It’s been 11 years since I was a bride, but I’ve been in bridal/wedding mode prepping for The June Dress for months! I’ve spent hours researching the perfect makeup for this shoot, and I wanted to put together this post for any brides-to-be out there prepping for your big day! Wedding makeup is so important because you want to look your absolute BEST on your wedding day. You will look back on your pictures for years and years, so it is crucial that you pick the bridal makeup and look that you will love for years to come!
SHOP MY ROBE HERE (I’m wearing the color “Gem”)
SHOP MY SHOES HERE (these shoes are prettier in person and run SMALL so size 1/2 a size up!)
WEDDING MAKEUP INSPIRATION
My first piece of advice to prep for your wedding makeup is to get on Pinterest or search through wedding makeup hashtags and save your favorites on Instagram in your collections folder (did you know you can save images in folders on insta? It’s been a game changer for me! Just click on the little bookmark image at the far right under the picture and select “Save To Collection” and you can label your folder there). Pin and save any makeup look that you feel drawn to.
Getting inspiration from these sources is so helpful! It’ll do two things for you:
- It will show you the bridal beauty makeup looks that are out there and you will start to become more knowledgeable about the current bridal makeup trends, the best lip colors, makeup artists, and all things bridal beauty.
- Also, It will help you determine your favorite makeup style. Don’t be afraid to pin! The more images you love and save the easier it will be to take a step back, look through your favorites, and determine the wedding makeup look you like the best. Did you save a majority of images with a bold red lip? Maybe that’s right for your wedding day! Did you lean more towards winged cat eye eyeliner for the lash line? Nude nails? A pink lip?
By figuring out what bridal makeup looks you are most drawn to, you will be more likely to decide on a look for you that you will personally love, that fits your style, and that you will be happy with looking back on years later!
A few of my favorite bridal beauty hastags to search:
#weddingmakeup, #bridemakeupartist, #bridalsinspo, #bridalhairandmakeup, #weddinghairandmakeup
HOW TO ACHIEVE YOUR WEDDING MAKEUP LOOK
Are you fairly comfortable at doing your own makeup? Practice your favorite looks on yourself! There are so many great makeup tutorials online, you might be happy doing your own makeup for your big day! But make sure you PRACTICE at least a month before the wedding. You want to have your bridal makeup look perfected before your wedding day so that you won’t be stressed trying to figure out how to get the perfect cat eye on the day of your wedding.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with doing your own makeup, as long as you have the skill and the right products (more on those below). I did my own makeup for my wedding day! There are a few things I would have done differently looking back (like…eyelash extensions! I can’t believe I didn’t do lash extensions! But pinterest and insta didn’t even exist back then, so I didn’t have all of the resources brides do now to do their own makeup).
If you want to leave your makeup to a professional makeup artist, DO IT!
However, here is some really important advice: select your makeup artist carefully. Search through hashtags of makeup artists in your area and stalk their work on insta beforehand. Also, get recommendations from friends. If you don’t have friends that have makeup artists to recommend, DM a bride of a makeup artist you are interested in and see if they would recommend them!
If you go with a makeup artist, make sure you do a full test run on your look far enough in advance that you can switch artists if needed. It’s worth the additional cost of a test run so that you won’t have any surprises on your big day. Make sure you take plenty of selfies of your test run to show your artist on your wedding day as an easy reference.
MY WEDDING PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS
I have an extremely cohesive post on all of my favorite makeup products that will last all day in this post, but I wanted to round up a few really great bridal makeup gems while prepping my makeup for The June Dress. All of these products can be found at Nordstrom. I love shopping at Nordstrom for beauty products! I love that I can test out a product with the reassurance that I can return it if it isn’t the right color or if I don’t love it.
Here are my top must have bridal makeup favorites:
Fresh Sugar Face Polish
Exfoliate the night before your wedding, but don’t use something too harsh. This Fresh Sugar Face Polish is gentle, smells delicious, and will slough off all the dead skin sells to prep your skin for your big day! I love this for my sensitive skin.
Clarins Super Restorative Night Wear lotion
You will want a face lotion the night before your wedding that works extra hard to moisturize your face and I just finished up a bottle of Clarins Super Restorative Night Wear lotion. I need another bottle of this ASAP. It helps with age spots and skin density and leaves my skin feeling baby smooth in the morning, which is what every bride wants the morning of their wedding!
