Wedding Wednesday: Doing My Own Wedding Day Makeup.

     For one of my final Wedding Wednesday posts before the Big Day, I have a confession to share: I'm planning to do my own makeup for my wedding day! I've done several "trial runs" of my wedding day makeup over the past few months, and I wanted to share a full list of the makeup products that I'm planning to use for my wedding day. Some are tried and true products that I already owned, and some are new higher end products that I splurged on. I also wanted to share some thoughts about what lead me to choose going this route for my wedding day beauty, versus hiring a makeup artist. Let's get into it! 

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       For as long as I can remember, I've loved doing my own makeup! It was such a treat for me as a little girl to play dress-up with it, or to get to wear it "in public" for ice skating and dance recitals each spring. Once I was in high school, my love for makeup really blossomed as I discovered stores like Sephora and Ulta, and some of the more prestige makeup brands. In college, I made it a mission to improve my techniques of applying my own makeup, and I carefully studied lots of beauty Youtube tutorials. I also got really into drugstore makeup again in college, also thanks to Youtube. By the time I graduated college, I felt like I had confidently mastered doing my own makeup for both everyday and formal occasions pretty well. I would never say that I have great skills with doing makeup on others, but I am confident with doing it by me for me.

     Despite enjoying doing my makeup, I always pictured myself as hiring a professional for my wedding day makeup. That just seems like the type of thing every bride does these days. But once I was actually engaged and looking at price quotes for (good) local makeup artists... it was a gut punch! The rates these days for a talented makeup artist for a wedding day are absolutely insane. Granted, hairstylist rates for weddings are also high, but I don't have great skills on myself when it comes to fancy hairstyles, so I knew no matter the cost, I'd still be getting my hair done professionally the day of. But the more I thought about it for makeup, the more it made sense to do my own on my wedding day.

     I started to fall in love with the idea of doing my own makeup and having several months ahead of the wedding to practice! I knew I'd much rather spend a couple hundred dollars and splurge on some high-end products, vs. spending double that on a makeup artist doing my makeup one time for one day. It was a no brainer to me!

     I'm using a few tried and true products that I've loved using for years, and I also am using several new-to-me higher end beauty items that I purchased at Sephora this summer. I lucked out when I went into Sephora this summer- the sales associate helping me was actually a wedding makeup artist for her side hustle! She had such great products recommendations, and I've loved everything that she suggested I buy and use.

     My wedding is now just a couple of weeks away! I finished buying most of the makeup I needed for my wedding day look a few months ago, and I've had a few "trial runs" of doing the full face to see what I liked and what needed tweaking. So far it's been very long-lasting, and I'm liking how everything is looking! I want a makeup look that is glam and bold, but also feminine and "bridal" looking (not too dark or intense). 

     Without further ado, here are all of the products that I'm planning as of now to use on my wedding day:

• Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Primer - I might use this, I might still try to find another brand of primer in the next couple weeks. But this is my favorite primer that I've used day-to-day this year! Ole Henriksen is by far my favorite skincare brand. 

• Tarte Shape Tape Full Coverage Concealer in Shade 16N Fair Light Neutral - This is one of the most beloved beauty products in wedding day beauty regiment, I'm sure you're either used this before or have at least heard of it! It has a cult following for a good reason, and has become a tried and true beauty product for me!

• Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation in Shade Ecru -  My absolute favorite foundation! It's very full coverage, blends so beautifully, and is long-lasting! There isn't anything else I'd even consider for wedding day foundation. I don't wear this everyday solely due to the price (a drugstore foundation is my go-to for everyday), but I always wear this for any formal occasions or for a day I know I'll be photographed a lot. I wore it for my engagement photos back in March of course! 

• Rare Beauty Always an Optimist Setting Powder in Shade Light Medium - The first of three Rare Beauty products in my wedding day beauty line-up. I've yet to try something from this brand that I don't love. This setting powder not only lasts all day (when paired with a setting spray), but it sets beautifully on my foundation. 

• Rare Beauty Warm Wishes Cream Bronzer Stick in Shade Bright Side - If you only try one makeup product from Rare Beauty, let it be this one! This applies to your face like butter, and blends so easily. It leaves you with the most natural and radiant bronzy glow. Can't recommend this enough! 

• Rare Beauty Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter in Enlighten - By far the most pigmented and easy to apply highlighter I've ever used! It will for sure give me that magical facial glow that I'm looking for on my wedding day. Love this product.

• Danessa Myricks Beauty Blurring Balm Powder Flushed in Shade Rose n Brunch - This brand and specific was completely new to me, but was recommended as a great long-lasting creme blush from the Sephora sales associate I worked with this summer. She recommended I use this first the base of my blush, and then go over it with a high-end powder blush. 

• DiorRosy Glow Blush in Shade Rosewood - This is such a splurge item, but it's also the first Dior makeup item I've ever bought so that's special to me! It is a beautiful colored blush. It applies so nicely over the Danessa Myrics creme blush. 

