Well, this being the 600th post on Divassence I had to write about something really special. I had asked for suggestions and the one I chose from them was my first ever experience at bridal makeup. Thank you all for your suggestions. I will be writing posts based on all the suggestions given so thank you once again :)
I had attended one of my closest friend's wedding in Bangalore. Before I reveal her name, here is a picture and I am sure most of you who read this blog regularly would have already guessed who I'm talking about!
Janani's wedding was something I looked forward to since I am not the kind of person to attend weddings and this was an exception. I had no idea what was in store for me since we were planning on getting someone else to do her makeup and plans changed, flopped and gave us nightmares. I had planned to take a few products from my collection for her to try out and use if needed BUT only when I reached there it actually struck me that her sister and I were doing her makeup!! I have never had any prior experience in terms of bridal makeup nor have I attended any professional courses so I was freaked about what was to come. What if the makeup looked scary? Whitish cast? Looked terrible in photographs? What if I faint on the spot or have a nervous breakdown? What if selective amnesia took over? And the list of "What ifs" was endless.
Let me tell you one more thing, when you are doing your bridal makeup on a friend, arguments are inevitable. Janani and I had our share of spats, cold war and so on and her sister Sowmya and I threatened, begged and blackmailed her into letting us do what we wanted. :P With absolutely no visualization, I took whatever I had and packed it on her face :P. Thankfully she had an amazing foundation and setting powder which made my work easy. Even though we had our share of disagreements, here is what would have gone through our minds at that point:
Me (blending foundation like there is no tomorrow): Blend! Blend! Blend! Does she need another layer? Janani: Urrghh.. Why is this girl blending in the foundation so much?? Hopefully she doesn't apply another coat or another 5 minutes will be wasted in blending!Me: Why isn't this girl approving of anything I do? I suck at what I do! Should I just stop and let Sowmya take over?Janani: Okay so let me just sit and let these girls do what they want. I'm giving up!
And this is to say the least.
BUT at the end of the day when we looked at the pictures, both of us were overjoyed at the results! I loved the way her foundation was blended *pat on the back* and the contouring and blush application *pat on the back again*. She didn't want a full on color on her lips so I had just applied the Maybelline lipstick as a stain. Sowmya had used the Maybelline 36 hour gel liner on her lashline and waterline and I had applied L'Oreal Infallible eye shadows in All night Blue and Colorbar eyeshadow in Green Stroke on her eyelids and layered the Bad Girl Gone Good Blush from the MAC RiRi collection. Used MUA Undress Your Skin Highlighting Powder for highlighting wherever necessary.
This look was for Day 2. Day 1 was cold war-makeup-cold war-shout-makeup-shout! :P But what I would like to point out here is that as good friends usually do, we had our difference of opinions, voiced it out and got over with it then and there and moved on happily. :)
Steps for the look featured here:
- Step 1: Apply an under eye cream and a moisturizer Here we used Clinique Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief. We also used a lip balm initially so that the lips aren't dry at the time of applying a lipstick
- Step 2: Use a primer: We used the Inglot Under makeup Base
- Step 3: Apply the first layer of foundation and blend. If needed i.e. if you think coverage isn't sufficient, go over with very little foundation again. Despite this, if you need coverage, use a concealer. (Products used here were Clinique Even Better Makeup liquid foundation in shade Cashew and Kryolan Dermacolor Camouflage concealer in shade DFD).
- Step 4: Set your base makeup with powder, unless you still need to use a cream product like a cream blush (We used Clinique Perfectly Real Compact Makeup in shade 110 )
- Step 5: Pack your under eye area with loose powder to prevent eyeshadow fallout while doing eye makeup
Step 6: Apply an eyeshadow base, apply the darker eyeshadow first and layer with a lighter one (here we've used L’Oreal Infallible eye shadow in Endless Chocolate and layered it with a lighter golden-y color the highlighting shade in the Maybelline Eye studio diamonds quad in copper brown)Step 7: Line your lashline and waterline with a waterproof gel liner. We used the Maybelline 36 hour gel liner in Black and LOVED it! Step 8: Brush off the excess powder under the eyes. Step 9: Contour the cheeks using a matte brown powder. We had used the Sleek Highlight and Contour Kit. Step 10: Apply a highlighter on your brow bone (below the eyebrows). on the bridge of your nose and on your cupids bow (MUA Undress Your Skin highlighting powder is subtle and apt for this purpose!) Step 11: Apply a blush. Now if the blush is matte, then go ahead and highlight your cheek bones first and then apply the blush. I used the MAC Bad Girl Gone Good Blush which doubles up as a highlighter and since the key was "subtle not on your face makeup" I skipped the highlighter. Step 12: Apply a lip liner in the same color as your lipstick. Also fill it in if you want a full on color. If your lips are pigmented apply a little foundation or concealer and then apply a lip liner. Then use a long staying lipstick and blot and reapply. Use a gloss if necessary. Here we used the Maybelline 14 Hour Lipstick in Continuous Cranberry over Maybelline Colorsensational lip liner in shade Hollywood Red.
Thankfully Janani's eyebrows were pretty dark and thick so I didn't find the need to fill them in.
There was just one thing both of us wanted at the end of the day, that is, to not look ghostly or/and ghastly in photos and I think we've achieved what we wanted!
Overall, even though I was nervous and worried about what I would do and how I would do it, I think I pretty much succeeded in achieving the look we wanted. Sowmya and I were really happy with the results. Well, if you would like to know what Janani thought, read her comment below! :D
Would I learn bridal makeup and take it up professionally? Yes, I am working on that! ;) I would give myself a 5/10 for my first ever bridal makeup. What do you say ladies? ;)
P.S: If any of you are from Chennai and wouldn't mind showing your face for me to practice my makeup on, please contact me! :P
Image Source: Kantanahalli Photography
You can view Janani's wedding album in its entirety here.
