5 Top Tips: for long lasting makeup on your wedding day
Updated: Nov 13, 2021
The question that gets asked the most within bridal makeup has to be; "how do I make my makeup last all day, while looking natural at the same time?". In this article I will give you my 5 top tips as a professional, luxury bridal makeup artist with over 7 years experience.
1. PREP PREP PREP!
Now this isn't exactly a makeup tip, however it is the most impactful tip of the five which is why it's number one! Prepping your skin before your big day will give you the perfect canvas for your makeup to be applied to, which is why I recommend finding your perfect skincare routine at least month before your wedding day. This gives your skin time to soak in those amazing ingredients, while giving your skin enough time to repair if it does break out.
The products that give the biggest impact to your skin and create that flawless canvas are a great serum and moisturiser! By perfecting these products and injecting hydration into your skin will create a smoother, more plump base, which will help any makeup apply a lot easier and last a lot longer.
If your skin is slightly dry on the day, this can create texture or tightness, which can effect longevity.
My favourite products for these include the Charlotte Tilbury Magic Serum, Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream/Magic Cream Light (if you're slightly oilier), The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Serum.
2. HAVE A TRIAL
As well as helping you work out the makeup you will have for your wedding day, it also allows you to give the makeup a trial run to see how the makeup wears. From this you can see where your makeup wears well, and if you need to add some support in other areas. I always recommend planning a full day of activities on the day of your trial so you can give it a really good wear test. Once I even had a bride go for a spin class after her trial, and guess what, it stayed! This also gives you more peace of mind, knowing that your makeup will last and you're happy with how it looks.
For other tips on "The Perfect Trial" head over to my other blog post.
3. LIGHT LAYERS
The biggest mistake I see most with makeup is applying thick heavy layers to create a full, flawless coverage. By creating one thick layer your makeup is more likely to wear badly and slip as the day goes on. Instead use lighter layers and build up to create your perfect flawless finish. In particular with skin, a common misconception is to apply a full coverage foundation all over the skin to create a flawless finish. Instead using a lighter foundation and building either the same foundation or concealer in the areas you need gives a more perfected finish with long lasting effects.
Every artist has their favourite foundations and concealers however I SWEAR by the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Foundation, Charlotte Tilbury Magic Away Concealer, Nars Radiant Long Wear Foundation and Nars Creamy Concealer.
4. SET TO PERFECT
Now whether this is with setting powder or setting spray, setting your makeup is like using hairspray to hold your curls in, its essential! If your skin is slightly more dry I would recommend using a setting spray and possibly a light powder. If you skin is normal to oily, then I would recommend for that full protection to use a setting powder and a setting spray to really lock all that makeup in all day.
My must have setting sprays include the Urban Decay All Nighter and the Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Setting Spray.
5. SOME TOUCH UPS ARE NECESSARY
Although we can use all these techniques to create a long lasting finish with your bridal makeup, there are some essentials that will need to be topped up through out the day. Now skin and eyes will stay all day, no worries about that. However lips is something that you can take some steps to improve longevity, however to keep your lips looking fresh, you will need to top up on your lipstick/lipgloss throughout the day. Using lipliner all over will help with the longevity however it won't prevent the lipstick from fading as the day goes on with all the celebratory toasts and wedding cake!
