My experience had lead me to believe that there are three important lessons in life that transcend in to a bride’s wedding makeup journey:

One: Be true to you

Two: Do what’s right for you

Three: Back yourself, and your instincts

I will always consider my client’s instincts and reactions to help navigate their way to their desired wedding makeup brief, particularly throughout the trial process. Trialling is where the journey starts, and it is an integral part of the journey, not just adhering to a client’s brief, but getting to know each other, and to connect in this process, because to me, being a part of a bride’s wedding journey and glam-squad is an honour and a privilege!

Ultimately I get to be a part of one of their most intimate and special days of their lives!

Photography by Beck Rocchi, Hair & Makeup by Skye Isabella , Bride & Groom: Stu & Bec

TIP ONE: Always trial with your makeup artist. Furthermore, I advise trialling with all your chosen beauty vendors: hairstylist, spray-tanning, skin treatments.

IMPORTANT – try/trial all unfamiliar treatments or skin regimes at least 1-2 months prior to the wedding so in the event you have an undesired reaction, you have the time to recover.

Photography by Beck Rocchi, Hair & Makeup by Skye Isabella , Bride & Groom: Stu & Bec

TIP TWO: Research makeup looks and collect visual references. Quite often discussing makeup can be like speaking another language to some people, so referring to images together can help you and your makeup artist identify what you like and don’t like in an image. I suggest using Pinterest to either search for celebrity looks you might admire or type in words like “natural makeup glow” or “natural glamour editorial.”

Popular people to research are:

  • Lara Bingle – bronzed, glowy look, minimal eye, bronzed contouring and sometimes a pop lip, typically a red lip.
  • Aishwarya Rai – glamour look consisting of matte complexion, minimal bronze-pink contouring, bold liquid flick/liquid-liner and bold pop-lip: fuchsia, plum or red
  • Blake Lively – golden cream or shimmer eye, pink/bronzed luminous complexion, nude-pink or peach lip
  • Margot Robbie – matte complexion, minimal contouring, minimal smokey eye, matte taupe or coral-nude lip

TIP THREE: This one may require some homework. Be brave and try the pop-lip – YAY COLOUR! Firstly, there is no right or wrong – which ties back in to my three life/makeup lessons above. You can have whatever makeup look you like, any desired makeup brief/design can be altered to suit every wonderful unique face-shape, as long as you back yourself and you OWN IT, otherwise it can own you.

Hence why I suggest that every person, male or female, who are not experienced in wearing a bold lip or makeup for that matter, to do their homework and start to implement it in to their every day routine before the big day. It is important as well to practice the application of lipstick and pencil if desired or required, because unless the bride requests that their makeup artists stay for continual touch-ups throughout the wedding, the bride themselves will have to touch-up their own lips, or get their trusty bridesmaids to do so.

This tip can lend itself to any bright or bold colour additions in a makeup brief, such as pop-cheeks which are trending. Not necessarily the deep contouring trend, but soft peach and pinks localised on the apples of the cheek, and along the “shelf” of the cheekbone as I like to call it.

A luminous complexion with pops of colour are still trending too, however my brides are wanting more balance in their complexion, by keeping the T-Zone more matte, less shine, which can sometimes translate as an oily complexion, and in turn keeping the dewy, glowy or luminous application to the cheek area.

Photography by Bri Hammond Hair by Skye Isabella, Hair by Chloe Joy, Bride: Fenella McGowan

Pop-eyes can be commonly recognised as an editorial look, however as mentioned, anything can be translated in to bridal makeup. It often only requires blending and softening out the edges of the eyeshadow. Metallic colours such as copper can make blue eyes pop, or purple/plum can set-off green eyes, or if the client wanted cooler tones, a gunmetal grey-blue adds a hint of glamour, and a different twist to the popular black smokey eye.

So, there you have it! My top tips for the bridal make-up journey. And I would like to share one final lesson with you – be bold in your beauty, and enjoy the journey!

Ms Zebra Says: All of these tips are fantastic to keep in mind when choosing a style for your bridal makeup! Thanks for sharing Skye!

About Skye Isabella: She  is a freelance makeup artist and hairstylist based in Melbourne who boasts a stellar career in makeup since 2008. Skye has been described as a true creative, through different mediums she seeks fulfilment through creative expression. Skye delights in any opportunity to work and collaborate with others and immensely values the significant relationships she builds with each of her clients.