If on a regular day a woman likes to look pretty, so it is no wonder that she is ready to do anything to look beyond gorgeous on a very special occasion, like her wedding day…!

Dress, accessories, hair and of  course make-up are to contribute in making her achieving her goal.

Having done more than a hundred bridal make-up throughout my career as international make-up artist, I would like to share my experience with The Riviera Woman readers, especially with those preparing for their wedding this summer.

“People should tell you: “You look stunning” and NOT “Your make-up is beautiful”!! Women who have had their make-up done by me, must have definitely heard that statement from me!!!

That applies too on your big day! A professional make-up artist should make you look a BETTER you, not a DIFFERENT you!

Most importantly we should not shock the people you are inviting, and especially not the bridegroom - I am not going to do you heavy smoky eyes when you do not even use lipstick on a night-out…!

I do not follow a fashion or a trend for a wedding make-up, you should still like yourself in your wedding photos 10 years or more after…. ;)

Your skin is my canvas; my priority is to make it look great before I move on to working on your eyes or the lips. I start with a primer for the face and especially the eye contour area before applying anything else; it fills in the pores, prepares the skin for the foundation and keep the eye shadow from melting into your eyelid crease.

I use a mineral loose powder after applying the foundation if you have an oily skin. And I avoid it if your skin is dry, I even use creamy blush then… Although I have a preference to play up the eyes, it is up to you to choose to have light eyes and play up the lips with bright intense colors.

In both cases I make sure to shape and fill-up the eyebrows. (Don’t wait for the last day to shape your eyebrows or to wax any unwanted facial hair). I usually use earth colors to create a natural look no matter the choice of the dress color..!

Waterproof mascara is preferred on this day not to have a mess in case you tear up at some point ;) - (make sure you take with you an appropriate eye make-up remover)

A natural lip color is preferred when we have played out the eyes. To keep the color locked in place I fill in the lips with a lip liner before applying the lipstick or sometimes only a gloss. Keep your lip liner close at hand so you can refresh your lips when needed…! (I advise you to start  using a moisturizer on your lips many times during the day or at least before you go to bed, a week before the big day) –

Nothing is worse than lipstick on chapped lips .

A trial run is always arranged before the wedding day, mostly to make the future bride feel confident about her look  on an important day like that.

Stay away from the sun at least 2 weeks before,  I can always make you look tanned with the right face and body products and colors!!!! (Before we start the make-up , you could use some Visine drops in your eyes to keep the red out. Do not try a new treatment, a new day or night cream advised to you by your work colleague or the mother of your friend etc… You never know how your skin is going to react to it!!! ;)

That applies for food too. Nothing exotic or too spicy or you never had before!!! You do not want to face allergies before your Wedding Day.

A week before you could treat yourself with a nice massage, a peeling and a good moisturizing mask.

Drinking a cup of warm water with a couple drops of lemon juice and honey in the morning on an empty stomach is very good to give you a clear skin. Drink lot of water, replace coffee with green tea.

You need enough sleep to look your best on that day!!!! If you are stressing too much why not trying homeopathic treatments that could help you have a better night sleep??!!

Avoid the chewing gum on your wedding day, to keep your breath fresh, you may use the mouth spray or the very practical breath strips!!! You could add some bicarbonate powder to you toothpaste while brushing your teeth a couple of days  before the wedding day to help get rid of the stains. If you are a smoker try to avoid smoking on that day, try a patch or a nicotine pastilles to help you stay calm!!! And finally I advise you to distribute the tasks on your friends and family to avoid having to deal yourself with too many things…. You need only to concentrate on being GORGEOUS!!!

Congratulations in advance to all the brides to be.

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or email: editors@therivierawoman.com