Celebrity make-up artist Elaina Badro, who has worked with big names such as Carrie Underwood, Olivia Wilde and Kris Jenner, has helped numerous brides throughout her career and has a whole host of tips she recommends for them on their special day.
From skincare prep to makeup trials and photos, here are Badro's expert tips to ensure your makeup is looking the best it can on your wedding day.
Exfoliate before the wedding day
Before you even get started with your makeup, a clean face is key to making sure your makeup glides on smoothly and evenly.
Badro says a bride should definitely exfoliate before the wedding day and recommends doing it within seven days before the wedding.
Don't forget about the lips, either!
"The last thing you want are dry lips on your wedding day so like a sugar scrub or something like that would be good," she said.
There are a lot of different brands that offer lip scrubs that you can pick from depending on your budget.
Sephora has a Sugar Lip Polish Exfoliator for $27 or there's the Wet n Wild Perfect Pout Lip Scrub for $5.99 on Amazon.
Make sure you have translucent powder and a good lip product
A bride Elaina Badro worked with.
Courtesy of Elaina Badro.
As the day goes on our faces tend to get more oily and keeping that oil under control is a must on the day of your wedding.
While it's obviously easier if you have a makeup artist coming back in between the ceremony and reception to do any touch-ups, not everyone has that option and that's ok.
Badro says in order to keep shine under control, a bride should have a translucent powder handy at all times for when she needs it.
Lips are another important feature that a bride has to maintain throughout their wedding day, especially with all the eating, drinking, talking and photos that take place.
Choosing the one that won't dry out is pretty important and Badro says it's key to know the difference between a liquid lip and a lipstick.
If you decide to go with a liquid lip product (which does last longer) instead of a lipstick, the makeup artist suggests doing a trial and error with it before your special day.
"What people don't really understand about liquid lips versus lipstick is that liquid lips are very dry," she said.
"As a bride you want to try a few before you pick the one for the big day because the last thing you want is for your lipsticks [to be] there but then it dries your lip out."
Stay away from certain pressed powders
As mentioned, a powder is an essential product in a wedding day makeup look, but knowing which one not to use is equally as important.
Badro recommends staying away from a studio fix powder that has titanium dioxide in it because it will reflect from the flash in the camera and make you look pale.
"Usually those particles are reflecting off the camera and it makes like a white shadow which obviously you do not want because it would ruin all your pictures."
While she says that happened much more in the past when more people used digital cameras, it's still better to play it safe.
The makeup artist also suggested taking some test pictures once you have your trial makeup done just to be sure so that way you won't have any surprises later on.
Wear waterproof everything
You're bound to get emotional while celebrating and that can mean bad news for your makeup.
While tears are almost unavoidable, a big mess on your face is.
What's Badro's recommendation?
"Definitely waterproof everything as much as possible," she told Narcity and recommended Tom Ford Emotionproof Mascara.
Your maid of honour should have certain makeup duties
If you don't have a make-up artist staying close by on your wedding day, consider giving your maid of honour some make-up duties.
According to Badro, a MOH should make sure a bride's face is not oily and to remind them to reapply their lipstick and/or lipgloss.
Don't worry, you'll return the favour when it's their turn!
Get a full-face makeup trial done before the wedding day
A lot of preparation goes into a couple's wedding day and some of that should also go towards the bride's wedding day make-up.
What that means is not leaving the important decisions of what products you'll be using until the day of the ceremony.
Badro says a bride should try out different looks before their wedding and do makeup trials with their makeup artist beforehand.
Want to test out a colourful eyeshadow and bold red lip? Don't leave it to your wedding to find out how it looks.
Stick to a classic makeup look
You know the saying "less is more?" That should apply to your wedding day makeup look, according to Badro.
That's because while bold pigments are fun to try, trends don't last forever but your wedding photos do.
"I've had women ask me for a smokey eye, blue shadow, green, etc. I think smokey eyes are sexy especially for a night out on the town. I think colours are bright and fun, not for a wedding day," Badro explained in a wedding makeup post on her website.
"I am aware that everyone likes what they like, but again...this is how I would do it."
Badro says she recommends a bride go more neutral and classic with their wedding day look.
"You want to be able to look at your bridal pictures, I don't know in 20 years and not be like damn, I wish I didn't go with that trend. I would stick to more classic beauty [looks]," Badro said.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
