My Wedding Day Make Up Tips with Products

I should for warn you, this is LONG post but if you decide to not go with a make up artist for your big day (or any special occasion) here are some tips to help you do your make up like a pro!

1.) CLEAN! Start with a clean moisturized face, my face routine only includes two steps, I wash my face with Neutrogena Facial Cleansing Bar (Jen Aniston's fave!) and moisturize with Eucerin SPF 30 Face Lotion. It took me YEARS to finally find a face routine that works for me. Even with the oiliest of skin I make sure I moisturize, you have to replenish that moisture that you just washed away, if you don't your dry face will over compensate and produce more oil. 

2.) PRIME! If you have large pores like me, I recommend Clinique's Instant Perfector. If you just need a great primer I recommend Smash Box Photo Finish, a cheaper and great Alternative is Avon's Magix Face Perfector, a little goes a long way, using your CLEAN fingers gently massage it over your entire face, this will create a great canvas and help keep your makeup in place all day.

3.) CONCEAL! The two things you should conceal at this step are acne/redness or dark circles. Acne/redness can be concealed with a green concealer and my favorite under eye concealer right now is Eve Pearl in Salmon, it has a strong peach tone which works great for that under eye darkness. 

4.) FOUNDATION! Choose a foundation that works well with your skin, I have Revlon's Color Stay Foundation stocked in my kit, it works well on all skin types and gives a great medium coverage, I always recommend stippling on your foundation. A great stippling brush can be found at Sephora, and a great stippling tutorial can be found at Make Up Geek. When choosing your foundation test it on your jawline to match your skin or your chest, never match it on your wrist or hand. 

5.) SETTING! After your foundation is applied and even, you need to set it, I always recommend setting with an HD POWDER. Make Up Forever has a wonderful HD powder but I have also found that ELF's HD Powder is VERY similar at less than half the price. To set your foundation, apply the powder heavily with a puff, let it set on your skin for a minute or two and brush away the remaining powder with a clean brush. 

6.) BROWS! My biggest tip for brows is shape, I am not going to lie, I can never get a good shape myself with plucking so I always get mine threaded. If you decide to get your eyebrows threaded or waxed for the big day be sure to do it at least two days in advance so you have no redness for the day of. For the day of you can pluck any strays that may be making an appearance again, I recommend Tweezerman Tweezers, BEST tweezers I have ever used and they have a lifetime warranty, so make the investment! I like to fill in my brows with the Ardell Brow Kit in Light, you can really use anything to fill in your brows, a brow pencil, a brow powder or even shadow, just be sure it is very close to your natural brow color. I start on the inside and work my way out keeping in my natural brow line, I also recommend combing out any excess powder with a clean mascara type wand. 

7.) EYES! If you are doing your own makeup on your wedding day be sure to plan ahead on the type of eye look you are going for and practice, practice, practice! A neutral smokey eye seems to be a big hit with brides and for that I recommend the Urban Decay Naked Palette. A flattering look on all is the transition from light to dark beginning with the inner eye. Also don't forget to throw a light highlight color under your brow to really make your eyes pop. After you have finished your shadow, blend it one more time, blending is key to creating dimension and not looking to harsh. When your happy with your shadow line your top lid, if you are going to wear liner on the bottom as well wait to apply until my next step. Lastly curl lashes and thickly coat your mascara without it getting clumpy, I swear by Loreal Voluminous Mascara in Carbon Black. Start from the very root and work the brush up and away and it won't clump. 

8.) CONCEAL! I know, we already concealed but this concealing is really to help highlight and contour your face. I am in LOVE with Kim Kardashian's makeup artist, Mario Dedivanovic, and he always contours and highlights like a genius, a big part of that is a lighter concealer under the eye in a off center V shape. I currently use Glamofauge for my under eye concealer and totally love it. Using your finger make a V like the example below with concealer under your eye. It will look rough for a little, just use the Beauty Blender to continue to blend it until there is no harsh lines. Use the same setting method I described above for setting the concealer, this is a key step! 

Concealing my under eye, just remember to keep blending! 

9.) UNDER EYE MAKEUP! Now is the time to line your bottom lid, you can use a pencil for this but if you want a softer look I recommend a shadow, especially if you do not usually line your bottom lid. Now is the time to highlight your inner eye corner if you choose to do so, this will also make your eyes pop! 

10.) CONTOUR! I should mention that highlighting and contouring are just suggestions, if you do not feel comfortable doing it, then don't, these are just the steps I take on my clients on the big day. Now use a bronzer with NO shimmer or sheen to contour, I use Make Up Forever Mat Bronze. Simply make the duck face and brush the bronzer under your cheekbones, if you have a big forehead (guilty as charged) you can also contour on the side of your forehead. after you have the bronzer in the right places I recommend blending it with your stippling brush, don't put any more foundation on your face just stipple with what may still be on the brush until it looks natural. 

12.) BLUSH! Apply blush to the apple of your cheeks being sure to blend it out and up. Blush is such an important part of wedding day makeup, I always say the more the merrier! 

13.) HIGHLIGHT! We did this a lot, but this is what gets you that wedding day glow, apply light shimmer powder on the top of your cheek bones above your blush, you won't be sorry you did!

This is a perfect example of flawless skin using a stippling brush,  plus contouring and highlighting! 

14.) LIPS! I always recommend a berry pink color for my brides, nude washes you out, red can be to overpowering and browns are kind of a thing of the past. Don't forgot to top it off with a gloss, I love Model Co gloss right now!

15.) SET! I always use a makeup setting spray on my brides, Urban Decay All Nighter is my favorite. Spray it in a + shape, then an X shape over your face. 

Congratulations if you are still reading this, I realize this was long but I wanted it to be informative! 

Basically finished, no lip color though!