Friday, September 9, 2016

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)


Eyes





On my brows I used:


On my eyes I used:

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

Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick in Fiery

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.

swatches of 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!!).

16 comments:

  1. The makeup looks great and I LOVE the dress. It looks very natural and yet still pops in natural light. Mind if I creep? Did you have a wedding party? If so did you do their makeup? And I already started typing "Thank you for not wearing fake lashes" right before I read your final thought.

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    1. Aw, thank you! I loved my dress too, and I'm really glad I'll be able to wear it many more times. I didn't have a wedding party. We decided to only invite family, because then we didn't have to decide which friends to invite and which not to invite, since we wanted to keep it small. Plus most of our friend live in different states (or countries), and we planned the whole thing in a couple of months. Didn't seem fair to make anyone except family feel obligated to spring for a last minute plane ticket! :) But I probably wouldn't have done anyone else's makeup anyway--I don't really have practice with anyone's face but mine, and that's a whole other skill. I tried to do my sister's makeup years ago and it was really hard.

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  2. I love that first photo! You look so beautiful and happy, and that dress is glorious. Kudos to you for having a tiny wedding (something I want if I ever get married) and for rejecting ~bridal~ makeup in favor of red lips. I understand why brides who don't usually wear makeup go for a nude look, but if you're someone who wears bold lips regularly, why shouldn't you wear them at your wedding?

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    1. Oh thank you! I always think I need an Occasion to wear red lips, and what's more of an occasion than this??

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    2. And I 100% recommend the tiny wedding route, though I wish we'd been able to have a big honeymoon. We're saving up to go on a trip sometime in the future instead. But even planning this small affair was a small nightmare. I can't imagine what it must be like to spend a whole year or so doing that.

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  3. I love that you did red lips! Bridal looks always seem to be so neutral. If I ever get married I will definitely be doing bold lips, because that's so much more me. (Also why I wore red lipstick in my graduation photos, not that that's an equivalent occasion, haha.) I love your dress too.

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    1. Yes, I wasn't very bridal in general haha. But it felt like me.

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  4. If I could go back in time I would do the small wedding. Far less hassle and headache plus you probably were able to enjoy it. It seems the couples rarely ever eat at their own wedding if it's a larger event. Not to mention not knowing half the people your parents invited.

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    1. Making polite small talk with near-strangers is my idea of torture, not a celebration!

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  5. You look so HAPPY on your wedding day! Which makes sense, lol. I love the softness and the shape of your brows.

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    1. Thanks! I think the brows, like everything else, look more subtle in the photos than in person. When I take photos, I always wonder how saturated and crisp that really clean, typical Instagram MUA makeup must be in person to appear that way in photos. I actually did the whole measuring the length of my brows with a pencil against my nose/corner of my eyes and extending them to those spots. So they are much bigger than on a regular day when I just fill what naturally exists--if that makes any sense!

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    2. Good point about Instagram brows! I always wonder that about highlighting and contour also. If it's visible enough to shine on camera, how frikkin bright is it in person?

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  6. OMG my dream wedding, no lies. You look amazing! Congratulations.

    I might have to steal this idea from you and do some makeup trials.

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    1. Thanks! This small wedding really did suit us, and I have no regrets. I would love to see your wedding makeup trials!

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  7. You look amazing and your dress is beautiful! And since you did your own makeup, you probably look more like "you" than you would have if a stranger had done your makeup.

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