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With wedding season upon us I wanted to share with you the bridal makeup look that I created for myself. I love makeup, always have, and I love doing my own makeup. I am not professionally trained but I'm very comfortable doing my own makeup and knew that if I did my own I'd get the result I really wanted.
To start, I created a Pinterest "Bridal Hair and Makeup" board so I could collect ideas of what I thought I may want for myself. About two months before the wedding I did a hair and makeup trial to see what my ideas looked like on me. I went to MAC and had them show me the best products for a hot and humid environment, that would be long lasting, and keep shine away. I asked a lot of questions and got a lot of useful tips and suggestions. The end result was beautiful and I had a whole list of the products and brushes that she used. MAC will do an appointment like this for free but at the end you have to purchase $50 worth of products. I did end up purchasing most of the suggested products, but also used some of my own.
I am going to list every product I used, the order that I applied it, and how best to apply them. I have included the price in Canadian dollars, the product name and brand name. Here's a photo of most of the products I used except the foundation and primer are slightly different than the ones described below and I am all out of bronzer:
Primer-Prep & Prime Natural Radiance in Radiant Pink, MAC $49:
The photo shows my current primer which is the original formula that is clear and untinted, for the wedding I used a pink tinted version, called radiant pink. Now, due to the price I did not purchase this product but instead asked for a sample. MAC is awesome about giving out generous sized samples of all their products and even put them in a small pot with a screw top lid. The Prep & Prime range of primers have always been a favourite of mine but I don't always use a primer for daily use. These primers are a gel-cream formula that glide on the skin and set up almost immediately. Silicone helps leave the skin feeling soft, even and mattified but with a pearly luminescence. I love this pearly finish but some people have said they find it too "sparkly" or "shimmery". So I would suggest getting a sample and trying it out prior to your wedding. To apply, take a pea-sized amount from the sample pot or one pump from the bottle, on your pointer finger. Take your finger and dab some product on both cheeks, chin, nose and forehead, and than use your fingertips on both hands to evenly cover your face like you would moisturizer. Some people with dry skin may need to moisturize before using primer, but the natural radiant primers do provide some hydration and in a humid environment my skin was so moisturized that this was all I needed.
Setting Spray- Prep & Prime Fix+, MAC $26:
A setting spray traditionally is used after you've completed your entire look, but MAC created Fix+ to be both a primer and a setting spray. It was explained to me, that after every layer of makeup you apply,you can lightly mist with this spray. I used it after I applied my primer and at the very end of my finished look. Hold the bottle about 2 feet from your face and pump once or twice to distribute a light mist, but do not saturate your face so that it is wet. Another way to apply is to mist the air in front of you and walk into it. I find this spray hydrating, smells lovely and helps my makeup apply evenly.
Foundation-Pro Longwear Foundation in NW13, MAC $40 applied with 130 Short Duo Fibre Brush, MAC $51:
In my Spring Favourites post I raved about Pro Longwear Nourishing Waterproof Foundation, which is a new re-invented formula that is slightly different and, in my opinion, superior to the original. Had this been available at the time of our wedding I'm sure this would have been recommended, but only the original was available in 2014. I put 1-2 pumps of foundation on my hand on the fleshy spot below my thumb and pointer finger. This gives you the ability to build the product up in coverage since it is on your hand and not going directly on your face. I dab my brush lightly in the product and than dot my face with the foundation in the same 5 places I put my primer. Then using the flat topped brush blend the foundation allover my face in a circular motion. I will add a little disclaimer about concealer here. The concealer recommended to me was in the same range as the foundation, Pro Longwear Concealer NW20, MAC $26. However, for whatever reason, I never used to wear concealer, I just used a little extra foundation under and around my eyes. I now own this concealer and wear it daily, and love the coverage it provides. Had I used a concealer I would use one pump of product on my hand and than blended under the eyes using the same brush.
Powder-Mineralize Skinfinish Natural in Medium, MAC $37 used with Large Powder Brush, Quo (part of brush set unknown individual price):
Using a large fluffy powder blush, lightly coat the brush in the mineralized powder and apply over your entire face, including eyelids, in a soft buffing motion. This will help set your foundation (and concealer), remove shine, and make it last longer.
Bronzer-Bronzing Powder in Laguna, NARS $52 (single) or Blush/Bronzer Duo $54:
I own the duo which has both a blush and bronzer. Laguna is the most perfectly universal bronzing shade that works for my very fair skin. It always looks natural and has a very fine mineralized shimmer that is so soft it doesn't appear as shiny or sparkly. Using the same large fluffy powder brush I applied just a touch of bronzer in the spots where I had naturally gotten sun: forehead/hairline, temples, under the cheekbones, along jawbone and down the length of and sides of my nose. Blend this all in so its soft and natural.
