Bridal Series – Getting your Skin in Good Condition for your Wedding

I do a lot of bridal makeup and one thing I always advise my brides is to look after their skin in the months leading up to their wedding.  Notice how I said MONTHS and not WEEKS!!  Yes – that’s how long it takes a good skincare regime to really start benefiting your skin!

You can hire the best makeup artist for your wedding day but if you’ve not done the preparation on your skin, there’s only so much they can do to make your skin look its best.  A makeup artist can cover redness and spots but they can’t do much about the texture of your skin, i.e. if your skin is dry and flaky, your foundation won’t sit well and your makeup artist can’t achieve a flawless look.  So that’s why it’s vital to ensure you’re doing all you can to look after your skin in the run-up to your wedding.  Plus the stress of planning a wedding can really take it’s toll on your skin so you should really make the effort to look after it.

Your Skincare Regime from 12 – 6 Months prior to wedding:

1. Find the right  skincare regime for you and stick to it.  Religiously!!  A good makeup artist should be able to advise you on your skincare needs also so don’t be afraid to ask for recommendations.  What you use will depend on your skin-type & condition but some of the best skincare products I’ve found are from La Roche Posay, Vichy, Liz Earle, NUXE, Clarins and Yon-Ka.  Yes, some of these brands are expensive but believe me it’s worth it for the beautiful glowing skin you’ll have on your wedding day.
2. Every morning and night, get into the habit of Cleansing, Toning and Moisturising your skin, also use a light eye gel or cream first thing in the morning.
3. If your skin is particularly dry use a good rich night cream or serum to restore and revitalise while you sleep.
4. Twice a week, exfoliate and use a face mask specified to your skin type.  For a good exfoliator, I prefer a peel one that uses AHA’s to take off the dead skin rather than grainy particles which can irritate your skin.  One I used in the run up to my wedding was the Yon-Ka Gommage which is a clear gel that you leave on your face and then gently rub off, it has no grainy bits and your skin is, literally, like new afterwards.  So I love it for that reason.  It also lasts a long time too so it’s a good investment.

Special Care for your skin:

You may also decide to book a course of Facials leading up to your wedding.  I’d highly recommend this as it leaves your skin in such good condition.  Again, I’m a huge fan of Yon-Ka facials (I swear I don’t work for them or am not paid to promote them, they’re just my favourite type of facial/luxury skincare brand 🙂 )and I booked a course of 5 facials for myself a few months before my wedding and I’ve no doubt that this was responsible for the lovely glow I had on my wedding day!

I had a mixture of the Le Grand Classique which is a deep pore cleansing facial and the Hydralessence which is a long-lasting deeply hydrating facial which plumps out any fine lines you may have.  Plus the products have a gorgeous relaxing scent which really helps you to relax and feel pampered, something every bride needs!  You should have your last facial about a month prior to your wedding as they can cause some spot outbreaks (which isn’t a bad thing, as it’s just drawing out all the impurities) and you want to give your skin a chance to get over that prior to your big day.

Body Skin Care:

Don’t forget your neck and décolleté in your skincare regime also.  This area is often neglected and needs to be cleansed, gently exfoliated and moisturised too since it will be on show on your big day.

Also remember to exfoliate and moisturise the skin on the rest of your body, especially the parts which will be on show such as the shoulders, back and arms.  If you plan on wearing false tan on your big day, this will also help the application to be smooth and streak free.

Beauty from the inside:

It never does any harm to start taking vitamin supplements, Omega 3 oils and various skin, hair and nail preparations are good ones to supplement your diet with also but again, you need to be taking these for months prior to the wedding.

Drink as much water as you can to help keep your skin hydrated from the inside.  8 glasses a day is recommended so keep a large water bottle filled at work and sip on it regularly through the day.

If you have any questions just let me know and watch out for other helpful wedding makeup & beauty tips to come on my blog!

Good Skincare – The Basis of Good Makeup

I do a lot of bridal makeup and I always advise my brides to really look after their skin coming up to the wedding as it pays dividends and gives your skin a youthful glow that will make your makeup last and look beautiful on your big day.  But of couse,  same applies for anyone else wanting to look after their skin.

Since you really have to take your skin type into account when choosing the right skincare, I’ll just share what I use myself and which brands I love.  Most of these brands have a full range to suit all skin types. I have combination (dry/oily) skin. I use cleansing products for dry skin and use a matifying primer under my foundation to control the oiliness on my nose.

Everyday Cleansing

I used to be terrible for using babywipes to take off my makeup and that is the WORST thing you can do for your skin!  While it’s OK to use them once in a while, they dry out your skin something terrible if used all the time and can cause premature lines so unless you’ve fallen in drunk at stupid o’clock and can barely see straight in front of you never mind manage your whole cleansing routine, I would advise you to STEER CLEAR!  Even the facial wipes are not great to be honest.  It’s worth taking the time to develop a proper cleanse/tone/moisturise routine every morning/evening.

