On your wedding day, your makeup artist will help you decide how you should wear your makeup. But it’s a wise idea to do makeup research first — before your big day. Know what you like and feel comfortable wearing. This is key information that your makeup artist needs you to be honest about, if you’re to be happy with the end result. Here are five key pieces of advice on how to get the right look for you.
Reference point
A good starting point is that stack of fashion magazines collecting dust in your living room. By flipping through and book-marking pages, you can get a clear idea of what beauty looks you are drawn to. Tear out the ones you like best — only the very best — and share them in advance with your makeup artist.
Type
Factor in the type of wedding you’re having. Are you getting married on the beach, in a church, at a hall or in the backyard? Location is an important element that helps dictate how you wear your makeup. For outdoor weddings like beaches, parks and backyards, your makeup should remain light and natural; here, you can play with shimmery golds, bronzes and coppers on the eyes, while keeping skin slightly dewy and lips light and fun (not dark!). For hall and denominational weddings, makeup looks best romantic and soft; neutral, matte eyes with classic liner and soft cheeks best suit these venues. It’s also important to talk to your makeup artist about specific cultural or traditional styles you might want considered. Even the season matters. For example, if you’re getting married in the autumn or winter, your makeup can be richer, darker and more dramatic, like a smokier eye or darker lip.
Make it right for you
You may love Penelope Cruz’s smoldering dark eye makeup but it will likely need to be modified to make it right for your face. A good makeup artist can accomplish this by drawing inspiration from a model or celebrity and translating it to best suit your face. Again, communication between you and your makeup artist is key; visual samples really help, too.
Face shape
Your makeup artist will use various tricks to enhance your features. The fact is, makeup is often about creating illusions (in a subtle way, not in a David Copperfield way!). For instance, a round face can be contoured to suggest more defined bone structure by using a darker matte powder under the cheekbones, while a long face can benefit from blush on the apples of the cheeks to build fullness.
Eye shape
Your makeup artist will use different techniques to highlight and balance your eyes. For close-set eyes, the inner corner should remain light, and darker shades should be blended outwards from the outermost third of the eye. With wide-set eyes, a medium shadow can be used in the inner corner and blended towards the centre of the eye. Keep the outer corners light, as darkness there will just make eyes appear to be further apart. Almond-shaped eyes look great with a liquid liner extended just beyond the outer edge of the eye and a warm medium shadow in the crease — a classic look. Asian eyes can skip the crease colour and focus a dark liner and shadow across the whole lid.
Just remember, your makeup artist is in your corner, but needs to know who you are in order to do you justice. Also, avoid trends: Fads fade and will date your photos.
Louise Griew is a Toronto-born makeup artist whose second home is Melbourne, Australia. Her work can be seen in national and international advertising campaigns, magazines, music videos and on TV.
