| We All Need a Little Help . . . From Professionals |
They say every bride is beautiful on her wedding day, but even Cinderella needed help transforming herself from an everyday working girl into Prince Charming’s fashion equal.
Like the fairy godmother who waved her wand and created royalty hundreds of years ago, professional hair stylists and makeup artists can work their own kind of magic and make you look like a princess in your own fairy tale wedding. "You’re wearing a ball gown of a dress that’s fancier and bigger than anything else you wear. If you don’t do something, your face can get lost in there," says Cindy Clark, makeup artist and owner of Cygnet Le Salon Le Spa in Montecito, California.
"It’s been my philosophy that if you want something to turn out well, deal with professionals. Don’t ask your sister what looks best on you. Don’t ask your mom. Turn to professionals. We have to stay on top of things [in the world of glamour] or we become outdated." |
| It's Important to Know That Everyone Can Look Good |
According to Clark, the less makeup a person wears on a daily basis, the more she needs help from a licenses cosmetologist. "She doesn’t know what she’s doing or what’s available," Clark said.
To find the right makeup professional, she suggested asking people whose "look" you admire about salons they frequent. When you hear the same name over and over again, she said, it’s time to set up an appointment for a preliminary visit.
"[The makeup artists] will talk about the look you want to achieve and what parts we can polish up to help you get what you want. The nice thing about living in this day and age is that everyone can look good."
To help you look your best, the makeup artist will need specific information about where the wedding will take place, the general theme, how you plan to wear your hair and whether you have allergies or skin conditions.
"I want to know what I’m dealing with in terms of elements," Clark explained. "If you’re getting married on a cliff overlooking the ocean, you need cosmetics that will withstand sea spray. I also need to know the style of your dress and whether we need to do makeup anywhere down south, below your face." She urged brides to bring their attendants with them to have their makeup done for the wedding so all the women in the bridal party will match.
"If we’re doing a rich, Renaissance burgundy feel, everyone will have the same tone. We’re trying to create a look for an event," said Clark. "Occasionally we’ll get someone who insists she can do her own hair and makeup and she may look lovely, but she won’t match the rest. We can do the same thing for the men — the groom and his attendants." |
| The Makeup Goal: Look Like Yourself - Only Better |
According to Clark, the makeup you wear should help you "look like yourself only better. We might choose a lipstick that’s a little deeper than you normally wear, but you’re not wearing the same kind of dress you normally wear."
The current trend in wedding makeup emphasizes a more natural yet polished look. Makeup is a little more glamorous than in years past, but tricks such as false eyelashes are rarely employed these days. Clark also recommends avoiding strong colors such as hot pink, which won’t photograph well. She opts for a neutral, natural color palette.
"And lose the black eyeliner. It’s too harsh. Smoky gray and dark brown are okay, but don’t circle your eyes with liner or you’ll look like a raccoon. It’s important also to pay attention to the tone and style of your gown because a white dress reflects light up toward your face in a way that can make your neck appear distorted. The effect can be mitigated, however, with the right makeup. Stay away from blues and greens unless you’re having an 'ultra hip' wedding, she added, and be careful of frosted colors, which can make you look washed out.
Bring your veil (or a good photograph of it) with you to your makeup appointment to the artist can incorporate it into your look. "If you’re wearing a thick blusher veil you want to be seen through it so we might make the makeup a little darker," Clark said. The makeup artist will also check proportions such as the width of your mouth and the shape of your eyebrows.
"Let’s say your eyebrows droop down a little at the corners. If you’re wearing a headpiece that’s fairly tall or fits fairly far back on your head, that emphasizes the downturn of the eyebrows. Similarly, if your headpiece has decorations that hang down onto your face, we don’t want it to look like your face is closed in."
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| Preparation Is The Key |
When it comes to choosing the right hairstyle for your wedding, many of the same rules for makeup apply. "The style of the wedding determines how formal the hairdo should be," explains Cathy Uldricks of Cathy Uldricks Hair Design in Santa Ynez, California. "The hair style should go with the dress. The dress comes first and everything else - hair, makeup, shoes - follows."
According to styles Uldricks saw at a leading hair show in Los Angeles, the current trend for hair is a look that’s elegant and sleek. "There were lots of styles closer to the head. There was lots of coiling of hair and then twisting it. Also dropping a lot of pieces out so even if you had a formal French twist you’d drop tendrils down around the face." What’s more, she adds, 80 percent of today’s women color their hair to some degree.
"Every bride should take advantage of hair color possibilities to make herself look better." Darin Jon, owner of Darin Jon Studio in Santa Barbara, California, agrees. "I can suggest a touch-up weave so when you’re pulling your hair up the color doesn’t look uneven." When he works with a bride, he takes into account her personality, the style of the wedding and the condition of her hair. Darin Jon suggests brides make their first contact with a stylist six months or so before the wedding. "What I offer is a 15-minute consultation when we can talk about what she thinks she’ll want and whether it will involve cutting or coloring. Then we set up a time for a one-hour practice a week before the wedding. She has my full attention and we practice as many times as necessary to find the right look."
At this point he also does any necessary touch-up coloring or hair cutting. On the day of the wedding, "she can come in relaxed and know what we’re going to do." |
| First Find a Veil , Then Work on the Right Hairstyle |
When determining the right hairstyle for a bride, Darin Jon’s first consideration is her headpiece. "Find a veil first," he said. "I can work the hair around the veil but not vice versa." Next he takes into account her existing style and length and the look she wants to achieve. "If her hair is short but she wants it to look long, I can use hair pieces."
If the bride plans to go bare-headed or just wants flowers in her hair, he can sculpt the hair in a variety of ways such as one that makes it look like a ribbon. "The tough ones are those that have short hair and want an up-do," he says. "You have to decide first whether you want to wear it up or down." And that, both he and Uldricks said, depends on the dress.
Darin Jon encourages brides to work with their stylists to develop a wedding hairstyle game plan. "You have to start from the day of the wedding and work backwards. See what the outline is and space out haircuts and colors so everything will be timed right."
Uldricks acknowledges that no look is impossible ("I can make any kind of hair do almost anything with enough spray "), but adds that location and weather are mitigating factors in whether a hairstyle will work. Adds Darin Jon, "If you have poofy hair and want it super straight, it’ll have to be blow-dried super tight. But if you’re getting married near the beach it’s going to frizz. That’s a problem to figure out."
Both say the hairstyle should reflect the bride’s personality and not represent a major overhaul of her regular look. "You don’t want a woman with plain hair to suddenly appear with a mass of curls," says Darin Jon. |
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