Kopari Coconut Cleansing Oil
The morning of your wedding you want clean and gentle products to prep your face. I am obsessed with this Kopari Coconut Cleansing Oil on my face in the mornings. It keeps my face hydrated, is super gentle, and restores your skin’s natural moisture.
Fresh Beauty Vibrancy Boosting Mask
I love this Fresh Beauty Vibrancy Boosting Mask and it would be perfect to brighten and tighten your face the morning of your wedding. Also natural and very gentle!
Kopari Rose Toner
Help with any morning puffiness/redness with this incredible Kopari Rose Toner. It smells like a bouquet of roses and helps even out skin tone.
NARS blush in ‘Deep Throat’
I listed out all of my favorite primers, foundations, eyeshadows, etc. in this blog post, but I found a few more makeup items that are definitely bride worthy, like this NARS blush in ‘Deep Throat’ – the perfect shade of peachy pink for a bride, natural looking but has great buildable coverage.
Jouer highlighter in Citron
It is such a gorgeous highlighter. It isn’t too gold and adds just the right amount of bridal glow to cheeks. I also add a tiny touch on my upper lip, in between my forehead, and at the top/tip of my nose.
Malone ‘Wild Bluebell
For my wedding I wore Tiffany’s classic perfume, but if I could pick one scent to wear on my wedding day today it would be Jo Malone ‘Wild Bluebell.’ One of my tried and true favorite scents. It has kind of a weird name for how good it smells. And the scent lasts forever. This scent is the kind of scent that will lock in your wedding day memories, and will remind you of your special day years later when you wear it!
MAC lipliner in ‘Boldly Bare’
This should be in EVERY bride’s makeup bag. It is the perfect nude/pink lip liner. I have tried so many nude colors and they all make my lips disappear. This one has just the right amount of color that makes it perfect for over outlining the lips a bit so they appear more full (it’s my secret weapon to fake fuller lips!!). If you aren’t a bride, who cares. Still get this. I wear it multiple times a week and it works so well with all shades of pink-peach-nude lipsticks…or I wear it on it’s own with a little gloss!
MAC’s ‘Lovelorn’ lipstick
The combo of the Boldly Bare lipliner and MAC’s ‘Lovelorn’ lipstick has been a favorite of mine fore years! This soft rosy pink is timeless! The combo looks perfectly bride worthy.
Guerlain Rouge lipstick in No. 520
For a little added pink color and hydration, I used this Guerlain Rouge lipstick in No. 520 to keep my lips hydrated and still a beautiful pink shade that acts more like a lip gloss. It’s a hint of pink and would look pretty if you wanted a more subtle shade of pink over the Boldly Bare liner. You can also get a customized lipstick case from Nordstrom like this gold one I got! It’s such a pretty keepsake for a wedding. The case has a little mirror in it so it makes for an easy touchup at the reception.
Lorac Unzipped palette
This is one of the most classic bridal worthy eyeshadow pallets I’ve found! It has the perfect amount of matte and shimmer shades depending on the look you are going for. Usually, I opt for a matte look, and I used the shade Unconditional on my lids and Undercover on my inner eyes and brown bone for The June Dress shoot.
Rodial Instaglam Transleuscent HD Powder
To finish off a bridal look I highly recommend this Rodial Instaglam Transleuscent HD Powder! It is incredible! Honestly, I would describe it as an Instagram filter for your face because it makes my pores disappear and I think it’s worth every penny. Also, I tap the product lightly on my t-zone to keep it from looking shiny. I used to use my Mac Studio Fix compact, but this doesn’t leave my face looking caky. I take this with me on all my shoots if I need to freshen up my t-zone.
Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray
For a long day of wedding ceremony and reception festivities, you want your wedding makeup to stay in place all day! Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray is HIGH on my list of bridal makeup must haves. This locks your makeup in place and it stays! I use this for every single shoot and every bride should have a bottle even if you are getting your makeup professionally done. Its a crucial last step to the perfect wedding makeup.
SHOP MY WEDDING MAKEUP PRODUCT FAVORITES BELOW:
in partnership with Nordstrom Beauty
