Bridal Makeup & Dressing Tips

Brides should understand the difference between everyday makeup and the type of application that will enhance their beauty in wedding photos. For brides, the choice is simple -- learn the proper techniques from a makeup artist months before the wedding, or simply invest in a professional application on the day of the event.

For Perfect Photos

For perfect photos , apply foundation evenly. Use a long lasting matte finish and end with a dusting of pressed powder. Be sure to keep pressed powder handy for touch up; you don't want a shiny nose or forehead in your pictures! Remember to match powder to your foundation color. Be sure to blend it well along the jaw line.

Avoid heavy eyeliner
It'll only make your eyes look smaller. Pass on false eyelashes, too. They can cast a shadow beneath the eyes. Instead, accent the outer corner of eyes with black or gray eyeliner.

Choose bridal makeup
Choose bridal makeup that's on the understated side. Our best suggestion, select a professional makeup artist with experience in bridal photography. 

Because skin tends to break out
Because skin tends to break out or look flushed after a facial, be sure to schedule your facial at least one week before your wedding. 

To keep your hands soft
To keep your hands soft apply our rich non greasy Hand Crème before going to bed, then put on a pair of white cotton gloves. While you sleep, the gloves will hold in body heat and help the hand crème penetrate. In the morning, you hands will feel softer and smoother. ( This trick works great on feet, too !)

Colours

Light colors such as pastels reflect more light and hence enhance the volume of a person. Advisable for persons on the slimmer side.

Dark colors such as blacks and burgundy, by virtue of reflecting lesser light diminish the volume of the wearer and are advisable for persons on the stouter side.

Short persons should avoid wearing clothes with contrasting colors. Fabrics

Banaras koras, brocades and silks
These fabrics have always been, are and will always be intrinsic to dressing for weddings in Indian culture. They remain a favorite with the designers as they are versatile and lend themselves to unlimited possibilities as far as embroidery is concerned.

Satin 
Satin has a luxurious, rich and glossy feel. It is used as lining of expensive outfits. Satin is a versatile material for embroidery and can carry considerable embroidery weight.

Lycra / Lurex
This fabric hugs the body and provides a close fit. Hence, it is necessary that the wearer has a good figure else it would accentuate features of the body that are not as attractive. Embroidery on lycra / lurex is limited and requires a special technique.

Laces / Nets 
This fabric conveys a fresh, young, pretty, dream-like feel. Delicate embroidery is preferred on lace while net is more versatile and lends itself to a wider range of embroidery.

Dressing for the ceremony

Engagement and Wedding Ceremony 
These being the most auspicious of wedding ceremonies, the clothes worn are almost always traditional, primarily dictated by the background and culture of the person.

Reception 
The clothes designed for the reception tends to be the most elaborate

What is Mehndi ?

The art of Mehendi has existed for centuries. The exact place of its origin is difficult to track because of centuries of people in different cultures moving through the continents and taking their art forms with them and therefore sharing their art with everyone along the way. 
Some historical evidence suggests that Mehndi started in India while others believe it was introduced to India during the twelfth century A.D. I personally feel that it would be hard to argue the fact that it appeared as an art form in Egypt first. 

Proof has been found that henna (MEHNDI) was used to stain the fingers and toes of Pharaohs prior to mummification over 5000 years ago when it was also used as a cosmetic and for it's healing power. The mummification process took 70 days and as the Egyptians were diligent in planning for their deaths and their rebirth in the afterlife, they became quite obsessed with the preservation process.

Bridal Makeup Tips

Makeup is surprisingly often an overlooked item when planning your dream shaadi.  Brides always focus on planning their outfits, jewellery, hair and mehndi but don't realise that, to look amazingly stunning on their wedding day they really need to have good makeup applied by a professional. Bridal make up by its very nature is a unique requirement and your make up regime for the big day needs careful thought and consideration. Our bridal beauty consultant, Lubna Rafiq, of Art Of Beauty shares some of bridal beauty insights with you… My personal approach to make-up for brides is one of corrective, subtle make-up that enhances the bride's best features and makes her look naturally radiant and beautiful on her big day. The first thing people notice when they look at a bride - is how stunning and radiant she looks, not her makeup itself. In fact make - up that is too obvious can look overdone and artificial so understated and sophisticated elegance is the name of the game!

How Do I Get My Eyes Noticed?

Your eyes are the most important feature when you are doing your make-up. Whether they are small, deep-set or large, using these techniques will definitely draw the attention your eyes deserve.

