Meet Beke Beau, our go-to beauty guru who we are lucky enough to call our friend! Once a month she will be contributing her makeup genius to our blog to help brides get ready for their big day!
I started doing make-up for brides in New York City in 1990, and since then, I’ve witnessed an evolution in the way that brides want to look on their wedding day. (In fact, I still have the photo of my very first bride and her twin sister – it will never be made public, but suffice it to say that there was a lot of color going on…everywhere…).
In the most modern sense, wedding make-up has gone from “paint by number” (dark in the crease, light under the brow, blush as contour, etc.) to a more diffused, tinted palette. If the shadows, for example, include colors other than neutrals, they’re still beautifully blended and create the largest, dreamiest eye possible. Lips, whether tinted or glossed, generally go unlined, and blush emphasis is where it’s supposed to be, that is, on the apples of the cheeks. False lashes look believable.
Even retro-loving brides, who aim to channel a 40’s or 50’s vibe, can make the look current by wearing fresh make-up textures that make dated eyeliner and exaggerated lips look new. Soft shimmers and subtle shine replace chalky mattes and over-saturated blacks that don’t flatter, especially through high definition lenses.
Is the “smoky eye” in or out, or even appropriate? The term is certainly passé, but the look will never be, as long as it’s up-to-date. “Smoky” means more than black and gray – it can be soft, using golden brown, plum and even blue. And like red lipstick, there’s a version of this long-standing trend for every bride, as long as she has the confidence to pull it off.
My tips for the bride in the beauty planning stages: the editorial content on sophisticated wedding blogs like this one and high-end bridal magazines are a more realistic indicator of make-up trends than Italian Vogue. Choose a make-up artist whose work shows signs of restrained fashion forwardness and you’ll never look back on your photos as a “sign of the times.”