Here’s what I use:

Cleansing Milk

I alternate between:

Clarins Cleansing Milk With Gentian “Combination/Oily Skin”  which comes in huge 400ml size that lasts for ages

La Roche Posay Physiological Cleansing Milk http://www.laroche-posay.ie/product-treatments/Physiological-cleansers/Physiological-Cleansing-Milk-p4046.aspx which is great for taking off all makeup including waterproof eye makeup and it’s great for sensitive skin.  I love La Roche Posay products, they really have something for every skin type and problem.

And most recently I’ve switched to Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser http://ie.lizearle.com/daily-essentials which is very reasonable priced and comes with a muslin cloth that you use wet to take off the cleanser.  I will be doing a review on this soon so watch out for it.

Apart from the Liz Earle cleanser, I will generally wipe this off my skin with damp cotton pads.

Toner

For someone like me, who wears makeup every day I just love using a toner after my cleanser, it just makes my skin feel really clean and when I look on the cotton pad after I’ve wiped with it, there is always makeup residue which just shows that the cleanser doesn’t always take away everything so I just can’t go without it now.  I use:
Clarins Toning Lotion for dry/normal skin http://www.clarins.co.uk/Toning%20Lotion%20With%20Camomile%20%22Dry/Normal%20Skin%22/C010103001,en_GB,pd.html?start=2.  Although I have combination skin, I prefer to use this one for dry skin as I don’t want to strip my skin of oils too much and it feels really hydrating on your skin while still making it feel clean and toned.  Again this comes in a huge 400ml size also.

Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic.  http://ie.lizearle.com/cleanse-tone-moisturise/instant-boost-skin-tonic.html  for all skin types, I love this and it smells divine!

Rose Water/Witch Hazel  – Yes sometimes the old favourites are the best and sometimes I do like to use these as toners (rose water for dry skin and witch hazel for oily/combination skin)

Moisturiser

You can buy a really expensive moisturiser but it’s the one thing you go through in a flash so for that reason I use JOHNSON’S Face Care Hydrating 24 Hour Day Cream which is cheap as chips and just as effective as some of the more expensive ones.

However, if I am splashing out I will use Yonka Pamplemousse for Normal to Oily skin which has grapefruit and essential oils in it so it smells so nice you really believe it’s doing your skin a world of good.  Unfortunately the hefty price tag and the fact that I fly through it, means I haven’t used this in a long time but when I win the Lotto….:-)

Exfoliator

I’ve used lots of exfoliators over the years but none better than Yonka’s Gommage Soft Peel exfoliant. http://www.yonka.com/anglais/produits-beaute/visage/hydratants.asp  It peels off and has no abrasive bits in it like other exfoliators which is what I love about it.  Again I will do a full review on this soon but I will say that this is worth the investment as it is amazing stuff.  I always feel like I have completely new skin and my makeup sits much better on me when I use this so I keep it for special occasions or times when my skin needs an extra boost, which means it lasts ages.

Skin Treatments

I don’t tend to use a mask or skin oils or anything like that.  If I feel my skin needs a bit of TLC I’ll get a Yonka “Grand Classique” Facial and my skin is like new.  I got a course of these facials coming up to my wedding and my skin looked and felt amazing and was never in better condition so every now and then I like to treat myself.  And did I mention the smell of the Yonka products?!  Like I said, you just feel like it’s doing your skin good, and it really is.

Lip conditioner/general skin fixer upper.

I go nowhere without my Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream.  It’s not a cult beauty product for nothing, it’s just great stuff.  I’ve never used a better lip conditioner (which also doubles as a lipgloss) or treatment for dry patches of skin.  It’s just fabilis!

I buy a tube of this and decant it into the small screw top jars you get in boots.  I currently have one on my bedside locker, one in my makeup bag, one in my handbag, one in the car, and one at my desk in work!  My lips never get too dry, even in winter, because I am constantly applying it from the minute I get up to right before I get into bed!

It’s also one of the first things I apply on my makeup clients as, by the time I get to doing their lips they are soft and conditioned and the lipstick just glides on.  Essential if you are wearing a red or dark lip.

So there you have it, those are my favourites.  They are what I’ve found to work for me over the years but as I say everyones skin is different and you may need other products.  If you want your makeup to sit well on your skin and look flawless, that starts with great skin which means you must look after it 🙂  It’s never to late to start a good skincare routine and you won’t be sorry if you do.

Top Tip: When you moisturise, don’t forget your neck!  Lots of women do, and as you age it’s prone to developing lines and wrinkles too so be sure to take your moisturiser down onto your neck when applying it to your face.

What cleanser/toner/moisturiser do you love?  Let me know in the comments below 🙂