Why I Did My Own Wedding Makeup (And How I Did It!)

Photo by Stephanie Dreams Photography.

Nothing like a WEDDING to inspire the first beauty post on this blog in aeons. If you follow me on the gram you’ll know I got married at the end of last year (I know, finally, eleven years later), and perhaps the wedding decision I made that raised the most eyebrows (even more than not telling anyone we were engaged and getting married less than three months later) was not hiring a makeup artist.

Photo by Stephanie Dreams Photography.

I get it, it’s your wedding day, you’re going to have professional photos taken, you’re going to be emotional, not only do you want to look your absolute best, you also want your makeup to stay put. Hiring a makeup artist makes a lot of sense for most people, but for me, it literally never crossed my mind.

Photo by Stephanie Dreams Photography.

There were a few reasons for that, the first being that I have had my makeup done professionally more times than I can count, and yet only once have I actually liked it. I think because I spent so much time as a beauty blogger, I’ve tried a lot of looks and I just feel like I know what I like better than anyone else.

Because of my years in the beauty blogging sphere, I’ve tried a LOT of products, and I have some real firm favourites. To me, it made a lot more sense to buy a few extra pieces and have them to love for the next year, versus shell out for a makeup artist with no guarantee I would like the outcome. In fact, if you add up the cost of all the products I used on the day AND the tools, it’s still less than that one makeup artist I liked three years ago.

Photo by Stephanie Dreams Photography.

I also was really keen to keep the morning of the wedding as chilled as possible. I wanted it to be my mum and dad, my sister and Con’s, and my grandparents, that’s it. I did end up hiring a hair stylist, partly because I’m more competent with a makeup brush than a curling wand, and partly because the stylist in question has been doing my mum’s hair for years and even did my hair for prom back in the day. But a makeup artist was another person, more stress, and I just wanted to avoid that as much as possible.

And ultimately, I just wanted to feel like myself on the day, I wanted to feel happy and comfortable, and look back at the photos in twenty years time and be happy with the choice I made. And I knew that the best way to achieve that was to do my own makeup.

I will say, I practised my final look a good five times through in the run up to the wedding, and that’s not including the three or four different looks I tried before that. I spent a lot of time curating my favourite products, had to repurchase a few things, and I also spent out on lots of skincare for the run up, and things like a new Beauty Blender to make sure everything went smoothly on the day.

Photo by Stephanie Dreams Photography.

So, onto the products I used!

  • Glossier Futuredew – for good skin glow
  • Hourglass Mineral Veil Primer – the best for makeup longevity
  • Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation – this foundation is super natural looking but great coverage. It has a natural matte finish which I wanted for longevity and so I wouldn’t get shiny in photos, and I applied it with my Beauty Blender for a natural look.
  • Estee Lauder Double Wear Stay In Place Flawless Foundation – on redness
  • NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer – for undereyes, pressed in with the beauty blender
  • NARS Sunkissed Bronzing Cream in Laguna – to warm up the perimeter of the face
  • Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder – pressed into the t-zone with a Beauty Blender and then used to bake undereyes
  • Tarte Tartist Pro To Glow Palette – I only used the contour from this palette, to chisel out those cheekbones!
  • Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk Blush – I inadvertantly used a lot of Pillow Talk products, but they really are the best for that natural look. This blush is the perfect natural flush for me and it stayed put all day
  • Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector in Champagne Pop – I know this has been discontinued now but it’s still my favourite, and the perfect glow, dusted onto cheekbones and pressed on brow bones and inner corners of the eyes
  • The Balm Brow Pow – I had my brows laminated and tinted before the wedding but I just used this to add a little definition in sparse areas
  • Anastasia Brow Freeze – the best thing to hold your brows in place all day
  • Anastasia Eye Primer – this is great for creating an even blank canvas on the eyes and it keeps your eyeshadow in place all day
  • Charlotte Tilbury Easy Eye Charlotte Darling Palette – I wanted something pretty, shimmery but natural on the eyes, I ended up just building up all these shades for a light smoky eye look
  • Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir Mascara – my ride or die mascara for thick fluffy lashes
  • Ardell Demi Wispies Lashes – the only lashes I have ever liked, they’re a three quarter length and they don’t look too fake
  • Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Pillow Talk – this shade is really close to my natural lip colour, so I used this as a base and also to slightly emphasise the curve of my lips
  • Bite Beauty Lipstick in Rockett! – this is one of the lipsticks I created at the Bite Beauty Lip Lab in Toronto. My perfect pinky nude
  • Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray – I probably used half a bottle of this, sprayed liberally between every step, but hey, it worked! I wish I’d taken a photo when I finally took my makeup off 16 hours after applying it because it still looked fab

Photo by Stephanie Dreams Photography.

So my main advice if you’re thinking of doing your own wedding makeup is practice, practice, practice! I’m glad I did it, I felt like an elevated version of myself on the day, and I have all the products to recreate the look anytime I want! Roll on the next date night…

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