Day-Time Wedding Makeup

Even if you’re a no-makeup kinda gal, it’s wise to use makeup to enhance your features if you want to look your best in the photographs and video. Photography, especially flash photography, has a way of flattening features and enhancing all those things you don’t like about your face. So it’s wise to put yourself in the hands of a professional and work with her or him on the look you like. You’ll need less makeup for a day-time wedding than a night-time wedding, but there are still some things to watch out for.

For example, don’t let the artist apply anything too light or shimmery on your brow bone. It will act like a mirror when the flash goes off. Be sure that your mascara isn’t too heavy or clumped. Take the time to separate lashes. In close-ups, you’ll be amazed how the viewer’s eye is drawn to badly applied mascara. Avoid a lip color that is in too much contrast to your skin tone. The camera has a hard time adjusting for contrasts and the result can be muddy.

And speaking of muddy, please, please, please don’t go to the tanning booth. Pale skin looks so much better in photographs. Tanned skin will look leathery and unnatural and set up a contrast with your dress.

One general rule is that if you’re wearing pure white, pinks and lilacs in your makeup will look the most flattering. If you’re in off-white, choose peaches and apricots. Our makeup has a very water resistant rating, so don’t worry about crying it off.

Bridal Makeup.

Bridal makeup is tricky only because you have to satisfy so many different situations: the bride viewed in real life from close-up and from a distance; the bride viewed in photography from color to black and white; the bride viewed on video tape; in the day-time ceremony and the night-time event.

How do you make sure, if you are that blushing bride, that your makeup works from the moment you step into the car taking you to the ceremony until the time you step back into the car many hours later. The first thing to do is to find a professional makeup artist. Make sure that you look at his or her portfolio so that you can settle on a look you like. Then, at least two weeks before your wedding, go for a rehearsal. Once you're satisfied with the application, have a digital picture taken of yourself and look at it on a screen large enough to simulate the size of a photograph.

A common mistake that brides make is to wear too little makeup. What looks good to you when you look in a hand-mirror may well disappear on camera or from a distance. Mineral makeup is ideal for brides because it doesn’t look like makeup and gives that natural, dewy look that’s so flattering for brides of all ages.

Mature Eyes.

We talk about “mature eyes” in makeup. A friend of mine once said: “Couldn’t we call them ‘experienced eyes’?” So for all of those experienced eyes out there, here are some tips.

Less is more, especially when it comes to mascara. Too much mascara has an aging effect. When you’re applying your shadow in the crease, do it with the eye open. This way you will be able to see how far you need to go to get the color onto the edge of the brow bone.

Don’t choose colors that are too dark because they have a way of making you look tired. Heavy lining around the eye can have the same effect. Light in the inner corner of the eye will wake your eyes up. A quick was of doing this is to use our Highlighting Pencil (the white or pink side will work) and run it around that inside corner. Blend the edges with your finger. It doesn’t have to be perfect because it will just look like light, not color.

It’s very common as we age to lose the outside third of our brows, so be sure to pay attention to them. Use our Super-Shape Me Eye Brow Kit to shade in the brow and create that missing third. (The kit comes with directions.) You’ll be amazed what it does for your eyes!

Professional Application with Professional Brushes.

Someone once said that the difference between a great makeup artist and good makeup artist is one more stroke. Makeup is all about blending. Just when you think you’ve blended enough, blend one more time.

This is especially true with eyes. No matter how subtle or vibrant you like to wear your shadows, blending is the key to a perfect result. I was always taught to start off with the lightest shade and work up to the darkest. Now I’m not so sure that’s right. More and more I begin with the darkest shade and work towards the lightest. I find that I get automatic blending this way and I make fewer mistakes.

Of course, you can’t blend if you don’t have the right tools. Good brushes are absolutely key to a good result. You just can’t use that little sponge-tipped thing they gave you in your eye shadow compact. Invest in good brushes, treat them well and they will last you forever. I promise you, you’ll get more joy out of your makeup than you ever have. A good brush has natural bristles and is hand-tied, just like ours.

Widening Close-Set Eyes.

Makeup is all about illusion. You can actually give the appearance of widening close-set eyes with a few simple tricks. The first one is do NOT pluck your brows back. Brows should begin level with the middle of your nostril. If you pluck them back, they draw attention to themselves.