• IT Cosmetics Brow PowerFULL Volumizing Eyebrow Pencil in Shade Universal Taupe - A ride or die beauty product for me! My eyebrows are one of my biggest insecurities, and I'm also very particular about how they get done (the few times I have had professional makeup done, I've never liked how my eyebrows look). This is by far my favorite eyebrow pencil I've ever used. Couldn't fathom using anything else on my wedding day! 

• Essence Make Me Brow Eyebrow Gel in Shade Blondy Brows - My cheapest ride or die beauty product! This bad boy is under $5, and I've been using it for 10+ years religiously. No sense trying new eyebrow prodcuts for the big day. 

• Ulta Matte Eyeshadow Primer - I had no intentions of using this for my wedding day, but this is the primer I've been using lately for my everyday makeup, and it's what I had on hand every time I've practiced my wedding day look. It holds up really well. So at this point I think no sense to buy a different primer! 

• Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Eyeshadow Palette in Shade The Uptown Girl - As someone who wears primarily drugstore makeup day-to-day, I'd never let myself splurge on anything by Charlotte Tilbury before. Not even the popular Pillow Talk lipstick! When it came to wedding day eyeshadow, I felt ready to splurge. I didn't think I'd need a whole new giant palette, but I did fall in love with this luxurious little eyeshadow quad at Sephora. It's blended beautifully and lasted so well in my wedding day makeup trials that I've done!

• ONE/SIZE by Patrick Starrr Point Made Waterproof Eyeliner in Bodacious Black - Another new-to-me brand that my Sephora sales associated recommended to me. She said out of all the liquid eyeliner pens that Sephora sells, this is her top choice for bridal makeup. I have to be honest- while I like this eyeliner, I'm not sure how different it is from the drugstore ones I use everyday. This might be the one product on this list that I'm not 100% in love with, solely because I don't know how different it is from cheaper ones. But I am still planning to use this on my wedding day!

• False lashes - The one thing I am not linking a specific item for since I haven't decided 100% which false lashes I'm using yet! I started out practicing wedding day makeup with Ardell lashes, but then have also tried a few styles from the KISS brand that I've liked, too. I will probably end up bringing 3-4 different styles with me in my wedding day makeup bag, and make a game time decision. 

• Essence I Love Extreme Crazy Volume Mascara  - Just like the Essence eyebrow gel, this is another ride or die beauty product for me that I've also been using for 10+ years! Simply the best mascara, and insane it's $5 a tube. I'll be wearing false lashes for the wedding day, but I'll use this to help blend them with my natural lashes, and on my bottom lashes I'll use mascara.

• Maybelline Super Stay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick in Shade Inspirer - When I went wedding makeup shopping at Sephora this summer, I full expected to splurge on a high-end long-wearing liquid lipstick for my wedding day. But nothing I tried felt like just the right shade. I decided to look at affordable drugstore options! I tried several from other brands like Revlon and Covergirl, but I quickly realized this specific line of liquid lipsticks from Maybelline was superior for color pigmentation and how long they last. I like the shade Inspirer the best, but they have lots of great shades! 

• Urban Decay All-Nighter Long Lasting Setting Spray   - A popular beauty product that's been around for years, but I'd never tried it until now! The Sephora sales associate I worked with recommended I use two setting sprays to get my wedding day makeup to last 12+ hours. She said to use this one first, and put it on right after my foundation and setting powder is on. Then she suggested I keep applying the rest of my face makeup, and then use a second setting spray later. So far this method has been working very well when I practice!

• ONE/SIZE On 'Til Dawn Waterproof Setting Spray - This was the second setting spray recommended to me. The Sephora sales associate told me to use this as the very last product in my wedding day beauty routine. This product is amazing! Makeup truly doesn't move when you're using it. I will definitely re-buy this again and again post-wedding. I've been much more impressed by this product than I was by the ONE/SIZE eyeliner. 

      I waited intentionally until close to the wedding to share this topic for a Wedding Wednesday blog post. I found early-on into being engaged that some people (both in real life and those on the internet) had strong opinions about a bride doing her own wedding makeup vs. hiring a professional. I didn't want a lot of outside influence to make me feel badly about my decision once it was made. I'm very pleased with how my practicing has gone, and I can't wait to do this for real on the Big Day very soon! 

Past Wedding Wednesday Posts:

Our Proposal Story // My Ring Shopping Experience // Local vs. Destination Wedding // My Wedding Dress Shopping Story // 9 Months Out Checklist + Early Wedding Planning Q&A // How Ryan and I Met // Our Engagement Photos // Virginia Beach Wedding Guest Lodging with Transcendent Stays // Our Engagement Party // 6 Months Out Checklist + Q&A  // How I Asked My Bridesmaids // My First Bridal Shower // 3 Months Out Checklist + Q&A // My Second Bridal Shower // My Bachelorette Party // 

     God Bless,

     xoxo Annaliese