How To Look Like The Best Version Of Yourself On Your Wedding Day
You spent four months trying to nail down a wedding venue that feels like home (before eventually settling on your own backyard), then three more on the hunt for a dress that makes you look like the best version of you. So it only makes sense that you would take a similarly personal approach to your makeup — and sometimes, that means keeping it as natural as possible.
Minimalist bridal makeup is much more than a trend set into motion by Meghan Markle last May: It's simple, it's classic, and it's the one thing that works for everyone. Ahead, all the inspiration you need to perfect the look (or show to your wedding-day makeup artist), so you can feel confident in looking like yourself — but better — on the big day.
Untouched Skin
Step one: Invest in good skin-care prep. That way, your face will be so glowy on your wedding day, you wouldn't dream of covering a single freckle with full-coverage foundation.
The natural texture of your skin is gorgeous, which is why many makeup artists recommend brides opt for a tinted moisturizer or a BB cream for a thin veil of dewy coverage that still makes the skin look like skin.
Feathered Brows
If the eyes are the window to the soul, your brows are the velvet drapes. Simply brushing them up and filling in the sparse areas can add a natural depth to the entire face.
You don't need a lipstick or a smokey eyeshadow on your wedding day if that's not your vibe — a bold, feathered brow is almost an even more glamorous statement.
Sun-Kissed Glow
If you're looking for that post-honeymoon bronze in the days before you actually jet off, consider a pre-wedding spray tan. (Just make sure you do a trial run first so you don't end up looking orange, à la Anne Hathaway in Bride Wars.)
The right bronzer can also help give that natural-looking glow. Remember to focus the color where the sun would hit: across the forehead, the tip of the nose, and the cheekbones.
Soft Contour
Your wedding day might not be the best time to experiment with a heavy Kardashian-caliber contour contour, but some soft sculpting can give emphasis to the natural shape of your face.
If you have a matte bronzer just a shade or two darker than your skin tone, you can blend the color into the hollows of your cheekbones for a soft contour that reads as naturally stunning definition.
Flushed Cheeks
A well-placed cream blush melts beautifully into skin to leave the softest hint of color.
For a foolproof match, you can dab a little bit of your lipstick onto your cheeks, blending it out until the color is perfectly seamless.
Natural Lashes
You know you'll probably be crying, so when you pick a mascara, it should probably be waterproof. But more than that, you should look for a natural formula that softly lifts and defines the lashes.
If you don't usually wear mascara and you have fair skin, a brown formula will probably be your best bet for a natural-looking lash with barely-there definition.
Glossed High Points
When dewy skin is the goal, you can gently gloss the high points of your face — eyelids, lips, and cheekbones — with a shiny (not shimmery) highlighter, to give the illusion that your skin is radiating light.
No matter what kind of bride you're channeling — bohemian chill or classic princess — a nude lip gloss delivers the perfecting finishing touch to your look.
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