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Your wedding day.
It’s something you’ve dreamt about since you were a little girl wearing a pillowcase ‘veil’ on your head in your backyard, grasping the hand of the neighbors adorable little boy. It’s a day you’ll remember for your entire life. So naturally, you want it to be perfect.
It’s no secret that weddings can get super expensive, and fast! A venue, catering, DJ, decorations, just to name a few. And while most women look forward to the pampering perfection that comes with having their hair and makeup professionally done on the big day, sometimes you’ve exhausted your budget. So what do you do?
Don’t panic! You can totally get a gorgeous, flawless, cry/kiss/dance proof face on a budget! And I’m going to show you how!
Let’s get started!
PRIMER
After your regular skin care, one of the absolute most important things you’ll need in your beauty army is a good primer. The formula itself depends on your skin type – if you’re combination or oily, you’ll want a good mattifying primer. If you’re on the dry side, you could try a primer water (though they can be a bit on the pricey side) or use your regular setting spray as a primer! If you’ve been here awhile, you know how much I love the Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer, because it mattifies, smooths, and really grabs on to your makeup. NYX also makes great setting sprays that double wonderfully as a priming spray, in both a matte formula and one that’s more dewey. If you find that you’re the type that’s super oily no matter the situation, or perhaps it’s an outdoor event in warm/humid weather, one of the best tricks I’ve learned is to take a little bit of Milk of Magnesia (from the dollar store!!) on a stippling brush, and dot it over areas that you are the most oily. Let it dry (it will look powdery – don’t wipe this away!) and apply your foundation over it as you normally would!
FOUNDATION & CONCEALER
Your wedding day isn’t exactly the time to get all experimental – you’ll want to use something that you know works well with your skin, and will withstand the insanely wonderful day ahead. If you have time in the weeks ahead, go ahead and try different samples to see how they wear – longevity, whether or not they oxidize, how natural they look, etc. Otherwise you’ll want to stick with what you know. One that I know I can always count on is my Revlon ColorStay Whipped Creme Makeup, because as I’ve said in other posts, it actually looks better the longer I wear it! And Revlon tends to be very neutral in tone which is universally flattering, and reduces the risk of your foundation turning orangey but the father-daughter dance.
Concealer is pretty much the same premise – stick with what you know. A few of my faves are the Maybelline Fit Me Concealer & the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer – I know, I know, talk about totally opposite ends of the spectrum, right? The Maybelline one is very lightweight and blendable, though it’s a little on the liquidy side. I love it to highlight with. If you need heavier coverage, whether it’s for dark circles, redness, blemishes, or scarring, the NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer is absolutely amazing! I finally broke down and ordered one for comparison and I’m in love. My new HG for sure!
POWDER
A good translucent loose powder is something that you’ll be forever glad you had with you on the big day. You’ll be using it to lightly set your foundation, and to ‘bake’ with. If you’re unfamiliar with ‘baking’ or ‘cooking’ it’s basically super-setting your makeup with powder – take a damp sponge and dip it in your powder, then apply to areas that tend to crease; under the eyes, smile lines, etc. It’s also a great way to sharpen up your contour if it gets a little sloppy looking (it happens to all of us sometimes!). One that I can’t stop using lately is actually a Mary Kay Translucent Loose Powder that I received as a hostess gift from a girls night makeup get together. Some other great ones are the e.l.f. HD Setting Powder, and the NYX HD Setting Powder.
EYE MAKEUP
You know that on your wedding day, there will be moments that you’ll be tearing up – so it’s important to make sure you have as many waterproof products as possible! That being said, this isn’t necessarily the day to go all crazy with bright colors and loads of glitter (unless you have a themed wedding perhaps?) so you’ll likely want to keep things on the low-key, neutral side.
One of the first things you’ll want is a good primer on your lids, to really grab on to your shadow and keep it from moving. You can use your concealer here (just make sure you set it with a powder so it doesn’t crease) or an actual eyelid primer. One of the best inexpensive ones out there is actually by e.l.f. (eyes lips face) and you can find it in your local CVS for $1-2 I believe!
Next is actual eyeshadow. My absolute favorite all inclusive palette at the moment is the Morphe 35N Palette, which is all matte, and has 35 different shades ranging from light to dark, warm to cool (and neutral of course!) in all neutral shades. Less is more on a day like you’re wedding, because the best look for photos is going to be ‘you, just better’. You want to look like yourself, just with your features enhanced.
Next, if you plan to wear false lashes, you’ll want a good lash adhesive. I hands-down recommend the Duo Lash Adhesive (the white formula that dries clear) because well…no one wants a lash popping off in the middle of the ceremony or reception! Some of my favorite lashes for a glam look without being too over the top are the Salon Perfect 614 lashes (from Walmart, I couldn’t find a link!) and the Ardell Demi Wispies.