The first step to achieving Dynamic Eyes is to use a highlighter like our Beige Eye-Lite and apply it from the nose, (the thickness of the brush) following up under the eye brow and extend to the hairline. Then using a large brush like our Complexion Brush start from the nose and blend the Eye-Lite upward towards the brows and the hairline.

Creating Bold Cheekbones

The steps to getting well defined cheekbones are very simple. Imagine if you will that there is an imaginary line from the bottom corner of your nose to the area where your ear is attached at the top of the ear. This line defines the top of the area where your blush will be applied. To find the bottom line simply imagine a line from the bottom corner of your mouth to the bottom attachment of your ear. I always tell my customers to use the handle of their contour brush to get an idea where these lines are. Next you will need to locate the starting point. If you can imagine a vertical line from the iris of your eye to where it intersects the lower line, this is the point where you will want to start applying your blush going up towards the ear. This starting point is also the area of your face where your cheeks start to round back towards the side of your head. Use those imaginary lines to guide you where you need to apply your blush, and make sure you blend upwards to give yourself well defined cheekbones. The greatest thing about this tip is since you are using your facial structure for guidelines it will always look right for you.

How Do I Get My Eyes Noticed?

Your eyes are the most important feature when you are doing your make-up. Whether they are small, deep-set or large, using these techniques will definitely draw the attention your eyes deserve.

The first step to achieving Dynamic Eyes is to use a highlighter like our Beige Eye-Lite and apply it from the nose, (the thickness of the brush) following up under the eye brow and extend to the hairline. Then using a large brush like our Complexion Brush start from the nose and blend the Eye-Lite upward towards the brows and the hairline.

Applying Make-up

Always start your make-up with your foundation. This will even out your complexion and give you a good base to start with. Now for the trick. Use a sponge to apply your foundation. This way your foundation will not change colors due to the oils on your fingers, and you will not contaminate your foundation.
Another trick is to use a large complexion brush to smooth out your foundation around the hairline and jaw line. This way you will not have a line of demarcation around the edge of your foundation. Next apply your brow color. Follow up with a brow gel to keep your brows looking nice all day or night.
Apply your highlighter next. The trick here is to use a highlighter like our Beige Eye-lite that is creamy instead of a waxy cover-up. When you are trying to hide lines on the face, using a waxy substance will not move with your face, thus causing creases and other wrinkles to form in the product. Using a creamy highlighter will get into the lines to lighten them and make them less visible. Again use your complexion brush to blend your highlighting after you have applied it. 

Make-up Tips for Older Women

Eventually, the effects of time begin show on our faces. Here are four simple techniques to look your best no matter what age you are.

1. Instead of the traditional lip liner pencil, line your lips with a stiff bristled brush using your blush. This gives your lipstick the staying power that helps prevent any bleeding or feathering of your lip color around your lips.

2. To set your make-up, apply a loose translucent powder with a powder brush in the morning and do not reapply during the day. Excessive powder, especially from a compact, accentuates lines and wrinkles. If you need a touch up for shine, simply use a fluffy brush like our Complexion Brush and smooth it over your face.

3. Lessening the appearance of jowls (the lines from the edge of the nose to the corner of the mouth) is accomplished with Beige Eye-lite. Using a highlighter de-emphasizes the shadow created by the jowl thus making it less noticeable. Check your chart in the Free Facial Chart section of our site for a guide on Beige Eye-lite placement. To lessen the appearance of a saggy neck, use a non-frosted powder slightly darker than your natural skin tone and apply it under your chin. This creates the effect of a shadow, therefore making it less prominent.

4. Forget the myth that you shouldn't wear frosted eye shadow over the age of thirty. Frosted eye shadows, if applied properly, can make you look young. Never use one color on the entire eyelid! Per your Free Facial Chart, use one light color under your brow, one color on your eyelid close to your lashes and one slightly darker shade on the crease if desired. And, most of all... Blend, blend, blend!

Remember that subtlety is the key. Armed with these four techniques, you have the arsenal to take on aging and look your best!

Party Makeup Ideas

Whether you have a dinner, office, or New Year's Eve party to get ready for -- or it's just happy-hour with your coworkers, we've got makeup tips for you! We've asked the experts and they've provided us with everything you need to know to look great this holiday season.

For a Dinner Party

The best way to make lipstick stay put through a meal is to layer your lip products. Lip primers are a good place to start since they prevent feathering and fading. Clinique's All about Lips is a lip primer that comes in a handy pump dispenser and moisturizes in addition to keeping lip color in place. Next, follow these steps:

Preparation Of The Face For Makeup

For the best final result, you must meticulously prepare your face for the actual application of the makeup.

