Bridal Makeup

I had a wonderful time doing my friend Sonam's makeup for her wedding. She has amazingly flawless skin, beautiful features and she's a true Sagittarian with a heart of Gold (like mine).

There were two makeup changes. One for the Welcoming Ceremony and Baaraat and another for the pheras and the hymns of the Hindu Marriage. Keeping the makeup almost the same in both the looks, I did a couple of subtle changes and brought the drama to different levels. Please note that these pictures are taken with my Blackberry Q10 who seems to have done a decent job in getting pics that show the makeup that is done.

So lets have a look on how to achieve Sonam's wedding makeup.........

Look 1

• Prep and Prime the skin. I used my favorite Johnson's Baby wipes to clean any traces of grime and oil on a freshly washed face. 
• Then with Clarins Beauty Flash Balm, I added adequate doses of moisture to hydrate and beautify the skin. An olive oil derived 'Squalane' is the ingredient that makes the Beauty Flash balm feel so supple and gorgeous on the skin.
• To create that flawless canvas and a base for the foundation and other products to adhere to, I applied Estee Lauder's Mattifying Primer on the key areas where I want to avoid shine.
• On the highlight areas of the cheeks I used a bit of YSL Teint Parfait Complexion Enhancer to get that signature radiant glow without making her look or feel oily later on. Its oil free and has silicones to control excess oil yet has iridescent mica particles for a beautiful sheen.
• Then I made a mixture of 3 of my favorite foundations - Guerlain Parure Extreme 04 + MAC Pro Longwear NC40 + MUFE HD foundation 153 and applied these all with a flat foundation brush, like a paint on the face. Then immediately I buffed in with a duo fiber brush and patted with my fingers to create an air brushed seamless finish. 
• In the under eye area, I patted my lovely MAC Pro Longwear concealer in NC42 and blended to perfection giving a little lift to the eye area.
• Before setting the foundation, I applied a dot of Kryolan Lip N Cheek in Rose on her cheeks and blended with a blush brush at a lightning speed.
• With a fan brush, I dusted Kryolan Translucent Powder in YELLOW (safest color for any bride) on the entire face, with a generous dusting in the under eye area to catch any fall outs.
• Then I contoured the shaded areas of the face with my favorite mix of MAC blush in Emote (LE) + Benefit Hoola Bronzer to get a neutral color that is not too warm nor too cool since I hate orange/red based contours. 
• I highlighted the face with MAC Blush in Gana which is this fabulous gilded white gold highlighter. Dust it sparingly to avoid excessive shine. It imparts a lovely glow.
• On the cheeks I used Clinique Blushing Blush in Innocent peach mixed with a tinge of MAC Bite of An Apple to add rosiness.

EYES

• I primed her lids with NARS PRO Prime Smudgeproof eyeshadow base first. Then for an extra adherence I applied MAC Paint pot in Groundwork. This suits most Indian skin tones and cuts the blueness of the lids better than any of their other paint pots.
• I traced the upper and lower lash line with Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay in place eye pencil in Onyx and smudged it quickly. 
• On the outer corners I applied MAC pigment in Black Black and blended ever so slightly on in the crease. Since I wanted to makes Sonam's eyes look bigger and wider, I extended the crease more towards the brow bone.
• For the entire eye makeup, I used Guerlain Eclats 4 Eyeshadow quad in Bronze Dore and Velours D'or. 
• Bronze Dore - I used the deep bronzed up green in the crease and blended towards the brow bone. The olive green was a good compliment to the green in her green, beige, blue and pink attire (a very beautiful saree). Then I used the Ecru shade to highlight under the brows. On the lids I used the coppery gold ever so lightly.
• Velours D'or - I used the black in the quad on the lash lines and smoked it out. Then I used the shimmered gold in the inner corners.
• To add depth and transition to the crease, I applied MAC Brown Down in the outer half and blended towards the brow bone. Then in the inner half I used MAC Cork and blended all this with a BH cosmetics blender brush (best one ever).
• I traced MAC Powerpoint pencil in Gilded White in the inner corners since it was the pheras and Sonam did not want to end up with racoon eyes. We kept all the kohled quintessential bridal looks for the evenings.
• I curled her lashes with Shiseido Eye lash curler and applied dollops of Yves Rocher Waterproof mascara to get glossy and volumized lashes.

LIPS

• Prepped the lips with Elizabeth Arden Lip Fix.
• Then I applied Guerlain Gloss Cashmere in Rose Pondicherry on the lips and blended with fingers. 
• Outlined the lips with Bourjois Lip pencil in Soft Rose to add definition.
• On the centre of the lips applied a touch of Clinique Long last Glosswear in Airy Kiss

LOOK 2

This was just the extension of the first look.

• I intensified the eyes with a slick feliner using my bridal favorite Maybelline Eye Studio Gel liner and applied a good lashing of Uroparis lashes no. 54 with Duo lash glue.
• Intensified the rosiness of the blush with more dusting of MAC Bite of an Apple.
• Removed the previous lipstick and painted on MAC Lip Mix in Fuchsia without lining the lips. The color is so pigmented, does not bleed and can look harsh with a lip liner.
• As a top coat I applied MAC Lipstick in Fun N Sexy - known for its iridescent lavender blue pearl, to add dimensions and not make it look flat matte.

These are the looks and quick changes in the makeup. Hope you liked the makeup. Do let me know in thec omments. I do a lot of bridal makeups and if you are a bride or you have someone you know who would get married soon, do drop me an email on neerajnavare@yahoo.com if you'd be interested in hiring me. Its fun to do makeup and we do create amazing memories.

Thanks a lot.....

Neeraj x