How I achieved my wedding make up in just under half an hour.
Some photos by our lovely wedding photographers – Ollie & Nix
Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder Foundation in 1.5|Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Shadow in Fawn|Charlotte Tilbury Magic Away Concealer in 2|Albus & Flora Lip Balm in Mountain Rose|Eylure Brow Pomade in Dark Brown|Illamasqua Hydra Veil|MDM Flow Liquid Lipstick in Retro|Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow in Cyprus Umbra|No7 Skin Illuminator|Illamasqua Hollow|Illamasqua Shadow in Stealth|Ardell Soft Touch Trio Lashes|Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow in Vermeer|Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour in Vanilla.
Ever since I trained at Delamar Academy I’ve been discussing with other make up artists whether I would do my own wedding make up or not, the majority of us agreed that we would and I stuck to that when it came to deciding near the big day. Which was probably a good thing as it meant even in the pandemic I had good hair and make up for the big day and there weren’t any last minute panics with the rule of 6 etc. However as I also did my bridesmaids hair and makeup, it meant I left myself with about 30 minutes to fix my face, thank goodness I curled my hair first thing in the morning!
What I love about wedding make up is that its there to enhance what is already there, I am a firm believer that you should look like yourself on your wedding day. I always do my eye make up first and my go to with wedding makeup is a subtle brown smokey eye (nobody said it was rocket science). It wouldn’t be an smokey eye; or any eye look if I didn’t start with Illamasqua Hollow. In my crease and to warm up the eye as Hollow is very cool toned I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Shade in Fawn. I love using the contour pallete on my eyes as they are such a buttery formula and they blend out beautifully. Then to deepen the look a little, especially as I knew lot’s of photos were going to be taken and I didn’t want my eyes to be lost in the photos I used Anastasia Beverly Hills Shadow in Cyprus Umber from the Modern Renaissance Palette on my lash line and into the outer v, then blended out with a large fluffy brush.
I couldn’t resist adding a little bit of shimmer in the inner corner or my lid and used Vermeer also from the Modern Renaissance Palette. As always I used Stealth by Illamasqua to highlight my brow bones. To help my individual lashes blend in I added a thin line of Eylure Brow Pomade in Dark Brown along the lash line and then blended it into the rest of the look, using brow pomade gives a less blunt look to the liner. I didn’t do anything with my brows, I brushed them into place but didn’t set them. I finished off the eye look with my favourite Ardell Soft Touch Trios with some QVC individual lashes to fill in any gaps so I had a really full lash look.
As a drier skin girl I used the Illamasqua Hydra Veil to prep my skin (after obviously doing my full skin care), followed with the No7 Skin Illuminator to add a natural glow under the skin. I am not a heavy foundation type of woman so I opted for a more tinted moisturiser style product by using the Charlotte Tilbury Light Wonder using my fingers to blend it into my skin and then touched up any redder areas and under my eyes with the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Away Concealer which is so creamy and high coverage. I set my concealer with the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Shade Vanilla to stop any creasing under my eyes in photos. I did wear a blush on my wedding day but it’s an old one I am using up and the company is no longer cruelty free. I don’t really contour anymore so left that step out on the big day opting for a more fresher look by using the cream blush on the top of my cheek bones.
I finished up the look with the MDM Flow Liquid Lipstick in Retro which is a matte lipstick which i then made a more satin finish with the Albus & Flora Mountain Rose tinted lip balm. I was just going to wear the tinted balm but as there were photos I decided to go for a more impactful colour which I am so happy I did and it worked really well with my flowers. Although I wish I had more time to do my make up, it was probably a blessing that I didn’t as I would have been fussing for ages. I was very lazy with my hair, I just curled it and stuck a headband in it, loved it and it’s very much my vibe. My bridesmaids however both had beautiful up do’s which is where all my time went!
Would you do your own wedding make up?
What Kate Did Next 