Wedding Series: Hair & Make-up

I had such a positive experience working together with my wedding hair stylist and make-up artist to create my wedding looks. I wanted to share some of my experiences and tips for any future brides.

Hair

Day-time: Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm all about volume.  I mean, wear your hair down, in a pony or in a bun - I really believe you can spice up any hairstyle with some extra volume.  For the daytime I wanted to choose an updo that would be both classy and elegant.  My hairstylist Justin from Puzzle Creations created a beautiful no-braid braided look with of course a lot of volume in the front. I purchased a very inexpensive fingertip veil online at Light In the Box and sewed on my own hair comb.  I loved that the veil had very subtle beading and scalloped edges on the bottom.  During our photo shoot, my coworker lent me her custom-made cathedral veil. The lace trim looked beautiful in pictures.  

 

Evening: For our evening reception, I opted for a different look.  I still loved having volume in the front, but I wanted something a little different.  My stylist helped recreate a polished low pony after I showed him a picture for inspiration.  I wore this look for the evening and added some small red hair accessories when I changed into my traditional red Chinese dress. 

Colour: I had been meaning to colour my hair for quite some time.  I figured it would be a nice change to have it done for my wedding. I just love the look of a textured updo and somehow I've always felt that coloured hair can add dimension.  I had my hair coloured by Senior Stylist Olivia at Lisa Dinh Hair Studio. I got in contact with Olivia months prior and she suggested I have my hair coloured about a month before the wedding.  She did a natural dimensional balayage with ash brown/caramel tones and started the balayage sightly higher to anticipate some grow out before the wedding.  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out and still love the colour five months later!

My advice for future brides:

• Styling & Colour: Schedule a trial or consultation with your stylist/colourist at least a few months in advance to discuss possible hair looks. Together you can decide on hairstyle(s) that will best suit your face shape, dress and personal style.
  
• Deciding on a look: Bring pictures and trust your stylist! I got all my inspiration from Instagram and I'm sure you'll be able to find something you like too.  Save some pictures for your consultation and trust your stylists to recreate the look... after all, they are the pros!  There's also nothing wrong with being honest - communication is so important! If you don't think the look quite suits you then let them know! It would be a shame not to feel confident and beautiful on your wedding day.
  
• Hair Accessories: I really found the internet to be helpful when choosing hair accessories. Bridal stores can be so pricey when it comes to veils, hair pins and other accessories. Try looking online for some cheaper alternatives.  Of course there is always a risk when ordering online, but be sure to check the measurements and read reviews from other buyers. You may be surprised by the quality and prices of the items that you find! (Some sites that I browsed through: Light In The Box, Etsy, Ali Express)
  
• Day-of: Be sure to prepare an emergency kit with all your essentials because you never know what you'll need on the day of!  Be sure to pack bobby pins, travel hairspray, a comb/brush and a mini mirror just in case! (I may write a future blog post with all my emergency kit essentials...)
  

Make-up  

As someone who wears make-up on a regular basis (foundation, brows and eyeliner most of the time), I wanted to choose a make-up look for my wedding day that would compliment my features but look different from my everyday face routine.  Karen from Karen Kim Beauty was so patient and kind and we had a great time creating my make-up look.  I'm no expert, but based on my experience, here is my advice for any future brides:

• Choose a make-up look that will compliment your facial features.  Sometimes the bold lip or thick full falsies may not best suit your wedding day.  Work with your make-up artist to choose a natural, yet complimentary look. After all, you don't want to look like a different person on your wedding day!
  
• Some brides like to keep their face looking natural - the "no-make-up" make-up look, if you will.  These brides tend to stick with soft neutrals and a pale pink lip colour.  We often forget that these soft colours may not show up well in photos (spoken from experience!) I'd suggest choosing slightly darker shades for the eyes, cheeks and lips.
• Keep in mind that your make-up may photograph differently from how it appears in person.  If possible, take your engagement pictures sooner rather than later incase you need to coordinate with your make-up artist to tweak or create a new look.  If you're doing your own make-up, stay away from foundation with SPF as it doesn't photograph well with flash (yikes, white cast).

Eyes: I had my make-up trial just before my engagement shoot and chose a simple brown smokey eye.  It wasn't until after I received the pictures from our photographer did I realize the brown didn't show up as much as I had hoped.  Although I wanted a more natural look, my make-up artist and I decided on a bolder grey smokey eye inspired by Jean, one of my favourite bloggers.  We ended up using a smokey gray colour all over the lid with a soft brown transition colour in the crease.  My eyes were definitely more dramatic on my wedding day than during my engagement shoot but I still felt the colours were natural but gave me a little extra pop in pictures. (Below is a picture from my engagement shoot and wedding day - big difference in eye make-up!)

Face: I have always battled with poor skin having had acne since I was a teenager. I have combination oily skin, and finding a suitable foundation is difficult (I typically wear liquid foundation and set with powder). I tried airbrush make-up for the first time and I was really happy with the results.  The lasting power was great as well, and although I carried around my compact with me, only minimal touch ups were required throughout the day.  I felt the airbrush controlled my combination oily skin quite well too. I don't remember having to blot at all!

Lips: I love lipsticks and a I love a cool toned browned/cranberry/plum colour. I have never been comfortable wearing a red lip.  It just isn't me.  My go-to lippy is M.A.C.'s Amourous (Satin) and I think it paired nicely with my smokey eye. My make-up artist added gloss to give me some extra moisture throughout the day.

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,

E. 

Missed the previous post from my Wedding Series? Click the link below:

Wedding Series: The White Dress 

(All wedding photography captured by Heidi Lau Photography unless otherwise stated.)