Naturally Glowing

When my dear friend Kate told me she was getting married and asked me to be a bridesmaid I immediately knew three things.  1. This guy must be awesome.  2. It would be a beautiful wedding).  3. She was going to have very specific ideas of how she wanted to look.  Not only does Kate have an awesome sense of style (vintage meets classic), but she’s also both an architect student and a graphic designer.  She has a very good understanding of how shape and color come together to create a whole package.  I also knew that she wasn’t really a makeup girl so I anticipated what she confirmed: she wanted to look naturally glowing and beautiful.  And she did.

Looks easy right?  Some lip gloss and eyeliner and she’s done.  Not…so much.  There’s a lot of work that goes into creating that enhanced natural beauty that a lot of brides want.  Of course, Kate was glowing and giddy almost that entire day, so it was delightful to enhance what she was already exuding.  But easy?

Let's see how "easy" it was.


A. Concealer
Every girl knows you have to start with concealer.  Under eye circles and blemishes will disappear under the right shade.  For a really polished, natural look you’ll also want to apply concealer at the corners of your nose where it meets your cheeks. I prefer Laura Mercier concealer.  It gives the right amount of coverage without caking, creasing, or clumping.
B. Foundation
Because Kate is not really a makeup girl the idea of foundation scared her a little.  Because she has very fair skin a lot of foundations look unnatural or make her look like she spray tanned.  I definitely wanted to avoid that, but I also wanted to avoid her looking washed out in her wedding photos.Tinted moisturizer to the rescue!  It gives the overall coverage and blending you want without looking made-up.  I followed that up with Stila pressed powder to set the foundation.
C. Brows
Kate has great brows naturally, so I used a clear brow gel to set them and left them at that.
D. Eye shadow
This was a discussion.  At the time she got married glittery eye shadow was everywhere.  It was also not what she wanted.  So we went on the hunt for a shadow that would let her eyes sparkle without actually sparkling.  Eventually we found vanilla nut and cafe au lait.  I used vanilla nut over the entire eyelid and on the brow bone to highlight her eyes.  Café au lait was brushed lightly into the crease and on the outer corners of her eyes to make her blue eyes really pop.  I also used it as a liner on her lower lid.  With a very fine straight brush, I lightly lined under her lower lashes to give natural definition without drama.
E. Eyeliner and Mascara
I love pot eyeliners.  They go on smoothly and easily, creating an even line.  Taking a damp flat eyeliner brush I used a charcoal pot eyeliner to create a smooth, fine line inside the upper lash line.  It takes a steady hand, but it creates a beautiful, natural definition.  Then I curled her lashes and used a waterproof mascara.  Always, always, always use a waterproof mascara on emotional days.
F. Blush
To get that “blushing bride” look, I used a multi-color blush block on the apples of her cheeks and along her cheek bones.  I also used this along her temples and down the bridge of her nose to shape the contours of her face.
G. Lips
One thing Kate said to me was that she didn’t want to be constantly reapplying lipstick throughout the day, but she also didn’t want her lips to feel dried out.  That’s a tall order for a lipstick to fill.  So, I didn’t use one.  I found a cream lip stain in “shy pink” that was just a shade darker than her lips natural color.  Using a lip brush, I lined her lips with it, and after that had set, filled them in with the same color.  I’ve gone back to this several times since then, because it actually did stay all day without making her reach for chapstick.
H. Highlighting
The final step was to use a highlighter to bring a light, dewy touch to her face.  Using a powder highlighter, I highlighted the bridge of her nose, temples, cheekbones, and immediately under her eyebrows.
So a lot went into her naturally glowing look that day, and she did look stunning.  Now, I wouldn’t suggest someone do that every day, but a lot of this can translate into an every day look.  By taking the moisturizer, eye shadow, and lips Kate has an every day look that’s quick and brings out her natural beauty.