Identify The Structure Of Your Face:

This is very important, so that you can understand the high points and the drawbacks of your face. Then you will be able to emphasize the excellent features of your face and camouflage your handicaps. Faces are of 2 basic shapes:

1. Angular Faces are well delineated, with a strong bone structure and musculature. Angular faces could be trapezoidal, rectangular, square or triangular. 

2. Round Faces, on the other hand, have curved, continuous, gently sloping lines, without any bony projections. Round faces can be oval or the true round form.

Eye Cosmetics And Their Use

Eye Makeup:

Almond shaped eyes are considered to be the ideal. So when making up eyes, one tries with the help of light and dark eye makeup to make the necessary changes to give the eyes an almond appearance.

 

Eye shadow:

Application Technique: 
The following steps are followed in the application of eye shadow shades. 

The Secrets of Concealer

Concealer is the little white lie of the makeup world -- we all use it on occasion, and no one has to feel guilty about this kind of cover-up. But with all the types of concealer available, women often question how and when to use it.

Concealers come in sticks, pots, cremes, and pencils. Any type will do. It's okay to use your fingertips to apply. Just make sure you dab or pat it on -- never wipe or rub. For the most covert application, use a concealer brush. It helps you to be subtle and precise, especially when you're working on small areas like blemishes (yes, we all get them -- pimples, zits, and the occasional Mount Everest). 

Even when you're blemish-free, there are places where concealer works miracles: under the eyes to cover dark circles, on the outer corners of the eyes (where it's often reddish or dark), around the nostrils, and in the dark bluish spots where each eye meets the bridge of the nose (check your face in this place, as most of us get a bit of a dent there). A dot on either side keeps the eyes looking brighter. 

Basically, concealer is a slightly heavier version of foundation. If you're using concealer with foundation, go with a color that's one shade lighter than the foundation. These two products work in tandem to bring your face to one tone.

Apply concealer first, to cover dark spots or blemishes, then go over the concealed areas with foundation. If the spots are still dark, you can go back and apply more concealer on top of the foundation. (When I'm working under the eyes, I sometimes add more concealer over the foundation just to make the eyes pop a bit more.)

If you're using just concealer without foundation over it, make sure the concealer matches your skin tone. This can be tricky, since it's offered in far fewer shades than foundation. If the color's too light, you'll actually draw more attention to the problem you're covering. But if you get a great match, you can get by with spot concealer and nothing else on the face -- even with blemishes. 

Sometimes foundation alone can take the place of concealer; although it's a lighter formula, you can use it in the same areas and it often does the trick. On the other hand, if you're not wearing foundation, just use concealer. 

It's really your choice: foundation alone, concealer alone, or a combination of the two. Another option is tinted moisturizer. If your skin's nearly perfect, it's all you need.

The Key To Flawless Foundation

Types of Foundations

Most of us keep our foundation as close as our ATM card. And just like crisp cash, we tend to "spend" too much of it. That's the most common problem women make -- putting foundation all over their face when that's very rarely needed. When you get the right shade, and you know how and where to use it, you'll find you need very little.

But first -- which form do you choose? There are sticks, liquids, creams, and powders. If you have normal skin, you're fine with anything. Dry skin is best with a cream or liquid -- these glide easily over the skin. Oily skin is best with an oil-free liquid but a powder foundation's even better.

How To Do Your Nails Fast

When you are in a rush, decisions have to be made. Prioritize. Do you shape or polish? Do you quick-dry or go the long, slow route? New formulas allow for snap decisions:

Speed-dry enamels are worthy of their name (you can open mail, search for keys, or put on your tightest long-sleeved shirt within seconds), but there's a downside: "As fast as they dry, that's as fast they chip," insists manicurist Elisa Ferri, so save them for emergencies. Eke a few extra days out of a fast-dry manicure by doing a daily touch-up with a quick-drying coat.

In the other corner, there are strong, chip-resistant formulas - the torttoise of the polish race. To pick up the pace of these tougher enamels, like L'Oreal Shock Proof, carefully submerge freshly painted nails in a bowl of ice-cold water for 30 seconds to harden still-groopy polish.

Light or sheer shades are best for hasty manicures, Ferri says. "You can even get away with just a wide stripe down the center" rather than painstakingly painting the entire nail.

If a manicure is beyond the repair of a topcoat or two, face facts and call in the remover. You can keep single-use packets of nail polish remover (Cutex and Get Fresh make them) on hand so you can strip away color on the run.

When there is no time for polish, just clean underneath the nails, rub on a buffing cream, and shine them with a chamois buffer.

