After many years of providing makeup for brides and wedding parties, and after attending many soirees myself over the years, I have been able to narrow down my top tips for keeping your makeup fresh on your wedding day, long after your initial makeup application.
Obviously, hiring your makeup artist to stay by your side all day & evening is the most efficient way to do this (and something we at Nashville Wedding Stylist offer as an add-on to our regular wedding makeup services), BUT if that is not your plan, here are some great ways to keep your makeup looking beautiful from the first photo to the very last!
1) Blot excess oil from your face every time you use the restroom
This is my top tip for brides who have normal to oily skin (and particularly those who prefer a more dewy makeup finish). Every time you use the restroom, take one square of toilet tissue and lightly press it to your face in your "t-zone" area. Specifically, your chin, forehead, and cheek areas just beside the nose on either side.
Pressing this tissue onto these areas will lift any excess oil that has surfaced, and instantly mattifies your face in those areas - WITHOUT having to add any additional powder! If you have had your makeup profesionally applied, this should do the trick, as most wedding makeup artists use complexion products that will hold up for many hours without the need for a touch-up.
You want to avoid adding any additional makeup or powder to your face after the initial application, because doing so may affect the overall look in a negative way - for example: your powder may not be the right color, or will make those areas look too matte and will take away from the professional-looking finish created by your makeup artist.
If you can remember to do this one simple thing every time you visit the restroom on your wedding day, I assure you it will help your makeup look fresh & beautiful all day and evening.
2) Regularly re-apply your lip products
Lip color is something that every bride should be especially attentive to on their wedding day. A lot is happening with the lips - between kissing your sweet fiance, eating, & drinking, it is very easy for the lip color to fade, and therefore will need to be re-applied often.
If you have a professional makeup artist doing your makeup, there are a few things you can do to ensure you will have enough lip color to last throughout your wedding day -
Ask if they can provide you with a sample of your lip color for you to keep
Ask for the specific lip product & shade(s) used at your preview (or trial) appointment, and you purchase the full size product(s) to keep with you
^^ OR ask the makeup artist to purchase these products for you and give them to you on the wedding day (expect an additional charge for this personal shopping service + product cost)
Ask if they can use a stain first, and then apply regular lip color over the stain
Any of the above options will ensure that your lips will look as fresh as the first moment your lip color was applied in each and every photo.
3) Keep your hands away from your face
This is something I see SO often that I wish more people knew: Every time you touch your face, your fingerprints lift away a little bit of your makeup. The only makeup that will not do this is alcohol-based makeup that is meant for character looks (aka Halloween), prosthetics, and tattoo coverage. It is NOT meant for the face and will actually harm your facial skin, so, that is not an option for bridal makeup especially.
Even with my first tip above, when blotting away the excess oil, you are using a tissue as a barrier between your fingers and your face. The fine grooves in our fingerprints are specifically designed to grip things, so of course if we touch our faces, our fingertips will "grip" the makeup and pull it away from our skin.
Additionally, when we touch our face with enough force, we can actually move the makeup around, which is not good, considering our makeup has been applied with a certain level of detail to ensure every product is applied in a specific place.
So, in short, just don't touch your face, okay? Good. On to the last tip!
4) Avoid messy foods
Most long-wearing makeup is silicone-based, which means it is most effectively removed through an water-in-oil solution. In fact, even just straight up oil is the best makeup remover for silicone-based makeup.
With this in mind, if you consume foods on the wedding day that contain an excessive amount of oil AND are not easily placed into the mouth (i.e. pizza, large sandwiches w/ creamy sauces, fried chicken on-the-bone), it is almost guaranteed that this oil will remove the makeup from your entire chin & lip area, and there is nothing to be done (besides adding additional makeup back to the area) that will save it.
This is particularly frustrating as a wedding makeup artist, when we see these foods enter the bridal suite while we are working on providing beautifully executed wedding makeup looks for our clients. What you eat, and how you eat it on the wedding day MATTERS! If your only option is a messy food item, I beg of you, cut it up with a fork & knife and place it into your mouth. Do not bite into anything, especially greasy foods. They are yummy, but not worth the carnage that will happen to your beautiful makeup look.
If you are getting married soon, please keep these tips in mind! You will not regret taking these extra simple steps to ensure your beautiful makeup stays intact on your wedding day.
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This article was written by Madison H. Dennis, founder of MHD Beauty, MHD Cosmetics, and Nashville Wedding Stylist out of Nashville, TN. Madison is an award-winning and published wedding hair & makeup artist, and is available for styling for weddings & shoots all over the world. Please visit our websites for more information about working with the team or with her directly for your wedding day.