The way to give the appearance of widening the eye is to widen the arch of the brow. In other words, instead of having it end at the outside edge of the iris, bring it out a little bit. You’ll have to play with this to see what works for you. Then use very light shadows on the inner third of the lid.

Dark shadows will pull the eyes together. Our Highlighter Pencil is wonderful for running around the inside corner of the eye. This is usually the darkest and most recessed area of the face. Put a light in there eyes will look farther apart and you’ll look instantly brighter and more awake. (A great tip for more mature eyes.)

Deep Set Eyes.

Deep set eyes have a special beauty and need special care when applying shadows. You almost have to think backwards. Usually, deep-set eyes have a prominent brow bone, so the last thing you want to do is to put a light shadow there unless you want the brow to stand out more! (Light colors bring things closer, dark colors recede.)

Brush a medium tone over the brow bone up to the brow. Keep the lid as light as possible. Our shadow Oyster is perfect for this. It has a slight shimmer, which pulls light to the lid. Often, I don’t use an eyeliner because I want to keep the lid as light as possible and enlarge the eye. Liner can close your eye up.

It’s OK to dot liner in between the lashes, but do it very subtly so it just makes the lashes look longer and thicker. Claudia Schiffer has the most deep-set eyes of any model I know. That hasn’t stopped her from being one of the most beautiful women in the world!

Eye Shadow Colors.

I think that the most common question I’m asked is, What color eye shadow should I wear? I would say the only hard and fast rule is this, “don’t try to match your eye color.” If you do, you will cancel the eye out. Also, if you wear a bright color that overpowers the eye, then that will pull the focus.

If you don’t mind people saying, What great eye shadow as opposed to What beautiful eyes you have, then iridescent is for you. I prefer to find colors that complement the eye and have the effect of making the eye pop.

A color wheel is a useful tool, if you’re just starting. Colors opposite each other on the wheel complement each other. So, brown complements blue, green complements red, etc. In real life, this means that brown will pop a blue eye. Violet and purple look wonderful on a green eye. Brown eyes really have it all. You can wear anything as long as you don’t try to match the brown. You’ll cancel your eye out. I love gold on any eye, but I especially love it on brown eyes. Place it on the lid just above the iris.

When I’m working on a hazel eye, I like to pick one of the colors in the eye and use it as a liner. You can really change the color of the eye that way. Our shadows make wonderful liners – dry or wet. All of our shades have been picked to enhance eye colors – not to ice the cake!

Selecting your Mascara Color.

What color mascara should you wear? We sell about three times more Black than Black/Brown, but I personally think that black is over-used. Unless you have naturally black lashes, black mascara can look harsh and aging. Although long gorgeous lashes are the crowning glory to beautiful eyes, if they’re piled full of mascara, they become too obvious, take all the focus and look seriously fake.

It’s impossible to apply endless coats of mascara without getting clumps and I think it looks, dare I say it, trashy. The trick to gorgeous lashes is easy. Apply a layer of our PureLash Conditioner. Allow it to dry for 30 seconds. Wipe off your mascara wand and replace it in the tube and twist. Then rock it at the base of the lashes and pull it through to the tips. Before it’s dry, add another coat to the lashes on the outside upper corner. This will give the eye a lift. Pinch off any large clumps with your fingers and separate lashes with a Spooley or a dry mascara wand.

And don’t be wedded to black. Black/Brown is softer and looks more natural. It’s a nice trick to brush the tips of lashes with another color. Try our Teal, Navy or Wine.

Love your Lashes.

Lashes have a tough life. We would never treat our hair the way we do our lashes. Apart from the mascara we use every day – many of which contain shellac and petroleum that dries lashes out – we don’t think of conditioning them they way we do our hair. So they dry out and break and rarely reach their full potential in length.

I swear by a coating of our PureLash Conditioner. It keeps lashes soft, conditions them so they grow as long as possible and is a fabulous base for mascara. You’ll find that you have to use less mascara because the lashes have been primed before you apply it, so they look longer and thicker and are much happier.

