For a bride, dressing up and wearing make-up does not end with the wedding or the reception. She has to look her best for at least a few weeks after the wedding. There will be several social gatherings and parties to attend or host.
Eye spy!
Here are some tips for the new bride who wants to look her best: Line your eyelids with a brown or grey eye shadow. This gives your eyes a soft look for the day. Apply mascara to accentuate your eyes. Mascara has a way of brightening up the face without making it look too heavily made-up. For the lips, use a pastel shade like mauve, light brown or baby pink. Choose a colour that complements your skin colour. If you have a sallow (yellowish) complexion, avoid shades of orange. Go for pinks instead. The shade should not be too intense. Lip gloss is allowed for make-up during the day.
To add a bit of glamour and shimmer, apply a light colour like mauve or light brown over the entire eyelid area. Then dust your upper eyelids with a dull gold or silver shadow close to the lashes, to highlight the lashes.
Select one unique and glamourous piece of jewellery and build your outfit around it, like a large, dramatic pendant.
Evening colours
For darker skin, go for plum, wine or burgundy for your lips. For fair skin, use a beige, a pink or an orange undertone. Dark brown or dark grey eyeshadow can be applied over black eyeliner for a muted effect. Use foundation and tinted powder to match the foundation. Compact powder also works as a substitute for liquid foundation.
The glamour element in your make-up will be the colour of the eyeshadow. Use a mauve or pink eye shadow, instead of brown or grey. Add silver or gold highlights.
After applying the eye shadow, use an eyeliner close to the lashes. Smudge it with a cotton bud and then apply a dark shadow over it. Blend it outwards and upwards. Use gold or silver highlights, under the brow bone, depending on your outfit and make-up.
Go for gold
A combination that suits all skin types is the beige-with-a-rose-tint combination. If your complexion is fair but sallow, avoid pink tones. Go for a shade like beige or biscuit. If your cheeks are pink and your skin is red, a soft beige brings out the colour well. An olive complexion requires a brownish beige tinge, while dark skin looks best with a natural brown tone.
As far as your lips are concerned, a dark complexion looks good in vibrant colours. Avoid pale shades. Avoid dark shades if you have fair skin. For a dusky complexion, go for earthy colours like coral, wine, plum, strawberry, red and shades of red. A dark pink or rose-red would look good too. You can also mix two colours to create the desired effect.
Blusher colours need not match your lip colour, but they should be in the same tone. For example, if you have worn an orange-toned lipstick, avoid pink blush. For fair skin, try pinks and reds. If you have sallow skin, avoid orange. For olive complexions, colours like rose, coral, russet, amber, copper are flattering, while plum, wine, bronze and burgundy may suit those with darker complexions.
Brown eye shadow may be applied on the lids and a darker brown in the crease of the eyes. Use gold highlights.
If the evening bash that you’re attending is an invitation to party and let your hair down, use a gold-tinted foundation to provide a golden glow to the skin. Follow this step by dusting your cheeks with gold-tinted powder. This is great for night make-up. For glamourous eye make-up, use brown, bronze or gold eye shadow. Brown eye shadow can be applied in the socket or crease of the lids to add depth. Highlight the area under the brows with gold dust. Outline the eyes with a dark eye pencil or eyeliner. Apply it on the upper lid, close to the lashes and smudge with a cotton bud. Gently blend a line of kohl.
Opt for a simple yet stylish outfit. Avoid a heavy sari or lehenga for such parties.
