My Wedding Makeup

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I got married back in the spring in about the smallest wedding you can have and still invite people. It was held in a park and took about half an hour. And then there were 20 minutes of photos, which we didn't originally plan to do, but the mothers outvoted us. I did my own makeup and hair, but since the photography was limited, there are no closeups of my makeup.

I went completely matchy-matchy and coordinated all of my makeup with my dress and cardigan (it was too early in the spring for no sleeves!). I got my dress from ModCloth (this one, which is unfortunately sold out at the moment), and it was perfect. In most of my photos my bouquet is blocking the front of the dress, so enjoy this goofy pose where you can see what it actually looked liked. (FYI, tulips droop very quickly once you remove them from water. Good thing it was a short ceremony!)

I wanted to record my makeup here mainly for myself, so I can remember what I did, because I was happy with the results. This is certainly not meant to be a tutorial. Since I don't have detailed photos of my actual wedding day makeup, I've illustrated this post with the photos I took of my trial makeup runs (complete with unfortunate reflections on my glasses).Almost everything in the trial photos is the same as what I actually ended up using, except for my lipstick. In the first trial run (i.e. the first two photos), I used Urban Decay Matte Revolution lipstick in Bad Blood (swatched here). For the second trial run, the third photo, I used NYX Matte Lipstick in Perfect Red. For my actual wedding day, I picked up something more kiss-proof: Stila liquid lipstick in Fiery. Swatches later in the post!

My first trial run happened before I dyed my hair, as you can no doubt tell, and the second was after. My hair color in the photo below is L'Oreal Superior Preference in Dark Soft Mahogany Brown. The color in the two photos above is the same dye after about 4-5 months of fading/growth.

Here's a list of all the makeup I used. It felt like a ton, and there are a lot of products involved, but in photos I don't think it looks like too much. The best part is that I bought only one new product (the Stila lipstick)--everything else was stuff I already had. In fact, several of the things I used are among the oldest makeup products I own. Something old, I guess!

Face (in order of application)

• Smashbox Photo Finish Primer (sample tube--I have no idea if this actually did anything)
• NYX Concealer stick in Green around nose and over other reddness
• No7 Lift & Luminate Foundation in Cool Vanilla (swatched here) mixed with Lord & Berry Cream Foundation in White Milk
• Sephora Gel Serum Concealer in Fondant (reviewed here) under eyes and over red spots/areas
• Paula's Choice Resist Pressed Powder in Porcelain/Fair (very brief review here)
• NYX Blush in Taupe for light cheekbone contouring
• Old Quo blushes (both mixed together) from the palette in this post
• Light bronzer from the same Quo palette
• e.l.f. Mineral Eyeshadow in Elegant (discontinued) as highlighter mainly on my cheekbones, above my brows, and on my nose (too much nose highlight in the first iteration!)
• Nars Light Reflecting Pressed Setting Powder (this shit is expensive, but if you're going to be photographed, it really does what it says it will do--not so much in real life)

Eyes

On my brows I used:

• Avon Ultra Luxury Brow Liner in Blonde (reviewed here)
• Paula's Choice Eyebrow and Hair Tint in Sable

On my eyes I used:

• Wet N Wild Fergie eyeshadow primer (reviewed here)
• L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow in Eternal Sunshine on the mobile lid (swatched here)
• The pale gold shade in the Revlon Colorstay Quad in Copper Spice (discontinued, swatched here) under the browbone and in the inner corner
• Ulta Demi Eyeshadow in Milk Chocolate in the crease and outer V
• L'Oreal Lineur Intense Felt Tip Liquid Eyeliner in Earthen Rock Brown (Note: I didn't wing out my eyeliner. Instead I used the shape I described in this post, which is thicker in the center of my eye, to make them appear a little wider and rounder.) (Note II: OH DEAR GOD IT SEEMS LIKE THIS MOST PERFECT EYELINER MIGHT BE DISCONTINUED! NOOOO!)
• The darkest shade from the Copper Spice quad to soften the edge of the eyeliner and smudged lightly below the lower lashline
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Liner in Nude on the lower waterline
• Covergirl LashBlast Volume Waterproof mascara in Very Black (reviewed here)

The only difference between the eye detail above and what I actually used on my wedding day is that I was testing out Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer in Chantilly during this trial run. As you can see, it creased, so I went with my usual Sephora Gel Serum concealer on the day itself.

Lips

I really loved the look of Urban Decay Bad Blood, and my husband gamely agreed that he would wipe any lipstick smeared on his face off before we got our photos taken, but a few days before the wedding, I decided to get a more transfer-proof liquid lipstick instead. Stila Fiery turns out to be almost identical in color to Bad Blood, but it won't come off on your bride or groom's lips. I was a bit wary when I bought it, because as a rule I don't like liquid lipstick. This stuff is easy to apply--it's not runny and it only requires one coat for full opacity. It's also surprisingly comfortable. I'm pretty intolerant of lipstick formulas that are at all drying, and for me, this one isn't. It also doesn't flake off or wear away in an ugly way. It wore away a bit in the center of my mouth during our very rich wedding meal (shepherd's pie!), but it was easy to retouch. I really can't think of any criticism, which isn't something I ever thought I'd say about a liquid lipstick. I don't even regret that I paid full price for it (gasp!).

I used Rimmel Exaggerate Lip Liner in Ravish (another oldie) to clean up the edges--I recreated my technique recently for the photo above. Ravish is a dark brick red. I really like using a darker lipliner with a red lipstick. Not only does it add dimension (kind of like contouring your lips, I guess), it also makes red lips appear less stark. It sounds strange, but if you find even the most flattering shades of red a bit intimidating or jarring when you put them on, try lining it with a slightly darker shade and see if it looks more harmonious.

Here are some swatches: (left to right) Stila Fiery, Urban Decay Bad Blood, NYX Perfect Red, and Rimmel liner in Ravish.

 Here's a detail I cropped out of a group photo from the wedding, which gives you an idea of how it ended up:

There it is! My long belated wedding makeup post. Our wedding was just what we had in mind, and I'm pleased that I've learned to do my own makeup well enough that I was able to do it myself for this occasion. To be honest, whenever I've had my makeup done by someone else for other weddings, I've never really been satisfied with it. My technique isn't flawless, but at least I got exactly what I wanted (and no false lashes!!).