We have many customers who had given up wearing mascara because of sensitivities before they found ours. We’ve not only taken out the harsh chemicals but we’ve also added conditioners and wheat protein to help curl. Our PureLash Lengthening Mascara even contains cellulose fibers to add extra length and thickness.

Mascara & Bacteria.

If you have your makeup done professionally, never let the artist apply mascara on you from a tester that still has its wand. This may seem drastic, but you don’t know where that wand has been! A conscientious professional will cut off the wand and use disposable brushes. She will also never double-dip.

Why is this so important? We all have bacteria that live in our lashes. We live harmoniously with them provided they don’t get out of control. Every time you use mascara, you take off some of those bacteria and put them in a dark warm environment hospitable to bacteria - the mascara tube. Eventually, their numbers will break down the preservatives. So don’t keep your mascara longer than three months.

Professionally, if someone comes at you with a mascara tester with questionable history, ask the artist if she would mind taking a new one from stock and using disposable brushes on you, or buy a mascara from her and ask her to use that one. Ask for our PureLash Lengthening Mascara in Jet Black, Black/Brown, Teal, Wine or Navy.

Eyebrow Care.

Most makeup artists will tell you that eyebrows are the most important feature on the face, and I agree. Eyebrows frame the eye and balance the entire face. Kevin Aucoin showed us that he could change someone’s complete look by changing her brows.

The classic brow – the shape that suits almost everyone – is this: Imagine a vertical line drawn from the middle of your nostril up towards your brow. That’s where it begins. The brow arches at the outside edge of the iris. Then hold a brush diagonally from the corner of your nose to the corner of your eye and to your brow. That’s where the brow ends.

I find that powder looks more natural than pencil so I choose a color (a shade lighter for dark hair or a shade or two darker for light hair) and apply it with our Eye Liner and Brow Brow brush. Then I hold the brow in place with our Brow Fix.

Our Super-Shape Me Eyebrow kits make the perfect brow so simple. Two powders to choose from, a wax to hold brows in place and even a yellow cream-to-powder eye base to take away any redness. Included is a pair of tweezers and two brushes. It doesn’t get any better than that!

Rosacea.

Rosacea is one of the easiest things for minerals to cover. Forget about the days when green was recommended to cover redness. All that did was to leave you with green to cover or a ghostly grayness. Neutralizing colors like this works on an artist’s canvass but not on the human skin. In the mineral world, yellow neutralizes red.

If your rosacea is very pronounced, you may need to use two colors. First, choose a yellow base with about the same depth as your skin color and pick up some of the powder with our flocked sponge. Apply it in a rocking motion as you press it onto your skin. Then, using a mineral base that matches your skin tone, brush it all over your face.

Yellow bases we recommend are Warm Silk, Warm Sienna or Golden Glow. Minerals cover so well that you may not need to use two bases. Choose your complexion color, brush it over your face and then add more minerals to the red area with our flocked sponge. No more rosacea!

Covering Tattoos.

Ever wish you hadn’t had that tattoo put on your shoulder? Help is at hand, especially if you’re a bride and want to wear strapless.

First, find a shade of our Disappear and a mineral powder that closely match your skin. We have five shades of Disappear from which to choose. Then, with our Camouflage brush, smooth on a thin layer over the tattoo. Let it dry for a moment, then smooth on another layer. With our flocked sponge, pick up some of the powder and press it onto the tattoo. Repeat the process if you need more coverage.

You will still sometimes see a blue shadow coming through. I find that pressing some blush like our Copper Wind will usually neutralize the shadow. If you need to, you can add another layer of mineral powder.

Remember that no camouflage is perfect when examined close-up, but since people usually look at you from a distance of about three feet, this method will disguise the distraction enough so that no one will notice it.

Hyperpigmentation.

I think hyperpigmentation (brown spots, and in a larger form known as melasma) is the most difficult thing to cover. Somehow, it always manages to bleed through whatever you put over it. You’ll have to try several methods to see what works for you. Here are some of them.


1. Sometimes just a layer of minerals will be enough to disguise it so that it isn’t the first thing someone notices. You can also try putting Amazing Base on as a wash. Spritz our flocked sponge with one of our facial sprays and then pick up the loose powder. Smooth it over your skin and wait for it to dry. Then brush some dry minerals on top.