If you’re NOT planning to wear false lashes, a waterproof mascara is going to be your absolute best friend – use the kind that you know works best for you. Personally, though it’s not waterproof technically, I love the L’Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes mascara – it makes my lashes long and full, and as much trouble as I have removing it, I don’t see it budging if you get a little weepy. And a great trick to making your lashes look fuller is to tight line (line your upper water line) with a waterproof eye kohl like the Rimmel Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal liner – heavy winged eye liner will close off your eyes and make them look tired – but tight-lining them will open them up and define them just enough and make them look wide and bright in photos!
When it comes to your brows, I always recommend using what you regularly use. If thats a pencil, powder, gel or pomade, it’s all personal preference. Of course you’ll want to be sure that if it’s a warm weather wedding, that your brows can withstand the heat and humidity. I can always count on my NYX Micro Brow pencil, and a great trick is when you’re priming your eye lids for shadow, run some of the primer through your brows – this will really help your brow product stay on. And just like the rest of your makeup, you want to lock in all that work you’ve just put into your brows with a great brow gel that won’t move – for that I love the Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel. I used to wonder “who the hell would spend that much money on a brow gel?!” and now I know why! It’s like super glue!
CONTOUR, BLUSH & HIGHLIGHT
Contouring can be a scary thing, but it looks AMAZING in photos when it’s done correctly! I have a whole powder contour tutorial which will be coming soon, and will give your product recommendations as well, but bottom line is you want to use a cool toned, neutral brown shade to achieve the most natural contour. My go-to is a product I’ve mentioned time and time again, the NYX HD Blush in Taupe.
So for blush, it’s really about personal preference again, much like the brows. If you find that powder blushes tend to leave you in a matter of hours, opt for a cream formula. And vice versa. Some of my favorites are the Revlon PhotoReady Cream blushes, and for powder I can’t be without my Morphe 9B blush palette. Morphe makes great products that are highly pigmented and long wearing, but most importantly, they’re affordable! This particular palette provides 9 shades to choose from, with everything from light shimmer to matte shades, muted and natural to a vibrant red shade (a little intimidating but it’s absolutely beautiful, and I’m very fair!) that suit every single skin tone. This is a must have when I’m working on brides, but I reach for it on a day to day basis just the same.
When you’re highlighting, you’re bringing light to the areas of the face in which you want to draw attention. This isn’t the time to use your frostiest highlight, or anything with chunky glitter in it. One of my absolute favorites (though it is a high end item) is the Becca Shimmering Skin Perfecter Pressed in Moonstone – if you’re looking for less expensive options, ColourPop has some great highlights, as well as Physicians Formula. If you prefer a liquid highlight, I really love the Revlon PhotoReady Skinlights line – they have four shades to choose from based on your skin tone, but Bare Lights is the perfect universally flattering shade.
LIPS
This one will be the shortest category, because frankly, if you want something to last from the first kiss to the cake and beyond, you’ll want these products in your arsenal. Now, it’s up to you whether you want a matte lip or a glossy lip, but for brides I always recommend a glossy lip because it looks fresh and flirty and girly and looks great in photos. A matte lip can tend to age you in photos. If you prefer matte, the Milani Amore Matte Lip Creams don’t move – really, they’re not going anywhere. For a glossy lip, I always recommend the L’Oreal Infallible Pro-Last Lipcolor – it’s a long wearing, transfer resistant liquid lipstick on one end, and moisturizing glossy balm on the other. When I got them, I swatched them on the back of my hand, and couldn’t get them off unless I scrubbed with coconut oil first, and then a makeup wipe. They will not move on you at all! The line has 24 shades to choose from so you’re sure to find your perfect one!
SETTING SPRAY
This is going to be your absolute best friend no matter what makeup is underneath – it’s like the top layer of bread on a sandwich – it holds all of your ingredients in. I’ve tried many, many setting sprays, but the one that I recommend the most, for any and every skin type, is the Urban Decay All Nighter Makeup Setting Spray. Now, I know what you’re thinking – $30?? ULTA sells travel size sprays for $14 (which is the one in the link above). What I love and trust the most about that particular spray is that it contains temperature control technology, which actually lowers the temperature of your makeup, keeping it from having a heavy duty meltdown (or any meltdown for that matter!) which means you can count on it from the ceremony all the way to the end of the night!
Ok guys, there you have it! Those are my product recommendations for your wedding day! Of course, you don’t have to use these exact products, you should always stick to what works best for you – if you’ve got a ride or die arsenal of beauty goodness, then by all means, stick with it – because this is certainly no time to get experimental.
If you guys would like to see these products demonstrated in a tutorial, leave me a comment below! Also, let me know if you’ve tried any of these products, or some of your personal faves!
And if you’re getting married – CONGRATULATIONS!!! I wish you nothing but a lifetime of happiness, and I hope that you’re able to enjoy your wedding day (I hear it flies by with blinding speed!) and may your future be everything you’ve ever dreamt it would be!
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LOTS OF LOVE!!
Affordable Gorgeous 
