When it comes to deciding on what makeup look you'd like for your wedding day it can often feel a little overwhelming, especially when you've got so many other things to think about and plan. Not to mention, if wearing makeup is something you don't do often, you may feel like you don't know where to start or what to look for.

It's important to understand you can be as involved or as uninvolved as you like when it comes to deciding on what makeup look to have for your wedding. I've had brides who come to me with pages of Pinterest boards, and others that ask me to put something together for them with no inspiration images at all. Both ways are totally ok.

No matter what category you're in, these 5 tips will help you when it comes to deciding on your wedding makeup.

1. Understanding Your Face

When looking for inspiration, try and select images where the person has the same hair and eye colour as you. This will help to give you a better idea on what it may look like on you. The same goes for skin tone & facial features, if you have pale skin look for inspiration where the model or bride is a similar colouring to you. Also, using celebrities is often a great way to compare your skin tone and to get inspiration from their makeup looks. For example, if you have an olive complexion similar to say Jessica Alba, then spend some time googling her makeup and see if there is a look that inspires you.

Image from EVE Makeup Artistry Instagram

Taking your facial features into consideration is important too. For example, if you are Asian and have a mono-lid then look for inspiration in makeup that is done on women who also have a mono-lid, this will help to give you a rough idea of what that makeup would look like on you. If you are European and have a hooded eye keep this in mind when looking at makeup, you will often find in photos of eye makeup the model will be looking down or have their eyes closed so it may be hard to tell.

By no means do you need to follow this tip 100%, it's just super useful to keep in your mind when you are looking for makeup ideas and narrowing down the ones you love, to ensure you're heading down an inspiration path that is going to best suit you. It's also important to remember that by having a conversation with your makeup artist and telling them the aspects of different photos you love, they can tailor those together to create something perfect to suit your face shape, skin tone and colouring.

2. Suiting Your Wedding Theme

It's definitely useful to think about what your wedding theme is when deciding on makeup for you and your bridesmaids. For example, if you're having a winter vintage wedding a darker eye or bold red lip could look stunning, but that makeup look might not be as well suited for a summer garden party wedding. If you tell your makeup artist things like the colour of your flowers and bridesmaids dresses along with any theming, they will be able to provide you with some recommendations.

3. Your Makeup Comfort Level

Think about how much makeup you are comfortable wearing. For example, if you've decided you'd like to wear a red lip for your wedding, but have never really worn red lipstick before, then you definitely want to book a trial with your makeup artist. Your wedding day is not the day to be trying to decide if you want red lips! The same applies to bold or dark eye makeup. Coverage and foundation is also a highly discussed topic when it comes to wedding makeup. Most makeup artists will use a fuller coverage foundation as this has the best chance to last all day & night, and gives the best result on camera. It's important to know you can get full coverage without the foundation feeling heavy or cakey. These are important conversations to have with your makeup artist, which leads me to tip number four.

4. Communicating With Your Artist

As a makeup artist this tip is by far the MOST important. I will always do my best to ask you as many questions as I can, to get a good understanding of what you'd like and what makes you feel comfortable, to ensure you get the best results. Providing your makeup artist with a photo of you with makeup on is really useful, this gives them an understanding of how much makeup you like or are used to wearing. Talking about things such as, your eyebrows and how you like them filled in, if you like to wear a lot of eyeliner, or how much foundation coverage you are used to etc, is all really helpful info to ensure you get an end result you're happy with. Remember your makeup artist isn't a mind reader 😉.

5. Realistic Expectations

Something I hear often is "I really like how in this photo her skin looks so smooth". 9 times out of 10 I'm being shown an image of someones makeup inspiration and it's a highly photoshopped image that was shot under studio lighting. It's important to be realistic with your expectations, for example if you have enlarged pores your makeup artist can use a selection of products to minimise the visibility of these, but they won't disappear completely. Makeup is amazing, but isn't totally magic 😉. Remember that you are gorgeous, flaws and all. Just because you're makeup artist can't transform you into the spitting image of Kim Kardashian or Jennifer Anniston it doesn't make you any less beautiful. Makeup is all about enhancing your features to make you feel like the best version of yourself!

Pinterest is a great place to start when looking for wedding makeup inspiration and I have a large collection of images that you can look through to get you started. From natural looks to red lips there is something in there for everyone.

Check out pinterest now

If you have any questions about wedding makeup or would like some guidance on what you should be looking at for your own wedding makeup inspiration, feel free to get in touch with me. You can do this either via the Contact Us page or by emailing me directly at info@evemakeupartistry.co.nz

*Banner image is by Williams Photography