Bridal/Photography Worthy Makeup

Photo by Jessica Brown of MOONBelle Photography

With all the stressful details to obsess over on your wedding day, why worry about your makeup too?  Of the married friends I polled, the most frequent bridal makeup concerns were how to control oil and shine, how often it would need touch-ups, and whether it would look good in photographs.  Many brides opt to have makeup professionally applied for the big day, but it's also possible to (gasp!) apply your own makeup, look just as amazing, and save a little extra cash.  Here are a few DIY tips to ensure you'll look (and stay) gorgeous on your wedding day!   

• One of the easiest yet most important steps to controlling oil and shine is to start with a primer before applying any other makeup.  Smashbox's Photo Finish Foundation Primer Light is specially formulated to mattify your skin, which is exactly what you want for shine control and also keeps your makeup in place for the rest of the day.

• For foundation, you should avoid mineral makeup.  It has more of a tendency to reflect light, which is great for every day wear but can appear too shiny in photographs.  A liquid foundation with medium coverage that's oil-free will be perfect for covering any imperfections without looking too cake-y.  Make Up For Ever's HD Invisible Cover Foundation is popular with makeup artists, but I've also been hearing good things about CoverGirl's NatureLuxe Silk Foundation if you want a cheaper option.

• Blush is another key element of picture-worthy makeup application.  Even if you don't normally wear blush, it will prevent you from appearing too washed out in pictures.  Again, any product with shimmer isn't going to photograph well so you'll want something matte.  Laura Mercier's Second Skin Cheek Color comes in a variety of natural looking shades and lasts forever.

Photo by Jessica Brown of MOONBelle Photography
 Makeup by Laura Griffin of Applied Glamour 

• Your eyes will look best if you keep your eye makeup soft, classic, and simple.  Use a grey or brown eyeliner pencil to line the top of your lashline only for the most natural, wide eyed look.  Smashbox makes beautiful photography-worthy eyeshadow trios to take all the guesswork out of coordinating shades.  On Stage and Multi-Flash are lovely natural colors and will give the illusion of an effortless, no-makeup look.  Like "Oh, yes, my eyes are this bright and lovely on their own!"  Finish with a waterproof version of your favorite mascara.

• If you really want to wear false eyelashes, avoid the long strips.  Those can lead to massive mishaps, as they have a tendency to come unglued in the most obvious way possible.  Instead cut them in half or use the individual lashes toward the outer corners of your eye, and make sure to use waterproof glue!  You could even have semi-permanent lashes professionally applied, which will last about ten days.

•  To make sure your lipcolor lasts, start with a lip primer.  A lipliner pencil just a few shades darker than your natural skintone will also help keep your lipstick in place.  Use a lip brush to fill in with your lipstick, blot, add one more coat, and blot again.  Your lipstick won't budge!  Lipstick withstands better than gloss and looks better in pictures, by the way.  Don't dismiss lipstick!  

• Finally, make sure your maid of honor or photographer has some blotting papers on hand just in case your makeup smudges or your face begins to shine.  Keep a compact mirror and your lipcolor handy for touch ups as well.

• Most important of all, enjoy your wedding!  Don't worry about your makeup for the rest of the day.  You look gorgeous!  Cheers!