Howdy! I got married on 02.20.22, and to everyone's concern, I decided to do my own makeup. Now, in everyone's defense, I don't do my makeup very often. I've done my face more times in the last year, as practice for the wedding, than probably in any years prior, combined. I have gotten professional makeup done before, for senior prom and a couple of weddings I was in. While I think those artists did a lovely job, they gave me more of a tan than matched my borderline translucent skin. While drama can be fun, I wanted to look like me while getting married, so with the exception of my pretty thick eyeliner and some sparkly eye shadow, I went for a very natural look (as seen above).
If you're super pale and considering doing your own makeup, here's what worked for me:
Step 1: Standard Morning Routine, aka, Moisturizing. Here's my routine:
wipe face with damp paper towel (or wash with Cerave cleansor for dry skin if any makeup remains from the previous night)
rub Vitamin C Serum on face
rub Mizon Eye Cream around eyes
rub a little Cerave Moisturizer on face, neck, and chest
rub a little Nivea Super Water gel SPF 50 Sunblock on face including around eyes
spray Sunblock on exposed arms/legs
Step 2: Contour
Use shade side of matte contour stick to trace along the under-jaw, under cheeks, from central edge of eye down to where nostrils begin in straight vertical lines (I prefer subtle nose contouring because harsh contouring looks very obvious in side photos), under-side of nose, under center of lower lip, gently line either side of front chin swell and tiny chin dimple/cleft-line, and around outer edge of forehead, just touching the hair line (I curve in from the hair line, towards the eyes, just above where the face swells in the upper cheek-eyes area). If your hair is already styled or you know where your hair part will be, take a q-tip or eye shadow wand and dab the shade from the stick, and gently pat it into the hair part.
Use highlight side of matte contour stick to trace inside the shade line beneath jaw, draw an upside down V over the center chin swell, dot a short horizontal line from the horizontal corners of the mouth pointed towards tail end of cheek shade lines, along the lower face just above the shade line, draw a vertical line from the just below the brow line of the nose to the nose tip, dot the upper plane of each nostril, line the within and touching the forehead shade line, draw a horizontal line touching and to the outside of (away from the nose side of) those vertical shade lines marking the edge of the nose, draw a horizontal line beginning from just under the outer edge of each eye and drag that out to the hair line (marking the highlight above the cheek bone) and make a small highlight beneath the inner edge of each eye, towards the nose
Use blush stick by smiling and drawing a circle over where the apples of each cheek are (this being the round front part when you smile). Then draw a line alone your upper cheek that begins beneath where you highlighted at the outer eye edge and drag that along/above the cheek shade line so that the blush is touching it. You want the blush line to lead into the blush circle on each cheek.
Blend with makeup sponge. I blend the shade out first, then the highlights, then the blush. I use one blender for all, though I aim for a clean part before moving on to the new color blend.
Step 3: Eyes, Brows, Mouth, Cover-Up
Use mahogany (brown) eye liner to line the eye with the narrow brush side of my double sided eye liner brush, top and bottom outside of the lashes (I never do inside the eye lashes because that irritates the eyes, causing red veiny eyes in pics and eye boogers. Hard pass.).
Draw the upper edge of the eye lid with the mahogany (brown) eye liner (so thinking of the closed upper lid as a half moon, flat side down, trace the upper curved side.).
Trace eye brow with the mahogany (brown) eye liner. I do this with the upper and lower edge of the eye brow.
Use the flat brush end of the double sided eye liner brush to brush the pigment upward, into the brows, from the lower edge.
If eye brows appear uneven, gently brush them with the double sided eyeliner brush or eyebrow comb, until the hairs feign slightly more symmetry (so if one brow is higher, brush those hairs at more of a horizontal angle, so they lay lower, and brush those of the lower brow, higher)
On the upper eye lid, use the pale glimmer eye shadow on the inner half of the eye lid. By inner, I mean the side closest to the nose.
Dot a smidge of the pale glimmer eye shadow underneath the inner corner of the eye, right where the eye points towards the nose.
On the upper eye lid, use the medium brown glimmer eye shadow on the next quarter of the eye lid, moving away from the nose.
Line the bottom eye lid with the medium brown glimmer eye shadow.
On the upper eye lid, use the dark brown glimmer eye shadow on the remaining quarter of the eye lid, moving away from the nose.
Draw a short small horizontal line moving outward from the outer eye corner in the crease with the dark brown glimmer eye shadow.
Above the upper eye lid, below the brow, blend one shade darker glimmer eye shadow than was used on the inner half of the eye lids, from the outer eye crease, up towards the nose.
Use black eye liner to line entire upper eye lid.
Use black eye liner to line first quarter or third of lower eye lid, beginning from outer edge and working towards nose.
Use black eye liner to dot some lower eye lashes, working from eye liner line to center bottom of eye.
With black eyeliner, extend bottom line outward slightly, into crease. This is the bottom of a wing.
With black eye liner, extend upper eyelid line into that bottom line. Do not cross lines. They should go straight out, at least horizontally, though ideally, upward at a slight angle.
Use mascara on upper set of eye lashes. I personally don't risk darkening the bottom set lest their smudge black on my upper cheeks/lower lid when I blink.
Use brown eye liner to darken any beauty marks.
Use a q-tip/eye brow comb/double sided eye liner brush to spread/comb a tiny bit of hair gel into eye brows, so the hairs don't relax downward throughout the day.
Use lipstick to outline, then fill lips.
Use liquid foundation to conceal any acne and to touch up the lips/brows if they're asymmetrical.
Holding setting spray a bit away from face, close eyes and spritz from a distance. Do not aim for your eyes and try not to inhale. I do about four sprays from a distance and aiming for the left and right sides of my face, the top and bottom. I do not just spray a few times at the center of my face. Too much spray means your face will be very shiny in pictures.
If part of your face looks super shiny after ten minutes, gently dab it with a paper towel or tissue.
Some Tips:
Before you do your hair/makeup, make sure the top you're wearing can be pulled over your head without smudging your face or wrecking your hair
If you feel you have asymmetrical features, an asymmetrical hairstyle can make that less obvious
If you plan on spending any time outside, wind and rain are possibilities so make sure you or your hair stylist take extra care that your hair can't move much. In my case, this meant a ton of hairspray.
If you don't have much experience in photoshop, leave your wedding photos alone. Better they have no touch ups than obvious touching up. Or pay an expert. Your wedding photographer probably offers a package that includes tweaking that forehead shine or strange expression away.
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Thanks for stopping by! I put out a new blog post every Monday. Toodles!
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