October 11, 2018

Great skin equals naturally flawless makeup.
Makeup is a crucial part of your wedding day. Not only does it add a beautiful glowy cherry on top of the cake (weirdly, that’s you) but it also is a reflection on your personality. Whether its super natural and fresh or super glam (or anything in between) it won’t look as amazing as it could if the skin underneath isn’t the best is can be.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t have broken capillaries or fine lines, these are all completely normal and easy to work into hiding but it is your skin maintenance that can be easily controlled by you which is important. If you can drink loads and loads of water in the months leading up to your big day, have a good skin care routine and get some skin treatments such as microdermabrasion’s and other specifically recommended treatments for your skin.

Think about your overall vibe when deciding on your makeup look.
It’s really important when I work with my brides to get to know them. What’s their usual makeup style? What they are doing for their wedding? What’s the style they are creating? This way I work in the look to create a cohesive and consistent vibe. It makes for a beautiful flowing style!

Consider your location and weather when creating your look.
It’s so important to take this into account when thinking about makeup for your wedding. Is it indoors or outdoors? Is it a hot day or cold day? Will it be windy or still? All these factors play a part in determining what will last the longest and look flawless all day long.

Find a makeup artist who listens to you, understands you & will support you to have an incredible wedding day.
HHM isn’t super popular with brides just because we do great makeup. We are popular because brides know through word of mouth how important it is to us to connect with them. We don’t want to just rock up on the day of their wedding, smash them out and leave. It’s not our style. We would rather over allocate time to ensure we get to laugh, connect and eat as many chicken finger sandwiches as possible. Our mission is to always get to know our clients, understand who they are as people and connect with them and all their faves and this all starts with a makeup trial. From then on in, it is laughs and fun all round.

Doing a trial is a must.
We don’t do trials to prove we are good makeup artists, this is proven via word of mouth and our collection of photos on our social media. It is super rare now to have a bride trial with us to see if she wants to go with us. The reason why we have made trials mandatory, is because we need to get to know you, your skin and how makeup sits on you. You might want to do a full coverage but once applied realise it is too heavy or you might say your skin is dry but 2 hours after your trial the makeup has become oily. It’s all about getting to know you, create a look together and see how it all comes together so there is no stress on the day.

Look like ‘you’ on your wedding day.
There’s a lot of amazing wedding inspo out there and there may be looks that really align with who we are but don’t try to be someone else on your wedding day- just be you. After all your lover has eyes only for you and who you are. So always aim to be the best version of yourself for your big day! You want to look and feel like you.

Keep it simple!
It’s a fun place bridal makeup land but I have noticed over the year’s brides can trip themselves over by complicating things. Focus on the areas you want to prioritise and let everything else fall into place. Makeup is one of them. Good skin, calm bride and fun atmosphere makes for one hell of a beautiful woman.

Don’t do what you think you should, do what makes you happy!
We all had/have a daydream about what we think our wedding should be like, but as we plan and organise it seems to always slowly become different to what we had hoped. We think we should do this, invite that person, don’t do this or that and we change things to appease people. This is where it all goes wrong. Specifically, for makeup, I’ve had brides who naturally like to wear a more glam makeup, but people have told them they should go more natural, so they doubt themselves. Do what makes you happy! Wear a makeup look that you feel is authentically you and makes you feel as beautiful as you already are. Fuck the rest ha!

Keep your getting ready group intimate and light.
I’ve done thousands of brides and the weddings that are the most fun and relaxed are the ones that just have their bridal party there. Too many people, especially with people that you aren’t super close with, can cause stress and anxiousness. Keep it calm and intimate, you have the whole day to share with everyone else. It may be the only time of the day where it is just for you. If you do have to have someone there that may create a different energy that you would like, kindly ask your closest friend there to manage the situation so you don’t get too involved.

