Bridal Make-up Workshop

Bridal make-up application is usually treated as an elegant photo shoot. The Bride wants a flawless appearance and to look as natural as possible. That said, a consultation with your make-up artist is extremely important. It’s a meeting where the bride makes important color or style decisions for her wedding day make-up look. With the information written out and/or charted, it allows the artist to go in and execute the make-up in a timely manner and ease the stress of the big day.

A few weekends ago, at our free monthly workshops in LA and NY, we showed our participants a basic guideline for bridal make-up.

Get this look:

Tools: Professional Make-Up Sponge, Puff, Brush #100, #210S, #300S, #310S, #330S, #710S, #800S, 8-Color Palette
Face: Cream Foundation, Corrector, Loose Powder
Eyes: 2 Highlight Eye Colors, 2 Transitioning Eye Colors, 2 Shadow Eye Colors, Eye Pencil, Cake Eyeliner, False Eyelashes, Mascara
Cheeks: Cheek Color, Lemon Cream or Gingerbread
Lips: Lip Pencil, Lipstick, Lip Gloss or Lip Glaze

Face: For a wedding, I like to use MUD’s Cream Foundations. I can create a sheer natural to a flawless full-coverage look. They are easy to apply and hold up under extreme conditions. Plus, their versatility allows me to use them for any skin type or tone. To properly base match, look at the undertone and shade of the bride. Once you determine the undertone and shade, apply a small amount near the jaw line and neck area. If the base disappears on the neck, you have a proper base match. Once you have the appropriate base match, start at the top of the forehead and work your way down past the jaw line and blend into the neck with a Professional Make-Up Sponge. After you’ve created a blank canvas, analyze the face for any other discoloration. If you see red discoloration, use the #300S Brush with a Red Corrector that has a yellow-green undertone to camouflage the discolored area. If you see any blue discoloration around the eye area, use the #300S Shadow Blender Brush with a Blue Corrector that has an orange undertone to neutralize the area. To set the make-up, load a puff with a Loose Powder. Use a tap-and-roll method to work the powder into the base without removing the foundation.

Eyes: First and foremost, analyze the eyebrows. Do they need shaping or filling in? Shaping the eyebrows involves brushing, trimming and tweezing. And filling in the eyebrows is sometimes necessary to help create balance and equal weight. You could use a powder Eye Color and/or an Eye Pencil with the #210S Angle Liner Brush for a softer look. Make sure to follow the natural hair growth of the eyebrows. Recognizing the eye shape a person has will help you determine the placement of the eye shadow application. You want to use color to bring balance and lift to the eye and ultimately the entire face. Choose Eye Colors that complement the undertone and shade of the bride’s skin. For brides who love shimmer, try mixing a matte with a shimmer to create a demi-matte for a softer look. Stay away from shimmer if there is any texture on the surface of the skin. Place the highlight Eye Color directly under the outside edge of the eyebrow using a sweeping motion toward the inner corner with #330S Shadow Fluff Brush. Next, apply a highlight or medium Eye Color shade on the entire lid using a tapping motion with the #330S Brush. Using a soft light stroke, place the transitioning Eye Color on the crease with the #800S Crease Brush and blend upward and into the highlight creating a soft edge. Turn the #330S Brush on its side and deepen crease from the outer corner with a darker Eye Color. The deepest or darkest part of the shadow will be placed on the heaviest portion of the fold. At this point, you and the bride will choose to place a drop shadow on the lower lid, decide on an Eyeliner application with the #100 Round Liner Brush, False Eyelashes application and Mascara.

Cheeks: To create dimension on the face you can use the Lemon Cream Cheek Color as a highlight or the Gingerbread Cheek Color as a contour with the #710S Powder Blush Brush. Then add a hint of warmth and color to the center of the cheekbone with a Cheek Color that complements the bride’s skin tone.

Lips: To finish the look, use a Lip Pencil that matches the Lipstick to define and balance the upper and lower lip. You may choose to then fill in the entire lip with a pencil for longevity. Load the #310S Portable Lip Brush with the desired Lipstick and apply to the upper and lower lip. Make sure to follow the edge of the lip line. For a final touch, it’s optional to apply a Lip Glaze or Lip Gloss for a hint of reflective light.