2. Match a Disappear to your skin shade and apply it with our Camouflage brush. Then stipple Amazing Base or PurePressed Base on top. If there’s still some of the monster shining through, brush a blush like Copper Wind on top. The orange color with usually neutralize the grey shadow.


3. Apply Enlighten Concealer over the pigmentation with our Camouflage brush. You don’t need to apply too much, then pick up some powder with our flocked sponge and stipple it over the area.

Disguising Gray Circles.

Were you born with gray circles all the way around your eyes? They’re really difficult to cover, aren’t they? I have a method that usually works.

I use our Enlighten concealer, which has a medium orange color. With our Camouflage brush, I pick up a small amount of product and pat it under the eye, making sure I get underneath the lashes. Then I pat it onto the lid. I add another thin layer if I think I need it. It takes very little product to make a difference.

Skin isn’t a piece of plastic - it’s more like fabric. So concealer covers better if you use criss-cross motions to fill in the weave of the skin. I like to use a mineral powder that's slightly lighter than the skin tone and pat it over the concealer. Usually, this does the trick.

People who’ve been putting up with circles like this from childhood are suddenly smiling!

Choosing Your Concealer.

Our under-eye concealers, Circle\Delete #1, #2 and #3, not only cover but also contain ingredients that condition the under-eye area. I always use our Camouflage brush because it lets me get into the most recessed area of the face, which is the inner corner of the eye where it meets the bridge of the nose. It also lets me get close to the lower lashes. I believe it’s better to cover the whole of the under-eye area, not just the circle.

Circle\Delete gives you two colors, so blend a color that matches your skin tone if you’re just covering a circle. If you want to pull the under-eye area out, then use a shade lighter than your skin tone. If you’re puffy under the eye, then blend a color that’s darker than your skin tone. Use a lighter color on the two outside corners and gradiate the color darker as you cover the puff. Light colors bring things forward. Dark colors make things recede.

Camouflaging Circles.

Under eye circles are second only to finding the right base shade in terms of cosmetic challenges. And it isn’t only women. Men are just as distressed about them. To cover circles the most effectively, you first have to decide what the color of the circle is.

Circles are caused by a number of different factors – hyperpigmentation (this can be brown or grey depending on your hereditary), allergies (grey, blue, purple), toxins (grey, blue), lack of sleep (grey), or skin thinning (usually purple/red - the color of the capillaries that show through the skin.) Circles can even be shadows from a slipped fat pad. There isn’t much that a concealer can do about that!

Once you’ve determined the color then you’re ready to try the right color. Yellow generally conceals red and purple. Peach is very effective on brown, grey, and blue. Try our Circle\Delete #1 for yellow and #2 for peach.

Ruby Red Lips.

Really, anyone can wear red! And since red is such a fashion color, even in summer, be brave and find the right shade for you.

If you have warm undertones like me, a blue red will make you look as if you’re ready for the morgue. A yellow red always looks quite good and gives me a boost for the evening. If you have cool undertones, a blue red will do the same for you.
Especially if I’m wearing black, which can make me look tired, red lips brighten my look, add a touch of drama and make my teeth look whiter.

I always put on a layer of pencil first and blot it to remove waxes. Then I use a lip brush to put on a thin layer of lip color. Blot it and add another thin layer. You’ll be amazed how a lip brush helps the color to stay on because it gets into the tiny crevices in the lips. I usually put a dot of clear gloss in the middle of my lower lip and then I feel like a real femme fatal. Somehow it also boosts my confidence.

We have warm reds in Nicole, Holly and a beautiful cool red in Carrie. For cool reds, try Diana, Rachel or Luara.

Choosing the Right Lipstick.

So how important is the right lip color? After all, when fashion talks about “nude lips,” it isn’t talking about bare lips. It knows that the right lip color completes the look. Just like brows, what you do with your lips can change your look dramatically. The right lip color can make your teeth look whiter, your skin look better and brighten your whole personality. It isn’t an accident that after global or national disasters, the sale of bright colored lipstick increases dramatically.

To find the right color, discover what your undertone is. If you have a yellow undertone, colors with a golden hue will look the best on you. For example, peach rather than pink, brown instead of mauve. If you have cool undertones, you’ll look better in colors that have a blue hue. Pink instead of peach, etc.