Be careful of your fake tan.
Going back to my belief that timeless makeup and bridal looks are so important I say this about tans too. Tans can definitely create a natural and healthy glow, but tan obsessions can quickly take over and nekk minute you look like you fell in mud. I say this because I’ve been there! And now I have to look back on the time I was a bridesmaid/oompa loompa. And that age-old question, to spray tan your face or not? If it’s a sheer tan, then its fine. If you have a hairy face, then try to avoid as it can grip to hair and go bad.

On the day have a good mask system.
I’ve pretty much made it mandatory for all of my brides to use our mask system on their wedding day. We use Lonvitalite masks and they honestly take the skin to hydration/glow heaven after use and create such an amazing canvas to work on. It genuinely makes such a huge difference to the makeup and my brides’ overall glow.

Use a waterproof mascara.
Duh – ha ha! Not much to say here but this is super important. Nothing worse than when the tears start and there’s no waterproof mascara, it’s all over!

Individual lashes are queen!
Strips are great, and for the right eye shape they are brilliant but my favourite thing to do with my brides is to create a custom eyelash look using individuals. No two women have the same eyes so a custom creation ensures the lashes look lush and full without looking fake.

Don’t be led by trends, go timeless.
Trends should support and inspire us but not dictate what we look like. I can’t tell you the number of makeup trends I have followed a little too closely and now there is a good couple years of my life that I can’t see photos of, due to my black gel eyeliner brows. I’m serious! That’s why the 90s are pretty influential at the moment and also one of my favourite makeup eras, due to the natural use of makeup and its techniques. It was all about letting women be women!

Keep those lips luscious and kissable.
Yes matte lips might hold a little better, but they can be very harsh on the lips. If you want hold, use a lip liner all over the lip and press in a lip shade, blot it off and press lipstick in again. This builds a stain and allows you to swipe some gloss over the top to give you beautiful, luscious and full looking lips.

Be careful of flashback on translucent powders.
I learned this the hard way with a bride once. This new translucent powder hit the market and it felt like silk on the skin. I used it all over. Proved to ruin the look once I saw the professional shots, the flash of the camera caused a flash back and disaster! If you don’t know what I mean type in ‘Angelina Jolie powder on face’ and you will soon understand! Ensure you use a powder on the day but make sure it does not flashback.

Create a bridesmaid makeup look that complements yours – but isn’t the same.
Brides always get stuck with what to do for their bridesmaids. I always advise that they should complement the brides look. If the bridesmaids are wearing a navy dress and the bride wants quite a soft, bronzed look I would suggest the bridesmaids go for either a bit of a stronger bronzed smokey eye or a red lip. Of course, I will go with anything they want but the number one thing to remember is the bride should always have a unique look to the rest!

Use a nude or white eyeliner if you have small eyes.
If you have small eyes or find you get quite red in the eyes after crying, being exposed to wind or just in general, white/nude eyeliners are incredible to create a fresher and more open eye.

Have a great touch up kit.
Powder, lipliner, lip gloss/lipstick, tissues, safety pins, mini deodorant can, tampons, Panadol, band aids, a concealer if you get a runny nose and a small vile of perfume. Powder is a must! It removes oil around the nose and chin and puts some pigment back onto the skin if it has worn off. I find the brides cheek always wears a bit due to all the cheek kisses from guests.

Be present.
This is, by far the biggest tip I can give brides. I have witnessed thousands of brides get ready on their wedding day and I also was a bride. Too many are tripped up by not enjoying the getting ready time with their girls because they are worried about the weather or the flowers or their mother in law. Rather than be excited for the day in 2 weeks, the venue set up tomorrow, the photographer meeting on Friday or the dress shopping next week – be present in the very moment you have in front of you. It will all go by in the blink of an eye. In one of the most lovely times of your lives the only thing you should be focused on is being in that very moment – you are so blessed and so loved. The rest of it will be splendid, I promise but wiggle your toes and feel your feet on the ground, that moment is all you have and it’s a fucking beautiful one.