The Look of Love

Ok at the risk of sounding incredibly melodramatic I have Repetitive Strain Injury so am feeling a bit wet about the whole typing thing at the moment. I am, in fact, being a bit wet about most things as I have both wrists in splints whenever I’m doing anything which looks weird and not hugely trendy. They do seem to be working though so fingers crossed (I wish) they won’t be on for long. But they make typing a nightmare and what with the newly acquired bunion I’m feeling slightly like I’m morphing into Forrest Gump (pre the running).

However, in the lives of the stars things seem to finally be on the up. Britney is back, divorce agreed and blue contact lenses purchased. Colleen and Wayne are planning their nuptials, Mel B has had a bouncing baby girl and Posh and Becks’ stuff has arrived in L.A. Ok, so Paris may go to prison and David Beckham’s new ‘do’ is horrific but it did seem that for the last five months nothing good was happening to anyone. But now the sun is out, love is in the air and things are on the up.

Wayne and Colleen are not the only ones with a wedding to plan. The lovely Miss E is getting married in July and asked me to help her with her try out some make-up. I hadn’t really thought a lot about wedding make-up as it’s not really something I need to worry about at the moment but was intrigued as to what I would want and then tried to put those ideas into something she would like and that would suit the occasion. I cannot reveal any info about the dress here in case Mr H bizarrely feels the need to get some beauty tips from me and looks at the website. However, I can tell you that the ceremony will be at 6 o’clock in a garden with dinner afterwards. So we need to get the balance between demure wedding make-up and slinky evening glamour. I think we finally found the perfect solution so for all of you out there who are need a little help here’s what we’ve decide on.

The thing to remember about wedding make-up is that you will have your photograph taken a lot during the whole event so you need to be confident that you will look defined. Obviously this is less scary if you are planning an evening ceremony as the light won’t be quite so bright and it is more acceptable to trowel it on for an evening do.7

Once you’ve done the usual preparations (cleansed, toned, moisturised etc) its time for the eye shadow. As always I put a base of Lemon Aid by Benefit on the lids before the colour and Boi-ing underneath to cover my dark circles. Now, colour will depend on the dress and skin tone but Miss E and I went for a really gentle light gold. I’m afraid the one we’re using is an old Elizabeth Arden one of my grandmothers which I'm pretty sure you can't get anymore. But help is at hand. Prestige cosmetics Let Loose in Jump works just as well and the sponge-tip applicator is fantastic at building up colour with smooth application. Both these colours are really subtle but for something more dramatic Nars Glitter Pencil in Danceteria looks amazing. This is also great for using on the lower lashes over the top of some light dusted brown kohl – I love Clinique’s Quickliner in Roast Coffee.

Eyeliner here is very important. If, like me, you are a slave to the black lines you have to play it carefully with someone else’s wedding make-up. I stuck with black, however, using my favourite L’Oreal Liner Intense Felt-tip liner but I made sure the line was really thin. It is vital that you don't make the line to thick as this can make the eyes look piggy and over the top. You can always go over it with some brown kohl afterwards to soften the line but you really do just want to make sure the eye is defined and liquid liner is best for this. 

A trusted volumising mascara is a must on the big day. A mascara crisis is hard to rectify. I’d recommend either Max Factor’s Masterpiece or Benefit’s Bad Gal but remember to use the curlers before hand. I finally found my favourite eyelash curlers again the other day after nine months of looking so I can now reveal that they are by Girl2Go a great range of beauty essentials made to fit in your bag or desk drawer. This are so much easier to use than the usual metal ones so although the plastic may not have as much curling power you can actually curl more accurately and without pinching your skin and poking yourself in the eye.

Now getting your foundation right is a tricky thing. It’s amazing how many women can get it wrong and I spend quite a lot of my mornings peering at myself in loo mirrors checking for the tell-tale foundation line at the jaw and hairline. You MUST get this right. Not much can look worse than poorly applied foundation and everyone can notice it. I love mousse foundations because they spread really evenly and you can really blend them in. Rimmel’s Cool Matte Mousse is still my favourite but for a stronger colour You Rebel by Benefit suites any skin tone and can be mixed with moisturiser to give smooth but noticeable colour. For photographs and lasting effect you will need to put on quite a lot of this. There would be nothing worse that looking washed out in your wedding photo’s, well except looking like you’ve been tango’d so make sure caution is exercised there as well. I really advise having someone to tell you when you’re foundation is right on the big day because, as the name implies, this is the base for your whole ‘look’.

Lipstick is, again, a personal choice. I’m constantly using Clinique’s Sugared Maple Long Last Lipstick at the moment which can be made as light or as dark as you like and has shimmer which helps add some pout. To keep re-application to a minimum use a matching lip-liner (Clinique do a Quickliner for Lips) to keep the colour strong and the line firm. To finish off and for a bit of added shimmer all round Bare Escentuals Sexy Sheen Glimmer Duo comes in Vanilla Sugar and Bare Skin and for the whole face MAC’s Iridescent Loose Powder gives a beautiful finish.

This make-up is not only great for the big day but with the rapidly approaching summer and the recent sunny weekends adds a bit of sparkle to your spring look. xx