My Wedding Makeup- October 2014

I thought I'd finally get round to doing a little post about what makeup I actually wore on my wedding day back in October at South Farm! Whilst I had the wonderful Lauren Taylor do mine and my bridesmaids hair; I decided to do my own wedding makeup; not out of fussiness but purely because I knew exactly what look I wanted, how long it would take to do and what products would last all day!

Before the day I did a few makeup trials, as I would for any of my brides. I started with the look I thought I wanted, dark smokey eye's with browns and gold, that of which is normally found in bridal magazines....but it just wasn't right. Over and over again, something...just wasn't right, it didn't look like me...Fine for an evening out but not for the wedding day photo's.

So when the wedding day came, I did my makeup the same as I normally wear it...with just a little more time and care taken and a few extra products that I knew would add the perfect finishing touches:

Primer: Benefit's Porefessional is an oil free cream that can be used on it's own or as a primer and it helps minimise the look of pores. It's a perfect base for foundation but doesn't work for dry skin.

Eye Primer: I use MAC's Paint Pot in "Painterly" which is a highly pigmented eye base which dries fast and I find holds eyeshadow amazingly well.

Under-eye Cover: I couldn't be without Illamasqua's Creme Pigment in "Emerge." The peach colour is perfect for neutralising the blue tones under the eye and works well with the camera. YSL can cause bounce back if a flash is used and cause a grey appearance to the skin.

Foundation: Without fail it had to be Illamasqua's Skin Base. SPF free, I find that it is less oily than other foundations and like all of Illamasqua's collection it is designed to work in a professional HD environment so looks flawless on camera.

Concealer: Sadly I got a big spot right in time for the wedding day but thankfully, I knew that MAC's Pro Longwear Concealer. would do the job!

Contour: There's no right or wrong products with contouring (unless you use shimmer, that's wrong...) for the wedding day I used the Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in 01 (white) and a slightly darker tone 10 to "enhance" the cheek bones. I combined this with a little of MAC's Sculpting Powders.

Blusher: I love MAC's Springsheen Powder Blush I used to use Pink Swoo but they discontinued it :(

Powder to Set: Whilst the foundation is matt coverage, it's still super important to set it with powder to help it last. MAC's Mineralize Skin Finish Powder is nice and lightweight but doubled up as a great pressed powder to keep in my clutch bag for the evening.

Eyebrows: I use Illamasqua's Eye Brow cake in Thunder as it's a great powder that has a nice natural colour. I took the time to highlight above and below the brow with a little white foundation to make sure my brows were camera ready. I get my eyebrows tinted, threaded and waxed (whatever it takes to have good brows!) and it should be noted that makeup can't always work wonders; if your brows are in bad shape, get them sorted!

Eyeshadow: Nope....I don't really wear I eyeshadow so I just kept it neat and clean.

Eyeliner: Liquid Liner is my makeup trademark so I couldn't be without it on my wedding day. The only difference is I went below the eye rather than just on the upper lid, it helped make my eyes look more defined and dramatic. I've tried so so so many and my absolute favourite is Collection 2000 Fast Stroke Liner  about £2.99 from Boots.With a foam tip applicator, it goes on smoothly and softly and gives a nice black pigment...and it stays on!

Mascara: Benefit's They're Real Mascara is AMAZING. The silicone comb inside does a lot of the hard work admittedly as you can comb through multiple times without it getting clumpy and depositing too much product. It's not technically waterproof but it really doesn't come off. I considered using lashes on the day but didn't bother in the end, I gave my lashes a helping hand by lifting and tinting them the week before so even without mascara they looked long and dark:

Bronzer: I tend to bronze after I've done the rest of my makeup so I can see how much I actually need. Once eye makeup is done it can look a little more dramatic and you may find you need less. I used MAC's Bronzing Powder in "Refined Gold."

Lip Colour: I don't wear lipstick very often and find that I'm self conscious about it when I do. Instead I wore a little of MAC's Lip Pencil in "Dervish" and MAC's Lip Gloss in "Partial to Pink." 

Vicky Brown Hair and Makeup

based in Hertfordshire

www.vicky-brown.co.uk