Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Wedding, make up

getting ready
{getting ready - photo by melissa of happy confetti photography}

I did my own hair and make up for the wedding, mostly because I was too lazy to figure out any other arrangement (I don't live near my wedding venue, so I couldn't just enlist my regular hairdresser) and partially because I was too cheap to want to pay for it.

If you don't own any make up, I think it probably works out to be cheaper for you to get it done. If I had bought everything fresh it would have cost waaaaay more than paying for the service. Instead, I just used my own modest stash with some very minimal additions.

My secret weapon was samples. I went to Sephora and Nordstrom and asked for samples of primer and foundation (neither of which I normally wear, so it didn't seem to make sense to buy them). They'll give you little pots of samples that last for quite a few applications.

Moisturizer - Neutrogena Healthy Defense (my usual)
Foundation primer - Hourglass Veil mineral primer (sample)
Foundation - Chanel Vitalumiere (sample, but it was so good I ended up buying some later)
Concealer - Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage (my usual)
Setting powder - Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder (my usual)
Highlighter powder - Make Up Forever Star Powder in pale peach (sample)
Cheeks + lips - Benetint (my usual)
Fake lashes - $10 kit from the drugstore with lots of individual lashes + glue
Eyeshadow + smudgy liner - kit from Smashbox (my usual, kind of like this one)
Mascara - L'Oreal Voluminous (my current usual - I switch whenever I run out)

So I basically spent $10 on my make up. I did re-up my Benetint at Sephora, because I was almost out and I felt bad about making the salesgirl give me all those samples. But I would have done that without the wedding, so I'm not counting it.

Using your own products has a triple advantage - it's cheap, it's easy (other than the false lashes, which had me a little stressed - I would recommend practicing in advance or putting them on way early in the morning before crunch time) and you know you'll look like yourself.

hair + makeup
{hair + makeup - photo by melissa of happy confetti photography}

I don't think my hair was quite as successful. I dithered between down and up and finally decided on a low side ponytail. I had my hair blown out on Friday morning ($35 + $10 tip at Dry Bar) so I wouldn't have to deal with it on Saturday. But I'm not great at doing hair. I wanted it a little looser and with more volume but I couldn't make that happen and I ran out of time to keep fussing with it. It was perfectly fine, just not magical. I still don't know that I would have paid to have it done, because that always seems like a crapshoot as well, if you don't have your usual stylist. At least I didn't look like I was going to prom.

I had planned on having a full two hours to get ready, which is an insane amount of time, for me. But it was lucky because we ended up behind schedule so we actually had less than an hour. I had a few of my close girl friends with me and we drank mimosas and made ourselves up, and everyone helped each other out as needed. It made me wish we'd had more time to luxuriate in it all. That's really what you need for a wedding - a 40 hour day so that you can do everything you want to do, slooooowly. Someone get on that.


17 comments:

  1. Aaawn, you look stunning! I'm sitting here with a big smile on my face, because you look so happy:)

    I think your hair and make-up looks great. And natural, which is the best for a wedding I think, as you said, you want to look like yourself! I'm doing my own make-up, and probably having my hair done, since it'll be flat and straight after 5 mins if I do it myself.

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  2. I am so impressed that you did your own. I actually bought a small fortune worth of makeup but then got it done by the same people at Nordstrom's each time. It was worth it to me, because I finally found make up I like and looks good on me. By getting it done I felt confident and still had the makeup on hand for touch ups. (Necessary!)

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  3. beautiful!!!!

    I did my own make up too, felt more me that way!

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  4. you look great! i'd probably do my own makeup too but i'm not great at doing hair so i'd get someone to do that for me.

    when i get married i'd want it to feel really personal and do a lot of things myself so i've been enjoying seeing how you did everything.

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  5. I think your hair was lovely, simple and elegant!

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  6. You look so beautiful. So very, very beautiful. :)

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  7. You are not giving yourself enough credit on your hair! Had I not read this post, I had assumed that your hair was done professionally! I loved it and I am considering a simple pony tail for my wedding hair style of choice! You make it look soo elegant. Good for you doing this own your own- you prove it can be done and done well!

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  8. Rach, you look gorgeous.

    & now I'm very curious to try Benetint... :)

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  9. You looked gorgeous! That's such a smart move with using samples. I'm not really into using foundation, so it seems a little outlandish for me to spend oodles of money on something that may not get used again. I'll definitely keep that idea in mind :)

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  10. thanks so much for putting everything up from your wedding in such detail. i love the simplicity and authentic feel that you went for and i think your natural beauty look was so great. absolutely love reading your blog!

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  11. You looked really really beautiful, so you obviously made the right hair/makeup decisions! Using samples was genius- I too lived far (across the country) from my wedding venue, so I shelled out a ton for products after a consultation at the local Laura Mercier counter. I was happy with the results, but yes, I probably would have paid less to hire a professional.

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  12. You look beautiful, I really like the way you did your hair. congratulations on the wedding and it is cute to see the amount of effort you put into it

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  13. I can't believ you did your hair and make up yourself, it looks like professional work! You looked fabulous, that headband was perfection.

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  14. It's been said, but as soon as I saw the photos you posted a few weeks (months? jeez) ago, I thought you looked perfectly *you* You NEVER see brides with ponytails and it worked so well for you. Gorgeous lady.

    I got my hair done the morning of the wedding (8.30ish) because our venue was in the middle of nowhere and by our 4pm ceremony it had... deflated. It drives me a little crazy in the pictures but I also can't help but notice that I looked as glowingly happy as you do. It's hair - we obsess, but it works out.

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  15. you look gorgeous! i wish i had the guts to do my own makeup like you, but i'm just so bad at it. great weekends!

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  16. You look gorgeous! I like your simple, yet beautiful makeup. I wouldn't pay for a professional makeup artist either. :D I am too stingy for that. :))

    Sandy

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