How do you know which you are? Try on an orange (warm) and a magenta (cool) lipstick. One of them will look good and the other one will look awful. If they both look good, lucky you; you’re neutral and can wear just about anything.

Our lipsticks contain no FD&C dyes, have an SPF 18 with edible zinc and are so moisturizing that they really are a drink for the lips. You’re bound to find a color that will become your favorite.

Keeping Lips Looking Great.

Having trouble with the lip color bleeding into the fine lines around your mouth? Try these potential problem solvers. Blend a thin layer of our Absence Oil Control Primer around the outside of the lips. Fill the lips in with pencil, blot, then apply one of our LipColours with our Lip brush. You’ll get just as much color but with less product, if you use a brush. Blot again. If you want to use gloss, just put it in the middle of the lower lip. This gives a very useful effect.

A lot of our customers swear by using Circle\Delete, our under-eye concealer, around the mouth to step feathering. Try applying a thin coat with our Camouflage brush, then fill in with a pencil and layer the LipColour. If you want a very matte look that won’t go anywhere, just fill in with one of our pencils and blot. That will remove the surface waxes.

Finding the Perfect Lip Color.

So what is the best neutral color for your lips? It’s easy to see. Pull down your lower lip to expose that delicate membrane. That’s the color.

Finding the right color is important because you can then choose a pencil that you can use as a base under all your lip colors and glosses. I find, for me, that our Terra-cotta pencil is my perfect neutral and I use it to shape my lips and fill them in with the pencil. It not only evens out the color of my lips, but whatever shade I put on top of it now has a firm base so colors last much longer. Yes, I even put it under reds.

My favorite lip look--not just for me but almost anyone I make up--is to fill them in with a pencil and put a gloss on top. I love the way the light passes through the gloss, hits the pencil base and reflects back. It’s so much more interesting than a flat color. It’s also more youthful, since matte is aging. To find your perfect neutral pencil start out by trying our Terra-Cotta, Spice, Nutmeg and Nude.

About jane iredale Base - pt. II.

It’s so much easier to choose the right base shade with minerals than with any other foundation. Minerals interact with light in a way that scatters it to create diffusion. The light even bounces off the skin and melds with your natural color. That’s why you’ll never see where your base begins and ends.

Unlike talc-based makeup that covers by layering product, minerals cover by illusion. The interaction with light allows very little product to be used, so your skin always looks like your own skin - only better.

The first thing our customers generally say when they begin to wear minerals is that they feel weightless. That’s because so little product is needed to obtain really meaningful coverage. One of the benefits is that the skin is allowed to breathe and function normally, resulting in a skin that not only looks healthier but actually is healthier.

About jane iredale Base.

The number one problem women have with makeup is choosing the right base shade. That’s because most of the time you’re trying to do it in artificial light. My advice is to make sure that you always find a professional who has access to daylight and the patience to try a number of colors on you.

The best place to try a shade is on the jaw line. You’re looking for a color that blends the neck and face together. If the color disappears, then it’s the right color. If you’re trying to do this alone, try it on the cheekbone. It’s easiest to see it here.

If your face is darker than your neck, don’t worry if the shade that blends the two together appears to make you look pale. You can always build color with a bronzer. It will look much more natural than going with a darker shade and appearing as though your head belongs on another body.

About jane iredale's Sunscreen.

I believe that the sunscreens in our mineral powders are among the most effective on the market. First, they contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide – the only two physical sunscreens listed in the FDA monograph. They protect from UVB and UVA so they’re broad spectrum.

Unlike most chemical sunscreens, our minerals are non-comedogenic, nonocclusive and don’t create sensitivities. There’s no wait time for them to become effective and they are the last layer, not the first, so they are easy to touch-up if necessary. They also have a “very water resistant” rating, which means that they were tested on a human subject for 80 minutes in moving water and still maintained their SPF rating.

I have fair skin and burn easily. When I’m in the sun, I generally wear a chemical sunscreen on my body and the minerals on my face. I almost always burn on my body but never on my face.

Always make sure there’s an SPF on the label. Just because it says “mineral powders” doesn’t mean it protects you from burning.