My Guide to Bridal Make Up

As we enter 'Wedding Season', a lot of brides will now be debating about how they're going to have their hair and make up. Both are extremely important as, along with your dress, the way you wear your hair and make up is an extension of your style and personality. As well as this, they will be photographed a million times, and those photographs are the ones that will be shown to children, and grandchildren. Whether you decide to do your own make up, or have somebody do it for you, it is important to know what kind of look you want to achieve. Here are some are some tips and tricks from me on how to achieve a flawless bridal make up.

I always stress that the make up be as timeless as possible. Anything that can be defined as current 'trend', should be avoided. Trends such as strong brows, pink cheeks or super long lashes all fall into this category, as they will look very dated in the future. There are some beautiful examples of flawless and timeless make up from the past, such as Grace Kelly, or Princess Margaret, who both wore immaculate make up on their wedding days, but yet, still looks beautiful now.

Of course, if you wear your make up in a certain style, then it would be advisable not to veer from it too much, as you still want to look yourself, but adjustments can be made so that you still have pink cheeks, or so that your lashes are still defined, but still look classic and timeless rather than trendy. A perfect wedding make up is one that you cannot pin down to any decade or era but what that simply enhances the brides natural beauty.

Often, their wedding day is the only time in a girls' life that they will have their make up done. Therefore, it is important to trust the artist that you are hiring for the job. Look at their pictures, website, portfolio, anything that you can get your hands on. Make sure that they are offering a decent service, and come with recommendations. Usually, artists are passed through friends or families. This is also why trials are super important when it comes to your bridal make-up. This is the time when the artist will pick you to pieces - what your style is like, how you usually wear your make-up, what your skincare is like, if you have anything that you want to focus on, how you will wear your hair, shimmer or no shimmer, the list is endless. This is the sign of a good artist though, not just a nosey person! Usually the best artists are those who just charge one price, which includes the trial. They have the experience and the clientele to have the confidence to just charge one price, as they are usually always booked by their clients after their trial. They usually require a deposit at the time of the trial. BEWARE - you should never give a deposit before a trial. You haven't a clue what the artist is going to be like and so therefore shouldn't hand over any money until the trial.

Do not be put off by high prices. A good artist will charge you for their time and expertise, and will often include lashes in the price. An artist will be coming out twice for the trial and the day and will usually hang around until everything is ready to begin - to make sure that any necessary touch ups are made. I always say that you pay for what you get. This is an experience which you may never have again and the right artist can make you look and feel amazing. They often make their service really luxurious by using the best products and brushes. 

That is not to say that you cannot achieve a beautiful make up if you are doing your own. But once again, preparation is important. Have a practice, try out different styles and products to see which ones work best for the look that you are trying to achieve. Lots of professional make up artists offer lessons, in which you learn how to create a stunning look for yourself. These are perfect for brides who are getting married abroad. MAC offers lessons which are also redeemable in product, which is brilliant as you are learning how to use the things that you are buying.

REMEMBER - its not just your wedding day but it is also in essence a photoshoot. The camera usually removes about 20-25% of the make up so it is important to take photographs to see how it looks against the flash. A make up artist will know all the correct products and application techniques to ensure that you have a flawless photographic look on your big day!

Here are some beautiful examples of gorgeous timeless make up, the top one being Ivana Trump sporting beautiful make up on her wedding day, and the last two being from my own portfolio.

Girls being taught make-up at school - which side of the fence do you sit on?

I've recently read an article in The Daily Mail, which has absolutely infuriated me. It was about a school in Leeds that now offers make up lessons to their pupils, aged 14 and upwards. This has obviously caused outrage. To me, this just seems that society has become so delusional and over-obsessed with the 'over-sexualisation' of young girls, that they cannot see the benefits of a young girl trying to improve, or actually learn the beginnings of, personal presentation.

The article says that parents "don't send their daughters to school to learn how to put make up on but to receive a decent education". The Daily Mail has a predominantly conservative bias. Therefore, I find it quite ironic that the conservative party and our prime minister David Cameron, are encouraging education over vocation, and yet, are making it increasingly difficult for our generation to receive and education that goes beyond that of A-level. These subjects, it would therefore appear, are becoming more and more relevant in our classrooms. The classes are being taught outside of school time and with parents' permission, and so therefore are not disrupting their education and are furthermore, keeping the kids off the streets, quelling what is a very prominent and realistic problem in today's society.

Further to what I have mentioned above, it is also true that not every child is academic and so could flourish in a class such as this. It is a well known fact that a child behaves better (and even some adults) when they enjoy the subject that is being taught or discussed. Boys are taught 'woodwork' or football, but yet these lessons do not seem to be seen in the same light, when they too are vocational. Parents, and apparently the government, according to the article, are worried about seeing young girls in an overly-sexualised manner, which is currently being promoted by society. They are so worried that in fact, it is almost as though we are reverting back to the days when women were forbidden to improve or enhance their physical selves for fear of what society would think. Did the fight for equality even happen?

The article goes on to say that make up is something that should be taught in the home, however this is clearly not always possible. Many mothers, including my own do not have the first clue when it comes to skincare and make up, so how exactly is it going to be passed down? To go back to the idea of how much society has 'moved on', many mothers are not always a constant figure in their childrens' lives, or simply don't have the time. More women work longer hours, as well as having jobs in which you cannot wear a lot of make up, so how is the child expected to learn?

"It's far too early" is the cry from some mothers in the article, however it is my belief that this is a completely unrealistic viewpoint. At age 14 a young girl is not only very aware of her appearance, but is also developing a personality that will resemble that which she will develop into adult years. Not only this, but children are now having to make very important decisions and choices at a very young age. I know that at the age of 14, I was already contemplating what I wanted to do when I was older, in terms of what degree I was to study, where I would study it and what subjects and grades I would need in order to achieve it. I was 16 when I picked out my career path that I was expected to follow for the rest of my adult life. To say I've veered from that is an understatement, so why can we not add a bit of variety to school life in order to broaden a young girl's horizons and opportunities?

When this kind of thing isn't taught at home, young girls are getting it exceedingly wrong, with the final look being that of a beheaded oopma loompa, or worse, Groucho Marx, and thus becoming the talk of the adults who are failing to correct them. The schools are hiring professionals, and being a professional make up artist, I know that I would cater to my client. I would never teach young girls how to do their make up like Jordan, but more how to look after their skin by choosing the right skincare products, as well as how to enhance their natural beauty through the correct use and placement of make up. The basics, in other words. What they chose to do with make up once they are adults is completely up to them, but at least they have a foundation to fall back on, or for some, a springboard for self expression, or a very successful career.

What I find completely baffling is that they can make choices about what they want to do for the rest of their lives but not how to present themselves in such an image conscious society. Surely knowing how to present their hair, make up and nails will only benefit them in such a society? For me, it has provided a job and a lifestyle that I adore, and one that is filled with so much opportunity.

Don't get me wrong, I am not discouraging an education in any way. I myself have a good degree from a red-brick university but given the choice, I have chosen to follow my passion of make up. It would be fair to say that being academic at school, I probably wasn't given the choice but was more expected to go to university than take up a career in make-up. Should I have had these lessons made available to me at school, maybe I wouldn't have wasted so much money gaining a degree that I may never use. At least I had the choice though, something I'm sure David Cameron and his coalition government is going to ruin for our younger generations.

Sorry for getting so political girls, this is just a topic that I felt I had to discuss!!