Every bride wants to look incredible on her wedding day …and so do we! Here are some wedding makeup tips from MOB member Laurie Lippy to help us look our best.

Consultation
I would suggest a consultation first. If you’re hiring someone to do your makeup, your consultation is the time to try several looks and see what looks best on you so that there are no surprises as to how you will look on the special day. Take pictures to see what your makeup will look like for your wedding photographs. Having your makeup professionally done is a great stress reliever. Your makeup adviser will be sure your colors are just right. It’s your day, and it should be worry free .Sit back and be pampered on your special day.

Prepare Your Skin
A few months before the wedding, it is a good idea to get into a regular skin care regimen. Use a daily skin cleanser, exfoliator, toner, and moisturizer on your skin 2 times a day, (morning and evening). Preparing your skin is essential in order to achieve a flawless look. Find yourself a professional aesthetician to exfoliate and hydrate your skin. Don’t underestimate the important of having your eyebrows done. Today eyebrows are very in style. They should be manicured and shaped properly. You can define your brows with a pencil or shadow that matches your hair color.

Foundation
Foundation should always be a match to your skin tone. It is designed to create a flawless even look to the natural shade of your skin. Foundation comes in many different forms these days. There is crème to powder, which is applied with a sponge and blended into the skin. When this sets, it does not need a loose powder on top. It sets with that powder finish. There is also a creamy foundation which is applied with the fingers, and when set is followed with a loose powder for that finishing touch. By Far the most popular choice of foundation today is Mineral Powder Foundation. Probably because of its light velvety feel, and it gives a very sheer yet completely finished look. It is applied with a special mineral powder brush in a circular motion all over the face until the desired coverer age is achieved. When this sets, there is no need for a loose powder.

Tips on Eye Makeup
For your eyes begin with an eye primer and then apply the eye shadow with brushes to get the prefect finish. Use a white or cream colored shadow as a highlighter on your brow bone if you have light skin; a warmer light peach or vanilla shade will suit darker skin tones. I advise sticking to matte shades of shadows as well as blush. For photography purposes, matte colors look much prettier than frosts or shimmered colors. Contouring your eyes is perfectly fine, but try to stay away from colors that are too dense. They can detract from your eyes themselves. Line your eyes with eyeliner, but use a subtle shade, such as a smoky gray or navy.
Blend, Blend, Blend well… all over. Concentrate on the corners of your eyes, since cameras pick up visible makeup lines
Use waterproof mascara. In case of tears, and there most likely will be, waterproof mascara is a great way to ensure there are no black streaks rolling down your face during your special day.
Don’t forget your blush! A splash of color on your cheeks is like an instant facelift. For fairer skin, a pink shade will work; for deeper skin tones feel free to choose a rose to burgundy shade.
To even out your skin tone use bronzing powder on your chest and neck if necessary. It will make your skin more radiant and ensure that your face doesn’t look too drastic from your body.

Lips
Choose a lip color that’s a little bit brighter. Pale nude or brown lip hues tend to make you appear washed out in photos, particularly since you’ll be wearing white. If you normally wear a neutral hue, wear it as your base with a pink or rose color on top. If you normally wear dark lipstick, use that as your base and apply a lighter sheer pink on top to give you a lift. Even if you mix various lip colors when applying your makeup, make sure to have one lipstick to have with you for touching up during the day.

The Less Shimmer the Better
Be careful when using gloss and shimmer. Glossy lips are beautiful when they are first applied, but after a little while gloss tends to bleed and feather out. To keep this from happening, you can apply blotting powder around your lip line or a lip primer on your lips. As for shimmer; shimmer on the eyes looks beautiful in person but will look white in photographs. Small amounts of shimmer are okay, but keep it to a minimum. The less shimmer the better your photographs will be.

Purchase Some Essential Products
Preparing in advance and making a few important purchases for touching-up are very important. Unless you hire a makeup artist to follow you around all evening, these purchases will be essential to you. They are lipstick, lip liner, and blotting powder or cloths, in the event your face gets shiny.

If you need advice on your makeup for your special day, I am a Senior Independent Beauty Consultant for Mary Kay Cosmetics. Visit my website and look around. There are many great products to ensure that you have the perfect look for your wedding day. There is also a virtual makeover area you can click on to try different colors and create your own look.
www.marykay.com/laurielippy/whatsnew/virtualmakeover/default.aspx