Friday, March 2, 2012

Destination Wedding... Hair and Make Up For The DIY Bride!

On the morning of our wedding my husband-to-be and I rose early, toasted the day with a glass of bubbly and split off into our own respective bathrooms to prepare for the day ahead. As you can imagine I'm sure, he was done and dusted in 10 minutes or less, already having a hearty breakfast and refilling his champagne flute. I on the other hand, spent an exhausting 3 hours in front of the mirror, multitasking with breakfast and teasing my hair within an inch of it's life, in an effort to look 'natural'.

I imagine that a  fair amount of brides out there would prefer not to have to take sole responsibility for the outcome of their wedding day hair and make up, yet I didn't feel comfortable any other way. Since we had opted for a destination wedding (for which we had only arrived in the area for, the day beforehand), I had no opportunities for hair or make up trials. I wasn't about to trust a total stranger with my beauty regime on the most important day of my life. So, I began to research looks I liked, products that would naturally enhance me despite the humid climate, foundations that would work well under the bright lights of flash photography and hairstyles that looked classic and feminine while being a cinch to achieve alone on front of the mirror. And then I practiced like a madwoman. Here is the outcome (although I appreciate that the make up is a little harder to get a good look at - sorry about that!)...




Below you will find a list of the products that I tested, researched and used on the day, all of which worked best for me in a hot climate, with flash photography and frankly with my far from perfect skin. I went with a sweeping up-do that had plenty of volume and romance to it and opted for a clip with 3 fresh flowers attached to it (thanks to a very accommodating florist - link at the bottom). It held in the wind, was informal and yet still detailed enough for me not to feel like it was just any old up-do and best of all, I did it all by myself and had fun whilst tackling it! 

Products I Used To Create My Wedding Day Look:

Estee Lauder  - Idealist Primer (I LOVE this stuff for
                        evening out my complexion!)
                      - Double Wear Light Foundation, 
                        in shade 2.0
                      - Double Wear Stay-In-Place Flawless 
                        Wear Concealer, in shade 2.0
                      - Ideal Light Brush On Illuminator, in 
                        shade Light

No7               - Natural Blush, in shade 10 Soft 
                        Damson

Bourjois       - Eyeshadow in shades; 08, 54 and 
                       93
                    - Lipstick, in shade Sweet Kiss 
                       Natural 11 (I chose to pop on 
                       a touch of Burts Bee's Lip      
                       Balm to add shine and avoid the 
                       wind/sand/my hair ending up, 
                       unattractively tangled                 
                       upon my lips mid vows!)

Elf               - Cream Eyeshadow, in shade Coffee

Barry M      - Clear Mascara and Eyebrow 
                      Definer

Maybelline  - The Colossal Volume Mascara, 
                       in shade Glam Black

*As well as these I added a pair of plain old drugstore false eyelashes for natural volume that would show up on camera (I find the no name ones easier to shape for some reason)...

And that was that. I practiced a time or two before the big day but otherwise I was confident that I knew what suited me and how to highlight my best features, which really is what traditional bridal make up is all about! 

Any questions, please pop them in the comments section below and I'll do my best to answer them for you!





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