from a Professional Esthetician

Good skin care is paramount to creating a canvas on which to work your magic. A clean, moisturized face is the start - now let’s begin the makeup process!

Face primer is a must because it provides a smooth surface for your foundation - it turns an ‘orange’ into an ‘apple’ - and amplifies its staying power.

Foundation is the next step to creating a flawless base! You can use cream, liquid or powder, though I opt for the cream or liquid as powder tends to fade faster. Choose a shade that matches your skin tone and apply with a damp sponge or foundation brush, starting in the center of the face and blending outwards and down to flatten any facial hairs.

All of us have imperfections that can be corrected with a little concealer. For most, the under-eye area is usually the culprit. Choose a color closest to your skin tone or lighter, depending on your preferred look, and apply with a concealer brush and stipple and blend any lines of demarcation with a sponge or your finger.

Aways set foundation and concealer with loose translucent powder to get a smooth finish. Press it onto skin and whisk off with a fluffy powder brush.

Your brows frame your face so it is important to follow your natural brow line. I recommend no rerouting, no TikTok or Instagram latest trends - or you too might be asking yourself in 15 years when you’re looking at those pictures, “What was I thinking?”

For brows you can choose from pencils, gels and powders. I like to fill in with pencil and finish off with powder. For bushy brows, a gel is great to spool them in place.

Eye Primer is a must for holding shadow color and consistency. Lids tend to get greasy and color creases and disappears.

Your eyes will reflect your happiness and joy on your wedding day. I recommend natural eye shadow shades like taupes, browns, beiges, ivories and golds, just assure that the colors enhance your eye color. Basically three shadow colors are used - a highlighter for the brow bone, a mid-tone all over eye and a contour to define the eye shape.

Use two matte shades and one shimmer, never frosted as it will appear greasy.

Eyeliner gives further definition to your eyes and choices are pencil, gel and liquid. Pencil is more forgiving and can be smudged and softened. Liquid is for experts with a precise hand.

Lush lashes are absolutely beautiful and false lashes will definitely elevate your look. If you feel you can’t apply, recruit a friend who can do it!

Bronzer and blush work together to bring your face alive and give a natural healthy glow. Apply bronzer to cheekbones first then brush blush on apples of cheeks sweeping back towards the hairline.

You have a choice of liquid, crème or powder. Powder blush should be applied after powder application to the face while crème or liquid blush can be applied directly after crème or liquid foundation.

Please, please exfoliate those lips! You want them soft and kissable. Prep lips with lip balm or moisturizer at the very beginning. Blot off any excess and apply lip liner over the entire lip and top with a pretty lip color of your choice. I like to use a long wear matte on my brides and top with a gloss.

A quick tip! If your partner is concerned they’ll end up wearing your lipstick, simply lick your lips before the big kiss!

A few spritzes of finishing spray and voila! Take pictures of your look and ask for opinions from a bestie.