A Bridal Makeup How-To For All Seasons: Summer

Every bride wants to look her most beautiful on her wedding day, however that may translate in her eyes. It might mean dramatic siren red lips or soft neutrals on her lids. Each bride and her wedding are different enough to warrant a full spectrum of great full face looks that would match her taste and style. However, there are often several common themes that tend to appear when finding inspiration for bridal looks. Because bridal makeup encompasses such a large range of potential looks, this is only one part of a series of bridal make-up tutorials.

Some brides like to use the season to help determine the color theme of their makeup, which is a great starting point!

SUMMER is warm, breezy, and makes destination weddings so much more popular! Soft bronzes, golds, and tans are all excellent choices in creating a fresh summer eye and face. First and foremost, make sure you choose your base carefully – you want something that will not budge or crease. Some potential products might be Urban Decay’s Primer Potion, MAC’s Prep + Prime Eye, or L’Oreal’s Decrease. Additionally, Benefit’s She-laq may be great to go over the look to help seal in the color and prevent it from fading/running if you get misty. Try using a light white gold shadow all over the inner lid, with a touch of truer gold or a more antique gold on the very outer lid, use a deep, warm brown in the crease to bring dimension to the eye, and finish with a matte or satin finish neutral highlighter shadow above crease and underneath the brow. Opt for liner or do without, but it is a good idea to invest in a smudge-proof, budge-proof, cry-proof product. I definitely recommend MAC’s Blacktrack fluidliner for this purpose; a stiff angled brush like the 266 makes for a prime applicator. Just like the liner, mascara should also be waterproof for all the tears of joy many brides cry. There are a wide range of waterproof mascaras, and it is likely that there is one in your favorite brand/product!

To keep the face in the summer theme, think bronzy, glowy, golden goddess. Start by applying your favorite moisturizer, and then apply your favorite foundation (haven’t found one yet? Try Everyday Mineral’s for mineral makeup or MAC’s Studio Fix Fluid for liquid foundation!) all over face, with a light hand. Products like Benefit’s High Beam or MAC’s glimmershimmers make for excellent highlighters that can add a healthy dose of “glow.” Place these types of products on the top of cheekbones and a touch on the temples. Contour the hollow of your cheeks to further define the face by using a slightly darker color than your natural skin. Contouring can be accomplished using several different types of products, including darker foundations, tinted moisturizers, bronzers, or blushes. If you fall in the NW/NC15 category in MAC shades, try Strada blush. For NW/NC30s, I recommend Taupe or Strada blushes, and warmer complexions might find bronzers to work best. Deeper complexions beyond NW/NC45 might find Blunt, Format, or Harmony powder blushes complimenting. A good blush color would lie in a warm, bronze family; to go bolder in color, try a coral with a lot of warmth or even a subtle watermelon pink. I find MAC’s Dollymix, Foolish Me, Margin, Peachtwist, and Springsheen to all be great choices. Just be sure to use a light hand when dealing with blush so you can build to the right intensity. Some brides might find a bronzer to be a perfect blusher with this look.

Because the eyes are more subtle than dramatic, the choice in lip pairing is extraordinary. For bold lips, a dark red or brown with a coral tint, something with warmth, which is one common characteristic of this look. I would opt for a coral lip gloss to increase the warmth of the lip, as most reds may be too potent in this season. In general, bold lips for this look could be simply going with a deep coral like MAC’s CB96 lipstick and pairing it with a neutral/sheer gloss to add high shine. As always, it is the bride’s choice, but when using extremely bold colors on any part of the face, definitely do several test-runs before deciding. Lighter lips using “my-lips-but-better” shades work extremely well, especially when paired with a pinky coral gloss. Make sure if you are using regular lipstick to line lips and even fill them in (find a liner close to your lip color) to add lasting power to your lip combination. Otherwise, think about investing in long-wearing lip-wear like MAC’s prolongwear collection (most cosmetic brands offer long-lasting lip colors in their product lines). These products will allow you to kiss your honey at the altar without getting color all over his lips! Not to mention, many of these products last eight or more hours, which means you’ll spend less time worrying about your fading lip color and more time enjoying yourself at the reception.

Some looks I have done in the past that may give you a few ideas: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

But what if I want dramatic? Color? Even though summer reminds me a lot of bronzes and golds, it does not mean that a more dramatic eye or one with more color than simply bronzes and golds will not work! Try adding more dark brown to the outer lid or increasing the amount in the crease to dramatize the eye. Add a matte black shadow for even more smokiness. If you are looking to add a splash of color, think about the colors that are being used in the wedding; if many of the flowers are pink, perhaps try a combination of gold and pink, with the pink being used on the outer lid and crease. Even a light pink all over the lid with a darker cranberry color on the outer lid and crease will create a lovely look.

Stay tuned for the next installment: FALL!