There’s no day more suited to glamour than your wedding day. When I say this to some brides, I see a look of concern. “I want to still look like me,” is something I hear a lot. It seems every bride has a horror story of cousin what’s-her-name who looked completely crazy on her wedding day, thanks to an over zealous makeup artist.
Glamour doesn’t have to involve red lips and fake lashes (unless, of course you want it to and you’ve found an artist who does that look well). Glamour can be as simple as adding a brighter pop of blush on your cheeks and coating your lips with an intriguing new lip color. You, as the bride, get to decide what your definition of glamour is.
But I encourage you to open your mind to explore a teeny bit outside of your comfort level when it comes to your wedding day look. I have to admit, even as a makeup artist, sometimes it’s hard for me to switch up the few looks I like the best on myself. It’s easy to grab the same colors and apply them in the same way. But someone else (a makeup artist or a friend with great makeup skills) may bring a fresh eye to your features.
You may always wear dramatically lined eyes and a lightly colored lip. A MUA may look at you and think, “Her lips are just lovely. Why don’t we play those up!” Let her or him experiment during your trial. If you hate it, nothing lost. Wash your face and try again.
One of the best ways to be sure your idea of glamour is properly conveyed to your MUA is to bring a magazine picture with you. It should show a model wearing a makeup look that you’d be comfortable with. But explain that you’re not asking for a exact copy. Communicate exactly what it is you like about the look. “I like the way they used different shades of the same color on her eyes.” Or, “Do you think I can wear a lip color with that sort of intensity?”
If you don’t mind a friend or family member seeing your look before the big day, get a second opinion on the final outcome. When I was a new makeup artist, Scott Barnes (Jennifer Lopez’s makeup artist) did my face (it was a dare. I’d said he couldn’t do a dark brown woman’s face!). When he finished I wasn’t particularly impressed. although I’d liked his work on other women. He asked me to leave it on for the day. I obliged. I met several friends for lunch later that day. And let me say, I was shocked at how quickly they noticed the change in my makeup.
Back then I always did deep lip color and light eyes. Scott said he thought my eyes were pretty and went for a very low color look with lots of mascara and a neutral lip gloss on my lips. I didn’t initially like it because it was so different from how I was used to seeing myself. But the makeup wasn’t heavy or caked on. It was actually really pretty and luminious, much like what he creates for jLo.
I tell this story simply as illustration. Even the best makeup artist may annoy you by changing up your look from what you’re used to. But as Scott advised me, live with it for the day and see how others respond. You may discover you’ve found a new look for yourself beyond your wedding day.
Photo of model above by Jonathan Roth. Makeup, Todra Payne
Glamour doesn’t have to involve red lips and fake lashes (unless, of course you want it to and you’ve found an artist who does that look well). Glamour can be as simple as adding a brighter pop of blush on your cheeks and coating your lips with an intriguing new lip color. You, as the bride, get to decide what your definition of glamour is.
But I encourage you to open your mind to explore a teeny bit outside of your comfort level when it comes to your wedding day look. I have to admit, even as a makeup artist, sometimes it’s hard for me to switch up the few looks I like the best on myself. It’s easy to grab the same colors and apply them in the same way. But someone else (a makeup artist or a friend with great makeup skills) may bring a fresh eye to your features.
You may always wear dramatically lined eyes and a lightly colored lip. A MUA may look at you and think, “Her lips are just lovely. Why don’t we play those up!” Let her or him experiment during your trial. If you hate it, nothing lost. Wash your face and try again.
One of the best ways to be sure your idea of glamour is properly conveyed to your MUA is to bring a magazine picture with you. It should show a model wearing a makeup look that you’d be comfortable with. But explain that you’re not asking for a exact copy. Communicate exactly what it is you like about the look. “I like the way they used different shades of the same color on her eyes.” Or, “Do you think I can wear a lip color with that sort of intensity?”
If you don’t mind a friend or family member seeing your look before the big day, get a second opinion on the final outcome. When I was a new makeup artist, Scott Barnes (Jennifer Lopez’s makeup artist) did my face (it was a dare. I’d said he couldn’t do a dark brown woman’s face!). When he finished I wasn’t particularly impressed. although I’d liked his work on other women. He asked me to leave it on for the day. I obliged. I met several friends for lunch later that day. And let me say, I was shocked at how quickly they noticed the change in my makeup.
Back then I always did deep lip color and light eyes. Scott said he thought my eyes were pretty and went for a very low color look with lots of mascara and a neutral lip gloss on my lips. I didn’t initially like it because it was so different from how I was used to seeing myself. But the makeup wasn’t heavy or caked on. It was actually really pretty and luminious, much like what he creates for jLo.
I tell this story simply as illustration. Even the best makeup artist may annoy you by changing up your look from what you’re used to. But as Scott advised me, live with it for the day and see how others respond. You may discover you’ve found a new look for yourself beyond your wedding day.
Photo of model above by Jonathan Roth. Makeup, Todra Payne
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Post is filed under Beauty Space, Bridal -This entry was posted on Monday, August 16th, 2010 at 7:57 pm and tagged with Bridal, wedding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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