As far as Guest Blogs go, this one is going to be a must-read for my LOVE brides! I’m absolutely thrilled that my good friend and uber stylist, Phoebe Caramitsos, owner of award-winning Bridal Styling and Concierge service, Flossy & Leigh, has agreed to share the very latest trends in bridal make up with us.
Flossy & Leigh is the ultimate in luxury, exclusive and personal service. Phoebe limits herself to just 40 weddings a year so she can ensure her brides feel like the biggest VIP on their wedding day. Her and her team offer a full bridal hair and make-up service, bridal accessories sourcing, concierge facility, make-up touch ups throughout the day and a glitter bar for the evening party. So much more than your normal hair and make-up offering!
Phoebs is also quite a character! So, brace yourself brides for a whirlwind tour of the latest insta-worthy make up looks that will make the perfect, finishing touches to your bridal look.
Emma
xoxo
Hi Campers!
I’m Phoebe, and I own the award-winning company, Flossy & Leigh Bridal Styling Co. What’s that? You’ve heard of us, and we’re amaaazing!?! Oh stop!!!! No really, I’m blushing!
When Emma and her crew asked me to share some wedding wisdom for her LOVE brides, I naturally jumped to attention. I mean two of my closest friends have been sent straight to Emma and found their dream gowns, along with hundreds of my brides.
Okay, so they asked me to speak about trends, tips and key features of certain looks.
Well, I aim to please…..
These days, the holy grail in makeup application is creating the perfect base. In other words, ‘SKIN IS IN, baby’!
Highlight has been a huge feature, with insta-makeup posts so dazzling you need shades to protect your retinas from the glare of the ring light.
However, just like with the world’s former obsession with contour, we’ve progressed onto a more natural and blurred finish, at least I hope to God we have…some of those harsh lines still make me shudder. God created beauty blenders for a reason, and behold he said unto thee make-up disciples, thou shalt go forth and blend.
Once you’ve trawled your way through all the thousands of foundations and concealers out there to see which suits you best (and you will need to trial a few, one brand certainly does not suit all) you can then start creating the perfect bridal look for yourself.
Here’s some of my most popular requests and a brief description of what they usually look like. However, keep in mind that everyone is different, and will have their own interpretation of these and their own way of wearing these kinds of style to suit them.
Subtle Glam / Polished
Soft contour and shading of the face. Medium to full coverage. Subtle, natural, warm colours. Gentle smoky eye, blown out and seamlessly blended above and below, usually with browns/bonzes/taupes, as opposed to blacks. Although, often I finish this with a very soft and fine black gel line on top to finish the lash line, edging out into the tiniest flick, but in general, this lash line blends out into the outer wing.
Lash inserts/clusters are usually preferred for this look, rather than heavier lash strips.
Brows will be groomed and defined with powder etc, but still natural.
Lips are often kept a natural glossy nude pink, or even just a natural lip liner mixed with a non-sticky gloss/ tinted lip balm.
This look has pretty much superseded the ‘natural’ and ‘typical bridal’ barely there look that came before it. These days people want people to know they’ve made an effort and want you to be able to tell you’re wearing makeup but still keeping it soft and natural.
Glam
A more charged-up version of the subtle-glam/polished look before it. This one tends to feature harder application of the colours. There’ll probably be browns in there to transition between the bolder shades, but there usually ought to be black in this, and most often used in the waterline and outer wing of the eyes.
The brows will usually be heavier and more defined with a more distinguishable highlight below the brow bone.
A fuller strip false lash is often better for this look to give a heavier finish.
Obviously, a heavier coverage will be called for to give a really flawless finish that makes much more of a feature of the contouring and bolder highlight.
Lips here can still be kept quite nude, as the main focus here is almost certainly the eyes.
Vintage
This is a very general term can refer to any of the fashion eras. However, the most popular being the 50’s. Usually, with a nod to old Hollywood glamour, and often created with a medium to full coverage matt finish.
Key features for this include a bold red lip, minimal eye shadow to simply conceal and contour the lid, with an iconic black flick and perfectly defined arched brows. Yet, let’s say red lips aren’t your thing, you don’t need to go all out to create the 50’s in your style. If you pick a dress that’s 50’s A line in style and wear your hair like a 50’s starlet, then you can do whatever you want with the lips but keep the flick.
Tip: If you’re going for a 60’s look, the lips ideally need to be nude and the black liner much thicker.
Victoria’s Secret inspired Natural Glow
Your skin really does need to be in great shape to begin with, as the coverage is usually far less for this less is more look. It’s all about having a hydrated and smooth base.
If your skin is great, you ought to get the perfect golden glow from using cream and liquid products. Things like the By Terry Brightening CC Serum bronzer.
Again, like the polished look, natural false lash clusters or realistic strip lashes could be used, along with extremely well blended natural bronze and eye colours, perhaps with a shimmer. The whole look should radiate health and glow and scream sunshine. Glossy natural lips are a must with this.
So, there you have it, my four most popular Bridal make-up looks. As my service is so unique and bespoke, many of my brides will end up with a blend of these looks, to create exactly what they want.
I work incredibly closely with my brides. I like to do a phone consultation at the time they actually book (often 12 months before the wedding). This way I can chat through their ideas to check we’re on the same page and start to build a rapport. It is so important that we build a relationship, as I’m going to be with them for 12 hours on one of the most important days of their life. I need to understand her, and she needs to trust me completely.
To help with this, I always ask my brides to send me some photos of the kinds of things they like, especially with hair. That way, when we talk, I can manage her expectations and give her tips way in advance on how to prepare her skin and hair for the trial to ensure we get the most out of it.
I run the hair and make-up trial around four months before the wedding, and it can last up to four hours as we perfect a day and evening look for the bride.
It’s always great if we can schedule the trial around one of the dress fittings so the bride can see the full effect. At the trial, I make notes on everything and take photos. I even look at photos of bridesmaids etc, so I can advise them ahead of the wedding day too.
Which brings me to a top tip for a bride when it comes to their trial!
*I never ever recommend taking more than one person to the trial with you, and even then, it should purely be for company.
When you book others in for a trial too, the experience becomes about them.
Similarly, if they aren’t having a trial and are just sitting around waiting for you, it can become quite stressful for you, as you really don’t want to rush the experience.
You’ve heard the expression too many cooks…? Well, that certainly becomes the case at your trial. Too many opinions become over-facing for you. Make the trial experience ALL ABOUT YOU! It’s too expensive and too important to get it wrong.
This is the one time you justifiably get to be selfish, so embrace it!*
Thank you so much to Phoebe for her sharing her amazing expertise with us. Don’t forget you’ll need to choose your perfect dress before you can perfect your make-up and hair, so what are waiting for? Get in touch with us here at LOVE to make an appointment to try on gowns from our stunning collections!