Blush-Pro Longwear Blush in Stay Pretty, MAC $32 applied with Blush Brush, Quo (part of set so price unknown):
This pink blush is described as light bright blue pink in a semi-matte formula. With a fluffy blush brush I swept this on the apples of my cheeks and and along my cheekbone up towards my hairline. I love blush, it is my favourite product, so I had to make sure I didn't go too blush happy and just created a soft flush.
Highlighter- Mineralize Blush in Just a Wisp, MAC $32 applied with same blush brush:
The highlighter that the MAC artist used on me was Vanilla loose pigments swept along the very top of my cheekbones. I already owned this frosty silver pale pink blush so I decided to use it as a highlighter. I knew that anything too shimmery or sparkly could show up as shine in photos so I used this sparingly and just dusted the tops of my cheeks lightly with the mineralized blush.
Eyeshadow Primer- Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly, MAC $26:
This was another product I listed in my Spring Favourites that I purchased for our wedding but fell in love with more recently. This is a cream shadow that sets to powder. It creates a base for shadows to stick to and can intensify their pigmentation and help them last longer. I apply this with my pointer finger, swirl it in the pot and apply over the entire lid.
Eyeshadow-MAC Trip: 4 Neutral Eye & Cheek, MAC (discontinued so price unknown) applied with 213, 275 and 224 MAC Eyeshadow Brushes (see website for current prices, mine were part of a set):
I used all three of the eyeshadows in this palette, a frosty champagne pink in Sunday Best allover the eyelid including the inner corner (tear duct) and under the eyebrows along the brow bone.The middle shadow, a matte rosy pink called Girlie I put allover the eyelid but keeping it mostly in the centre and bringing it no further than the crease (not bringing it up onto the brow bone or into the inner corner, leaving those spaces with just the lightest shade). The darkest shade is a deep plum with flecks of wine-toned sparkle called Agate. The first two shadows I used a rounded shadow brush to apply allover (213), the deepest shade I applied into my crease with an angled brush specifically for contour (275). I have hooded eyelids so I do bring my crease colour slightly up only my brow bones, otherwise you won't see it. Using an angle brush (266) I also put Agate along my lower lash line about halfway. I than used a fluffy clean brush (224) to blend the shades together so there are no distinct lines between the colours.
Eyeliner-Kohl Shaper for Eyes in Black Coffee, Clinique $21:
I don't usually wear liner, it's not really part of my daily routine, but for my wedding day I wanted to step up the drama and apply a liner just along the top lash line. I used this dark espresso brown shade and followed my natural lash line. I am not good with a cat eye or a "flick" at the outer corner so I left it fairly simple and only traced my lashes and slightly lifted the outer corner. This added a bit of pop to my blue eyes.
Mascara-Extended Play Gigablack Lash in Intense Black, MAC $20:
This mascara is both waterproof and long wearing. It has a tiny brush that helps coat all lashes and creates a lot of length. It lifts and defines and can appear similar to false lashes. I had wanted to wear false lashes but chickened out, I have worn them on many occasions, but worried that with nerves, heat and humidity I may have a meltdown while applying them or they wouldn't last all night. This mascara was a great alternative, I applied to both top and bottom lashes and it created the length that I wanted.
Eyebrows- Eye Shadow in Espresso, MAC $19 applied with a 266 Small Angle Brush, MAC $24:
My eyebrows are fair so I always use shadow and an angled brush to fill them in. Take a bit of shadow on the brush and using upward strokes fill in the brows so that it appears natural like hairs. Follow along the natural shape of your brows enhancing them.
Once this entire look was complete, and before applying my lip products, I did another mist of Fix + to set everything.
Lips- Lipstick in Sunny Seoul and Cremesheen Glass Lipgloss in Paper Lantern, both MAC $21 & $24:
This was the final touch, lipstick and gloss. Sunny Seoul is a frosted warm pink that has a bit of coral in it. Paper Lantern is a soft pale pink that toned down the brightness of the lipstick. A beautiful combination.
So here's my final look, forgive me, these photos are not the best quality and are selfies (😂) but show you close up how it all looked:
Lastly here is how it looked later that night (about 5 hours later):
-Practice lots, know how to do your look from beginning to end, and practice it months beforehand.
-Trial all products you plan to use. Make sure you have no reactions or issues with anything you plan to use. Do not try anything new on your wedding day.
-Be confident in your skills, if you chose to do your own makeup then be confident that you will do a great job
-Relax
-Give yourself lots of time, do not rush this step. Our Wedding was around 5pm and I started to do my makeup around 2:30 or 3pm so that I had plenty of time.
-Don't stress the small mistakes, every little boo boo can be fixed!
I hope you have enjoyed this thorough tutorial on how I did my bridal makeup. If you have any friends or family members who may benefit from this information please share,
Teal next time...xoxo Kathleen
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