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Hey brides-to-be!  Want your make-up to look (and photograph) flawlessly on your wedding day?  Here are some tips to keep you looking fresh and fab:

1.  BLEND, BLEND, BLEND.  You can use your everyday makeup, but use more than your normally use every day.  Many makeup professionals use airbrush makeup, the method of choice for high-definition TV, because it is lightweight, waterproof and gives flawless coverage.

2.  SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE.  Use less makeup for a day  wedding and more for evenings.  You can get dramatic with eye makeup.

3.  DON’T SKIMP ON CONCEALER.  Use a moisturized concealer on the thin, sensitive skin under the eyes.  If your concealer isn’t moisturizing, blend it with a skin cream.  For blemishes, first treat them with a natural or over-the-counter anti-inflammatory, then cover with concealer.

4.  DO A MAKEUP TRIAL RUN.  Use a professional makeup artist.  It’s the only sure-fire, stress-free way to make certain your makeup will look beautiful.  (Trust me on this one….I came home from my makeup trial run and Pete said ‘Ummmm, Baby, you look like a clown”, and I sorta agreed! ha!  Needless to say, I went back to the salon and we got it all squared away before my wedding day.)

5.  NOT ALL MINERAL MAKEUP IS CREATED EQUAL.  Titanium dioxide, a chemical use din sun block, can reflect flash, giving the bride a ghostly appearance.  In 2009 makeup artist Annie May launched a line of mineral makeup especially formulated for photography called Advanced Mineral Makeup.  May promises it won’t white-out the bride under flash.

6.  USE WATERPROOF MAKEUP WITH STAYING POWER.  You don’t want to spend your reception in the bathroom reapplying your makeup.  Foundation, eyeliner and mascara all should be waterproof.  And in case your cry (and you probably will), have a tissue or handkerchief handy to gently blot your tears right at the eye.

7.  KEEP YOUR LIPS MOISTURIZED AND COLORED.  Dry lips look dreadful in photos.  Have someone carry your lipstick for you and touch up often.  Matte and glass lipstick both photograph well (though I am a HUGE fan of MAC lipglass), and be sure to use blended lip liner for enhanced definition.

8.  DON’T FORGET THE GROOM.  If the groom is red faced due to too much sun (or drinking), a little powder can help.  That goes for shiny heads, too.  And it’s a good idea to slip a tube of Chapstick in the groom’s pocket for his dry lips, as well as a handkerchief to dab well-wishers’ makeup smudges off.

9.  DON’T SPRINKLE ON GLITTER.  Just don’t do it.  In photographs, it tends to look like little white spots, as if there is something wrong with the camera.

10.  REMEMBER to apply foundation and powder to your neck, shoulders, and decolletage- you want your head to look like it belongs to your body!

11.  SAY NO TO TANNING BOOTHS and SPRAY TANS.  Especially right before the wedding, avoid tanning booth, spray tans, and fake tan lotions.  It tends to look orange in photographs.

Here are two recent FAB brides who really rocked their makeup.  Jessie has an amazing pallet to start with, but her makeup artist really accentuated her high cheekbones and blended everything together so beautifully:I love the colors that Alina’s makeup artist used.  They really brought out her gorgeous eyes!

Wedding season is upon us and is in full swing.  I hope this diary entry gives my brides some helpful tips in their wedding planning.  On a side note, lots of fun changes coming to my blog (aka- Andi’s Diary).  Look over to the left at the little tabs to download the iDiamond Photo app for your iPhone, add yourself to my monthly newsletter, or go to my Facebook fan page.  Have a great week!  A