Your wedding day makeup look and personal style should be a match made in matrimonial heaven. Since navigating the best bridal beauty trends of the season can be a daunting task—not to mention finding the perfect makeup artist to recreate the look on
your big day—we’ve enlisted the help of Melissa Craven, a Vancouver-based expert makeup artist, for tips and tricks on selecting the best looks and application methods meant just for you.

Melissa’s favourite bridal makeup looks:

On the eyes: “Golds, silvers and earthy hues, slightly winged to a cat-eye look using black liquid liner and variations of the smoky eye. “


On the cheeks:
“Pinks or peach shades on the apples of the cheeks, bronzer for a healthy sun-kissed glow.” (Note: bronzer is also great for contouring.)

On the lips: “Everything from light pink and nude lip colours to bright corals, reds and fuchsias.”

Bridal makeup tip #1: Choose timeless over trendy when it comes to your wedding day look.

“Avoid using too much shimmer as it can make your skin appear too shiny. Instead, use it to highlight certain areas like the cheekbones or brow bones. I always tell my brides to remember when they look back on their wedding photos five, 10 or 20 years from now that they want to still love how they looked on their wedding day and not look at the photos and say ‘What was I thinking?’ or ‘Well, it was in style
then.’”


Bridal makeup tip #2: Book a makeup trial

“Having a makeup trial, with the same makeup artist that you’ve hired for your day, is an absolutely great thing to do! It gives the brides a chance to discuss and try out looks they’re drawn to and make sure their makeup artist is on the same page—what one person may think of as a “smoky eye look” may be completely different to another, so definitely bring photos if you’re able to. Ask your makeup artist what makeup brands and products they use and discuss any allergic reactions to products you may have had.

Confirm a makeup timeline for day of and ask if they has a back-up artist if— heaven forbid!— they are unable to be there on the day of. It would be ideal to have your hairstyle trial the same day as your makeup trial so you can see how both the hair and makeup look together.

Click here for hottest wedding day hair styles from the Spring/Summer 2012 runways.

For tips on applying bridal makeup to last your entire wedding day, read on…
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Bridal makeup tip #3: Research celeb bridal reference photos

“Carrie Underwood’s and
Kate Middleton’s makeup looks are the top two that brides mention or bring me photos of—mostly looks that are timeless but modern at the same time. One runway-inspired makeup style that I absolutely love and brides have requested is the slightly
winged black liner, full dark lashes and soft pink lips and blush seen on the Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2012 runway.”


Bridal makeup tip #4: Plan for touch-ups on the big day

“If makeup has been correctly applied by a professional makeup artist then there are only two things a bride should need for touch-ups throughout the day: 1)
lip color for touch-ups after eating/drinking and 2) blotting papers, which diminish any shine that may appear—usually in the T-zone— without removing the makeup. Adding and re-adding powder to shiny areas can make your skin look and feel cakey after a while and may make your makeup appear blotchy in photos.”

Bridal makeup tip #5: Remember to weatherproof

“Keep in mind that up to 40 percent of makeup can be taken away in photos, so if you go too natural or light it will look like you have no makeup on at all. Make sure to wear waterproof mascara on your wedding day to help eliminate the possibility of the mascara running or smudging from tears, perspiration and even rain.”


Bridal makeup tip #6: Tone it down

“You can achieve an elegant look while feeling comfortable with the amount of makeup you’re wearing by not going heavy on the foundation, especially if it’s not needed. Take a photo inside as well as in natural light to see how it photographs on your makeup trial day, if possible. This will be a good indication of how it will appear in photos on your wedding day and whether you’d like to accentuate more or tone it down.”


Read more:
The best (not-so) traditional wedding shoes

The best bridal jewellery of the season
Wedding dressing dos and don’ts for guests
5 ways to overhaul your beauty routine