes away any shine (hence the picture perfect description) and helps keep your face in place even through a night of boogying fun. I also fell in love with their buxom lip gloss range that leaves your lips not only pout perfect, but minty and tingling as it plumps them up ever so slightly. 

So, the before and after pictures (the proof is definitely in the pudding!)....

First up is me. I went for the 'Rocker Eye' look. They sell these colours as a kit and I'd thought about doing smokey/dark type eyes for the wedding so thought it would be a good chance to try them out. It's a bit hard to see in the pics, but I did love the dramatic colours and the way they made my eyes pop. It's probably a bit heavy for wedding day make-up but I like the concept behind it. I also love the lip gloss in 'Katie' that I have on. It's definitely wedding day perfect as it's a really pretty, soft neutral that still provides just a bit of colour.

The very lovely Vicky (thanks in advance for letting me put up pre make-up photo's!!) went for a softer smokey eyes look combined with a really pretty nude lip gloss. I really liked this combo as a wedding concept.

Last but not least, the equally as lovely Izzy went for a very classic and simple look - just some lovely foundation and blusher with a bit of eyeliner, mascara and a corally lip gloss. Very easy to re-create, this look is bridesmaid perfect.

 All in all, if you're planning on doing your own make-up on your big day, I would 100% recommend spending an afternoon (or two or three) down at the beauty counter with the industry experts getting a bit of a makeover and some advice on what works for you. It's a bit of a lesson and a trial all in one, and best of all it's free (okay, between us we did end up spending over £150 on products afterwards, but the make-over itself is free!). I'll definitely be going back at some point in the next couple of months to try out a slightly softer smoky eye look, but am already very happy with my Mineral Veil discovery (my new favourite product) and my plumping lip gloss.

It was also a very easy way to prepare for a Saturday night out, and test out the longevity of the make-up. I'm happy to say that the longevity was impressive and lengthy. Our make-up was still looking fresh and in place until the late hours of the night (a night out is an excellent test run pre wedding): 



Thanks for reading,

Chelsea

x