Eye Lining Tricks

Lining your eyes can either make your eyes look gorgeous or tell the world that you haven't quite got the hang of it yet. Here are some quick little tricks to make you look like a pro! Applying Color Below the Lashes

The best tool I have found for applying shadow beneath the lashes is with a sponge applicator. The color sticks to the sponge until it is softly deposited exactly where you want it to be. A brush is about the worst tool you can use for this purpose. No control at all.

How Much To Line

Although some models can line their entire eye, this look is not for everyone. But that doesn't mean that you can't create a look that is close to what you see here. Play around with your liner. Line the upper lid and just the corner of your lower lid. Line the upper lid and leave the lower lid bare. Get into the habit of playing with your makeup. You never know when you will happen upon something absolutely amazing.

Using an Eye Lining Pencil

Don't draw the pencil across your eyelid as this could cause stretching of the skin. Instead, apply the color to the palm of your hand, pick up some of the color with your pinky and apply gently to eyelid.

One Continuous Line?

I would suggest a series of dashes or dots worked into the lash line. It's easier to control and no mistakes to be carefully fixed.

But My Lids are Oily

This is a common problem that causes liner to migrate up into the crease area. To prevent this from happening, choose a product to prep your lid. Not only will this prevent the liner from moving, it will keep your shadow in place at the same time.

How to Curl Your Eye Lashes

Since we can't all be blessed with long lashes, thank goodness mascara can make it look as if we were. Here is a very simple method of applying mascara for every day wear.

Draw wand out of mascara tube and remove the excess on a piece of paper towel or tissue.
Hold wand horizontally and slowly twirl as you move the brush from the roots to the tips.
To set curl, hold wand and lashes together at the tips for a several seconds.
Apply second coat before the first coat has dried to avoid clumping.
Apply mascara carefully to the bottom lashes, holding wand vertically.
While lashes are still wet, comb through the lashes (carefully) with a lash comb to separate each lash.
Tips:

1. Be sure to wash off your mascara each night. Not only will it smear during the night, you won't be able to apply more until your lashes are free from the old mascara.
2. Mascara is a breeding ground for germs. Be sure to replace it every three months.
3. Never pump the wand into the tube. This procedure only adds air to the mascara, drying it out.

Brushing Long Hair Properly

Bend forward, allowing hair to fall. Using only a wooden base natural bristle brush, bring hair from the nape of the neck over the head and down to the ends.

Then, stand straight again with hair falling normally and brush from the underside of the hairline down the strands to the ends.

Now, brush the top layers into place with long, even strokes. After each stroke, smooth hair with hands to reduce static.

Increase the number of strokes weekly, starting with five and increasing by one a week until you find a comfortable routine. If oiliness develops, reduce strokes.

Brush only when dry. Hair is weakest when it is wet and brushing can easily damage it. Even when hair is dry always comb before brushing.

Coloring Your Eyebrows

If, like me, you have eyebrows that are a bit too pale in colour you can easily make them darker.

First get your eyebrows into shape by plucking and brushing. Next, find a powder eyeshadow that matches your colouring and using a brow brush, gently run the colour through your eyebrows.

Don't apply too much, just enough to darken the brows. To keep all the hairs in place, spray a very small amount of hairspray onto the brow brush and sweep that gently through the brows.

I normally use a dark brown colour, as that looks natural with my normal hair colouring. So you may need to experiment a bit to find the correct shade for your eyebrows.

Don't ever use mascara on your eyebrows as it is too thick and will make a mess!

How to apply foundation

There are three basic formulations of foundation: liquid, cream and powder. The formulation you use should depend on a few factors: Do you have a lot of excess shine? Do you have patches of dry, flaky skin? Are there dark circles, blemishes or other areas on the skin you would like to minimize? What texture feels comfortable on your skin?

The right everyday foundation will make your skin look naturally radiant. It should feel comfortable on your skin all day long and not require much maintenance through the day. The current trend in foundation application is to apply only where needed, most likely toward the center of the face, and letting your natural skin shine through wherever possible.

Eye Color Rules

• Keep deeper colors on the lid.

• Use lighter colors on the brow bone.
• For a casual but polished look, sweep one shade from lashes to brow bone.
• Use cream shadows sparingly -- the colors tend to be very vivid.
• Eye gloss is the newest trend. It adds a sheer shine to lids, but don't try it unless you know you can carry it off -- it can look greasy and inappropriate.
• Apply powder eyeliners wet for more intense color.
• White, pink and yellow eyeliner pencils tend to make the eye look open and brighter. Blue counteracts redness, and black will give you a sultry look.
• In order to make eyeliner easy to apply, manufacturers sometimes make it so creamy it doesn't stay put. You can use a matching eye shadow or powder liner to set your eyeliner.