Bridal make-up tips and tricks

Shahnaz Husain

Every fortnight, Living features a column on beauty and style by grooming expert Shahnaz Husain. Readers can send in their feedback to dhliving@gmail.com

As any bride will testify, the week that leads up to the wedding can be a testing time. These are the days to maintain the quality of your skin with lots of TLC! Now is not the time to experiment. You should choose treatments that make you look and feel cool, fresh and vibrant on your big day. Summer brides must take extra care. Sweat and dirt tend to collect more during these months, making skin look dull and greasy. Cleansing is of course important before make-up, especially deep-pore cleansing with cleansing grains or a scrub. Remember to wash your face with cold water. Another important tip for brides is to synchronise their outfits with their make-up. Always get an outside opinion on this. Although there is no need for a stylist, a qualified person’s perspective is important to help you get your look right for the big day. Co-ordinating your colour scheme is one way to achieve uniformity. For radiant skin After cleansing, use chilled rose water to tone skin. This is not only refreshing, but helps to close up pores. Dip cotton pads in chilled water and pat briskly on the skin to stimulate circulation and add a glow. Wipe with a wad of cotton. If your skin is dry, apply a liquid moisturiser, otherwise apply an astringent lotion before applying foundation. A water-based foundation is better for summer. Look for a light, oil-free foundation, with a sheer matte finish. Dot your face with foundation and blend with a damp sponge or with your finger tips. Don’t forget the neck. Apply loose powder, or compact powder to set the foundation. Use a foundation with beige tones, rather than pink. Eye spy! Dramatic and heavy eye makeup, with the ‘winged-eye’ look, is a hot favourite among brides this season. What’s wonderful is that  the winged-eye look suits Indian complexions and clothes. To achieve this look, first apply a light shadow over the eyelid and a dark one in the crease of the eyes. Light grey on the eyelid would look glamorous. Apply a thick line of black eye liner close to the lashes on the upper lid. Smudge the liner and apply it again. Extend the liner outwards and slightly upwards, beyond the corner of the eyes. Use plenty of mascara. In fact, black shadow on the outer corners of the eyes can also help achieve the same look. If you join it with the crease line, it is easier to create the ‘winged-eye’ look. For the lower eyelid, apply liner as close to the lower lashes as possible, but start from the middle of the lower eyelid, and take the line towards the outer eye. Apply mascara.For bridal make-up, gold, silver and bronze eye shadows are popular. In fact, both black and coloured liners can be used together for the liner extensions. Luscious lips Lipsticks in shades of red, like cherry, rose, plum and red itself, are in. Begin by outlining the lips with lip pencil and fill in with lipstick. Both should be of the same colour. Add a touch of lip gloss to add shimmer. It has a cool effect. Always use waterproof cosmetics during summer to avoid the embarrassment of runny make-up. Waterproof or water-resistant lip colours and liners are available in the market. Go for matte lipstick and add just a dab of gloss in the centre for a delicious pout. Here are some looks you could experiment with: The cool look: The look can be achieved with pearly and frosted colours. Select a foundation that is paler than your skin tone and use a powder with a sheen. Eye shadow should not be too bright. A highlighter can be used just under the eyebrows and also on the cheekbones. Lilac, pink or coral may be used for the lips. Keep to the same tones for the blusher. Pearly shimmer on the lips completes the look. The contrast look: Use dramatic and smokey eye make-up, like dark grey eyeshadow, and choose a frosty shade, like brown or orange, for the lips. Line both the top and bottom eyelids, close to the lashes, for emphasis. Make the lashes thick with mascara. The blusher you choose should be light, imparting just a glow. The natural look: Choose foundation and blusher carefully. They help enhance the natural skin tone, giving skin a healthy glow. Use a hint of blusher – peach or a soft pink. Apply pink eye shadow on the lid and brown in the crease. Use a dark brown eyeliner and top it with dark brown shadow. Curl the lashes and apply very little mascara. With pink lip colour and a soft pink blusher, you are good to go