How I did my bridal makeup myself

When I started planning my wedding I put a lot of thought into getting a wedding hair and makeup artist. Most advice that is given to brides to be claims to get a really good makeup and hair professional for the big day. But I am here to show you that you can also do your own bridal hair and makeup look. Because I am truly so happy that I decided to do this joyful ritual myself, instead of hiring someone to do it. You too can do your own wedding makeup and I am sharing my tips & tricks to create the perfect bridal wedding makeup yourself.

There is no debate wether your wedding day hair and makeup must look perfect. It must look perfect and stay all day and night for the photos. The photos of your wedding, you will treasure forever, so you do want to be just as in love with your wedding look as you are with your photos.

For me personally, I wanted to look like myself. I did not want too much makeup, and with my extremely oily skin, I wanted makeup that would last and look beautiful on photos. I also wanted my hair to look natural and princess-like for my bridal look. And the problem with getting a professional bridal makeup artist is that the way and techniques of applying makeup is different than how you would do your own makeup. As Miss World Netherlands 2019 & 2020 I have a lot of experience with professional makeup and hair artists. They always make me look slightly different than how I naturally look with my own makeup. I also found that these artists don’t know my skin as well as I do, resulting in makeup that just doesn’t last or becomes very caky. I understand that you can book trials with professional wedding artists. But these trials often come in a package with makeup or hair on the wedding day, to ensure you stay with said artist. And yes, I do understand during the trial you can finetune what you want, but that is still within the bounds of the style/skill/technique of your artist. Also, nowadays with easily accessible editing of photos it is hard to find an artist with a style you truly love, in my personal experience. And not all of us want to afford the time and resources to book and fly the makeup artists of the red carpets for your special day and trials.

As a former pageant winner I also have a lot of experience with doing my own makeup and hair for events and photoshoots. So I am comfortable with making myself look picture perfect but natural at the same time. So I decided to do my own wedding hair and makeup. And I could not be more happy with the results. I truly believe that you can also do your own wedding hair and makeup and be in love with it. So I will be sharing all my knowledge today.

My top 11 tips for doing your wedding makeup and hair yourself:

Invest in good quality products, that work well on your skin and on photos. Good products are really half the work. They look better on camera, last longer and are easier to apply. I will be sharing my used products in the next post, so hopefully you can take some inspiration from it.
Prime your skin and hair, because priming lays the foundation of your look. With a bad canvas you can’t expect your makeup and hair to be beautiful and to last. Wait 5 minutes between each layer. This to ensure the previous layer has set and will not interfere with the layer you put on top. For example, I cleansed my face and waited 5 minutes before I put on my day cream. I waited 5 minutes before I put on more day cream on the skin that soaked up the first layer fully. No matter oily or dry skin, hydrating is extremely important for your wedding look to look beautiful and to last.
Practice, practice and practice, set dates for yourself where you are practicing your wedding hair and makeup exactly how you want to apply the products on the big day. Your practice looks are to finetune the wedding look you ultimately want. Also, take loads of photos in different light settings with your practice looks to ensure you truly have the wedding look you want.
Take more than enough time for your look on the big day. Your wedding day is so excited and full of memories. You want to be ready well before the photographers and videographer arrives. I took 4 hours in total for my wedding look on the wedding day, and I was done well before the vendors arrived.
Choose what you feel comfortable with, instead of what is expected. I chose to do a bright red lip for my wedding look, opposed to pinkish lips. Because I love wearing red lips in everyday life and I feel beautiful wearing it. I also chose to do a very slight wave in my curls, for a very natural look instead of properly set curls.
Make sure there are mirrors, a vanity table, plugs and lighting available on your wedding day to ensure you can make the perfect bridal look.
Liquid lipstick with no transfer so your groom doesn’t get your lipstick color on his lips too. Imagine if my husband got red lipstick on his lips, that would have been hilariously disastrous!
If you get a pimple on the big day, make sure to put a cool bottle or ice cube for 5 minutes on the blemish. This will reduce the swelling. It also works for puff eyes!
Wash and dry your hair the night before and keep dry shampoo on hand. My hair becomes oily quickly, but freshly washed hair is just too slippery for hairstyles to last. So I washed and blow dried my hair the night before the wedding and in case my hair got a tad bit oily during the night, I had dry shampoo to combat the oil and give slightly more texture.
Choose a signature perfume beforehand and wear it to all wedding related events and the days leading up to your wedding. You will create a strong bond with that scent forever. Every time you catch a whiff of that perfume you will think about your wedding.
Trust yourself. On the big day, when something goes wrong, just trust yourself. Trust that God had this plan for you. Trust that you will look gorgeous. Trust that you will create the perfect hair and makeup look, and I promise you it will.

My beautiful wedding photos are taken by Cherie Theron Photography. She is based in Port Elizabeth, in South Africa. She is truly the best!