Individual style

I think the most exciting thing about doing makeup for a wedding party is making a cohesive statement with the makeup while still approaching each person as an individual. I think that Kate's recent wedding was such a wonderful example of this. If you look at the picture of Kate with her attendants:

On the left:
This bridesmaid was a warmer skintone and had a down-to-business, straight forward personality. She wasn't a girly-girl, but obviously wanted to look great. I did a very natural look for her with a focus on her lashes and upper lash line.

Second from the left: This girl had a very upbeat, outgoing personality so I wanted to give her a pop of color on the cheeks. Plus, she said that she wasn't afraid of cheek color!
The next girl is a sister of the bride, so I wanted to set her look apart from the others just a little. She was quiet, but had a little of a retro edge to her, so I gave her a liquid eyeliner cateye.

Then there's Kate. She's a really down-to-earth girl with a lot of creativity. I gave her highlights in the inside of her eyes that really stood out, along with a soft, smoky look focused on the upper lashes.

Kate's other sister was outgoing and sweet, she definitely had a glow about her that called for vintage. I gave her a 20's look then put a glow on her upper cheekbones to modernize it.

The 2nd girl from the right was Kate's best friend. She was the lowest maintenance girl of the bunch and the only one who didn't want lashes. Her eyes were gorgeous without much of anything! I just focused on concealing imperfections and warming up her skin with some bronzer, then finished with light shadow and mascara. Still a major transformation if you look at before and after shots below.

The last girl is the sister of the groom. She was younger and quieter than the other girls, so I expected her to not want much makeup. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. The first thing she said was "I've always wanted to try a smokey eye, but I don't know how to do it." Voila, your first smokey eye! I opted for browns as to not overwhelm her too much for a first-timer.

Then, naturally the Moms were very unique. Obviously, they are older, but they are always more surprised at how great they can look with a little more time spent on their face. I always focus on making the skin look smooth, even, glowing and warmed up a little. Subtlty is key for anyone, but especially over 40. Then, add lashes, brows (SOOOOO important!), soft liner (set with powder eyeshadow), mid-tone eyeshadow (shimmer is great on the lid!), a matte mid-tone or lighter shade in the crease (dark looks too heavy and will actually make them look older), and I skip the highlight under the brow at this age unless a natural or semi-matte is used. Cheeks are usually pinky or peachy, stay away from dark colors unless the skin is also dark. Lips are great in a mid-tone rosey color that looks healthy on cooler complexions or a tawny copper for warm skin tones. It sounds like a lot, but if you look at the picture of Kate with her Mom below, it looks even, natural and younger. And she was incredibly pleased, as were all 3 of her lovely daughters.

I can't wait until the next wedding season so I can start again by approaching each person as a unique and wonderful challenge. It comes pretty naturally to me, but in breaking it down it sheds a whole new light to what the point is of hiring a professional makeup artist to do your wedding. I'm not here to toot my own horn, but the point is that we can see the face separately from the person and also as part of the person. You need to separate it for the skill-set of actually applying each part of the puzzle, but you need to see the person as a part of their face in order to get a concept for the colors and styles you will use in the execution.

I've been getting a lot of bridal inquiries for next Spring and Summer already. I wonder if there are any Winter brides out there who have yet to book a makeup artist. I'm free and I'm already jonesing for another!