The day I did my best friend's wedding makeup

 If the thought of a full hair and makeup team hovering around you on possibly the most stressful day of your life is enough to tip you over the edge, going a bit DIY with your makeup may be the solution for you... or better yet, why not ask your best friend to do it? 

That’s exactly what happened to me! My good friend Zoe got married a few years back and doesn’t ever really wear makeup, but she wanted me to do her makeup for her big day and I’m no expert... eeeek!!  

The nerves kicked in and I thought what should I do, so I went to one of the best I know and asked her for help... the amazing makeup artist, Sarah Brock was doing every front cover of Brides magazine at the time and I felt there was no one better to help me shake my wedding day nerves.  

So here were her tips for me when I did one of my best friends makeup on her big day...   

Use a primer.  

This will make your foundation last much longer, and will prevent the skin from shining as well as filling in open pores and fine lines.  

Choose a foundation that EXACTLY matches your skin.  

This means the colour and formulation of your foundation. For the best finish, apply with a foundation brush and start in the centre of the face, blending outwards.  

Conceal. Conceal. Conceal.  

Concealer is great to get rid of any unwanted dark shadows that still persist after the foundation. Remember that for under eye circles, your concealer needs to be lighting and more moisturising than the concealer you would use for any blemishes. 

Don’t forget to set.  

To set the foundation and concealer in place, you need to use powder. Use a translucent powder (so it doesn’t change the colour of your foundation) and dust lightly on to your face.  

Add some colour.   

Apply a pretty pink/peach blusher to the apple of your cheek, blending upwards and outwards towards the hair line. 

It's all in the eyes.   

Use a light, matte cream coloured eye shadow from lash line to brow, as an eyeshadow base. Now you can apply the colour of your choice over your eyelid. To make the brows look more lifted, apply a lighter colour just under the brow bone.  

Blending is the key to good eye makeup. Make sure you don’t have any harsh lines and remember that the lighter the colour of eyeshadow, the easier it is to apply.  

If you’re looking for some drama.   

A darker shade of eyeshadow can be used as a liner along the upper lash line, as close to the lashes as possible. You can also bring this shade to the lower lash line if you wish. In order to get more dramatic eyes, you can apply a dark eye pencil in the inner rim of the eye (but make sure the liner is waterproof)!  

Flutter your lashes. 

Follow with two generous coats of tear-proof mascara, CODE VLM is great for a bridal look as it won’t smudge when things get emotional! Curl your lashes first if you’re after a glamorous look and then use the ‘Roots, Wriggle, Roll’ technique with CODE VLM.  

Roots: Pop the brush on to your lashes as close to the root as you can. 
Wriggle: Give the brush a good wriggle back and forth, this will make sure even the tiniest of lashes are covered. 
Roll: Gently twist the brush from root to tip. 

Lips. 

To keep colour on your lips all day, apply a lipliner like CODE SSL before any lipstick. CODE SSL is a smudge-proof, lip liner, lipstick and lip plumper all in one and it’ll last all day but also prevent your lipstick from feathering. If your lipstick lets you down during the day, CODE SSL will still be standing so you’ll still have a hint of colour on your lips.  

It’s also worth prepping your lips before the big day, CODE LIP is a hydrating plumping treatment, containing coconut oil, sweet almond oil and hyaluronic acid. Apply this daily for two weeks and your pout will be perfect for your big day!  

Touch ups. 

For wedding day ‘touch ups’, take a powder compact to remove any shine, your lipstick/gloss, a couple of cotton buds and a few tissues. 

I hope these tips helped you but if you’d still like some advice on our wedding makeup essentials, head over to our blog here -  

Here are some pictures of me doing Zoe’s makeup on her big day...

Love,  

Sarah x