Beauty tips for brides-to- be

Get as much sleep as you can before your wedding day, especially the night before. I simply cannot stress this enough:

If I arrive at the venue to do the bride’s makeup I usually ask how they slept the night before. If they tell me they hardly slept or haven’t had good sleep for a long time, then I know their stress levels are going to be high on their wedding day, or their special day will pass by in a blur because they were too “calm” from overdose of rescue or champagne. Surely you don’t want your only memories of your wedding day to be what you can glean from your wedding photos. You want to be awake for it all! Girl, don’t do that to yourself! You are supposed to be relaxed and enjoy your wedding day, not be tired and stressed on such an important day. Never mind what lack of sleep does to your skin and overall appearance. If I realized the necessity of this myself before my own wedding day I would not have had puffy bags under my eyes on my wedding day photos. Don't worry though, while I cannot hide everything, I can certainly hide a lot of sins!

Hydrate your body as much as you can before your wedding day:

Makeup creeps in under dry, scaly skin, and stays there until you wash it off again. Therefore always keep your skin exfoliated and hydrated. If you are dehydrated it will show in your skin first. Creams can do only so much to hydrate your skin. The only real way to do it is to drink lots of water, and milk, along with green leafy veggies.

Drink milk on its own, or in your cereal:

Ever wondered why you have dark circles under your eyes? Besides heredity being the main culprits, It’s because you only drink milk in your tea and coffee, seldom or never eat it; you don’t get enough sleep; you drink alcohol; you never drink water; and you don’t have enough variety in your diet. You can’t eat meat and potatoes every day, or chicken every day, and nothing else. Your body needs fish, veggies and fruit also, these are food groups that people often refuse to eat or just forget about them. One ripe banana alone has so much in it that is good for your health. When it comes to all the food groups, variety in moderation is what good nutrition is all about.

Makeup on your wedding day:

Don’t have your bachelorette party the night before, or even the week before your wedding day. Two weeks before is better. Go to bed early every night at least a week before your wedding day.

Skin Care:

Use a gentle face wash. It is important to exfoliate, but only according to the directions on the product. Be careful not to become addicted to exfoliating as I did. I began to exfoliate every day. Initially I got so many compliments for my skin. Then I noticed a red patch on my cheek, but it took me about a year and very unnecessarily expensive trip to the dermatologist, before the penny dropped that I was damaging my skin with the daily exfoliation, so please girls – don’t exfoliate daily!

Toner:

Tone your skin with Rose water or any good alcohol-free toner. You will be amazed at how much more dirt comes off that cleansing pad after you have washed your face. Toner will work like an astringent to help close your pores. Your makeup will look better if you “train” your pores to stay closed many months in advance of your wedding day. Your skin will look healthier and more beautiful. Always moisturize after toner.

Do moisturize with SPF daily:

Gauge you own skin type and use a suitable moisturizer with your skin type in mind. If you don’t like the oiliness there are many on the market which are silky and non-oily. If you start to break out, skip the day moisturizer and use only your night cream until your skin clears up again.

No SPF:

The night before and in the morning of your wedding day use a night cream on your face. Don’t use any cosmetics or makeup containing SPF. Night creams have no SPF (Sun Protection Factor) in them. SPF contains titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide reflects the flash and can make you look ghostly. If you use concealer with high SPF around your eyes for instance, then it will show in the photos as a white circle around your eyes. If your foundation has high SPF then your whole face will look white. Even though some say this no longer happens with modern digital photography, most makeup artists prefer to still avoid SPF in makeup products on their brides especially – just in case!

Eyebrows:

Makeup does not look good on anybody whose eyebrows are untidy. Let me or a beautician neaten your eyebrows before your wedding day. Tweeze or thread, don’t wax. I regularly hear so many scary stories. Days after, when the brides come to me for their makeup trials, I see the damage done by “professionals” who do waxing - so to be safe stick to threading. Don’t have it done on the morning of your wedding day, in case your skin is sensitive, have it done one or two days before, by a beautician or by your makeup artist who will most likely use the tweezing method.

Chapped lips:

The last thing a bride wants on her wedding day is beautiful eye makeup with chapped lips. Do take care of your lips well in advance of your wedding day. Never use a toothbrush or anything abrasive on your lips, as often advised in magazines. Do not exfoliate your lips daily. Simply moisturize them even if they are chapped or peeling. Moisturize them day and night. The only way to have soft lips is to hydrate your body by drinking water, by minimizing your coffee intake, and to stay away from alcohol and cigarettes altogether.

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