8 Things You Should Never Ever Say to Your Wedding Makeup Artist

As your wedding approaches and you are securing a makeup artist, please remember that he or she is in charge of your face on the biggest day of your life. If you want to get along perfectly with a makeup artist (like me!), there are a few comments that you might want to keep to yourself:

My husband hates a lot of things that I do. As a result, I continue to do those things, which is why this comment rubs me the wrong way. Your look on your wedding day should be about YOU! Not your husband. In theory, we want to make sure that he thinks you look beautiful, but if he asked you to spend the rest of your life with him, you probably already have that one in the bag.

When you look in the mirror on your wedding day you should feel and look your best. Take his opinion into account — or pretend to, so his feelings aren’t hurt. But omitting lipstick or anything else that might make you your most gorgeous to appease a man sets a bad tone.

Makeup artists have different styles of makeup application, and we all have individual ideas of what makes a bride “beautiful.” We also have a variety of favorite products that we utilize on our brides. Despite these differences, most makeup artists are able to hone their talents to cater to your needs and your idea of what makes a beautiful bride. If a bride finds herself hopping around from makeup artist to makeup artist and is never satisfied, this is a red flag for me. Often the problem lies in a bride’s unrealistic dream of her wedding day; she envisions herself walking down the aisle as a Disney princess rather than the beautiful human that she is.

Reality check: you have flaws. Maybe you don’t like your lashes or your skin tone or you have a zit. Embrace yourself and stop nitpicking every little thing about your face. Find an artist who you feel comfortable with, who uses products that you like, and make it work! That artist will be spending the bulk of your wedding day with you. Make sure it is someone you can trust, and you will be happy.

Yes. I know. I am in the business of applying makeup so that it will be flawless and last through the day and the night. You might need to touch up your lips or apply powder for shine but your face makeup will last. I will use primers and setting powders and sprays and glue to make sure of that.

When you want me to come do your makeup and your mother’s makeup and the eight other bridesmaids, it’s going to take a while — even if I bring an assistant. We will start early. There’s no way around it. If a bride is nervous, I always recommend that she go last so she can rest easy that her face will be perfect all night.

That statement is often followed with further information like, “I don’t take my eye makeup off at night.” This type of skin care negligence only leads to a face that feels like sandpaper and eyes that have black circles around them. If your skin is in bad shape and your eye makeup hasn’t been taken off properly for years, no amount of makeup can help you.

Makeup simply does not sit well on unhealthy skin. If you are a “skin-abuser” and then you show me a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow and say, “I just want to look like this!” I can tell you right off the bat, “It’s not going to happen.” Please consider proper skin care at least six months prior to your wedding day. You don’t have to do anything crazy, just proper cleansing, moisturizing, and the occasional face scrub will work wonders.

Often as I am packing up from a grueling five hours of makeup application on a wedding day, brides or bridesmaids will say expectantly, “So what should I use to touch up my lips?” Sometimes the expectation is that I will start doling out $28 lipsticks to everyone. Lip color is hard to choose, especially for an event. It should be chosen well before the event and PURCHASED. Do not wait until the day of to realize that you need a proper lip product.

No. No it cannot. If anything I should increase the price if you don’t have a trial because now we are both going to be anxiety-ridden on the day of your wedding. Not having a trial is ill-advised. You should at the very least meet with your artist ahead of time to discuss your expectations and show her a picture of what you like. To show up on the biggest beauty day of your life and expect perfection with no previous meeting is a recipe for disaster.

Color on your face can be scary if it’s not what you’re used to in your daily life. But please remember that this is not your daily life. Putting your body into a white gown, placing a tiara on top of a head of curls and bobby pins, and then walking around with no lipstick or cheek color doesn’t add up.

This is an event like no other. Take the plunge and add a little color to your lips and cheeks and you will be happy — especially when you see your pictures.

Sorry, but nobody’s are. It’s not just the dancing and cocktail hour we have to consider when we make this decision. The main objective here is to make sure you look absolutely fabulous in your wedding photos.

These photos, after being held hostage by your photographer for a year, will then find their way to an album for your coffee table and possibly a bunch of frames around your home. Those images will be looked at every day by you and your husband. When you are older and tired from breastfeeding your baby and caring for a toddler, you will gaze fondly at that photo as evidence that you were once stunning and full of life.

Your children will place that photo on a table at the entrance of their wedding, that 300 people will look at closely and say, “Look how gorgeous his mom was!” That photo will be placed in a collage at your funeral. Please consider all of this, and know that fake eyelashes are the most surefire way to look like an absolute bombshell.

Planning a wedding is stressful enough — avoid these mistakes and you will be halfway to having the most flawless face for your wedding day!