Bridal Beauty with a BridalBabe by Cheryl Gabiola Galvez

   Throughout the day of your wedding, you're going to find yourself kissing family and friends, posing for endless photographs, hugging guests, and smiling for the videographer. With all of this frenzy, you're going to want to maintain a fresh look.

   We turned to professional makeup and hair artist as well as proprietor of BridalBabe.com, Janice Kinigopoulos, for easy tips and techniques to make you a bridal babe!

What wedding day makeup tips do you offer brides?

Getting married is such a crazy time — really try to keep your sanity and still have fun. Get lots of rest and do things to decompress... listen to good music, exercise, eat right, and drink lots of water (this is great for your skin, down the way). Above all, try to enjoy the process. Hopefully, it only happens once!

For the wedding day:

• Use only waterproof mascara. Maybelline^® is great.
• Bring a white button down shirt (so that you don't have to pull your shirt over your head and mess up your makeup and hair!).
• Don't have a million girls in the room with you while you get ready. You need calm, not crazy.
• Bring rice paper (the kind that absorbs shine) for later on in the day. You can find it at beauty supply shops.
• Apply lipstick and blot with tissue. Then leave 1 layer of tissue on lips while rolling a powder puff with loose powder on it on top. Then reapply lipstick. This makes it stay on a loooong time.
• If you cry, pat your eyes, don't rub.
• Kiss your mom and dad.
• Eat something.

How should a bride apply her makeup to achieve a more natural look?

Blend, blend, blend! Do I sound like a blending nut? Well, I am! It makes everything look so great. Don't be afraid to go over your makeup with a powder puff, or even your finger to blend a little. Blush too strong? No problem. Just take your powder puff with a bit of powder on it, and go over the area that looks too strong. It should soften right away.

Also when you go to buy your makeup, choose soft neutral colors to work. If you normally don't wear too much make-up, your wedding isn't the time to pile it on. Instead, just add a little more to your normal routine, but don't overdo it. Buy an eye pencil and an eye shadow in a soft brown. It works. Lipstick in soft pinkish browns are nice as well. Your blush should be soft and neutral while having a rosy quality, but nothing should shout out.

What makeup items do you recommend a bride carry throughout the day of her wedding to maintain a fresh look?

Hmmmm... lipstick is a definite. With all that kissing, you probably will need to reapply. Carry your [lip] liner and your lipstick with you. Gloss is nice, also. Blush to keep your cheeks looking healthy, and powder for keeping too much shine at bay. Although, (and this is a big although!) don't go crazy about taking away shine. I think it's great to shine a teensy bit (sweating is another story all together).

After all, you're having a blast, and your face should look as glowy as it feels. So, yes, you can powder your face throughout the night, but don't panic if a little shine peeps through. It's a beautiful thing! Dig it!

What color shades should brides consider when having their photographs taken?

Wedding day makeup is not that different from regular makeup. There! I said it!

The difference is [that] the tones you choose shouldn't be crazy and bright. And, once again, blending is the all time secret! With that said, here's the colors I use again and again for women of ebony to ivory skin tone.

Browns are wonderful. Keep in mind that there are several different kinds of brown. There are red browns, yellow-based browns, etc. Find the one that works for you. [The cosmetic brand] MAC® makes a nice brown eye shadow and eye pencil. The pencil should be a warm brown (black-brown is fine for women with a darker complexion). A soft ivory-ish shadow is great as a neutral base for over the whole eye. It acts like a highlighter under the brow bone and on the eye lid. [The cosmetic brand] Stilla™ makes one called Kitten or Oasis that is really pretty (they have a little shine to it, so be sure that you like that kind of look before you buy it). If not, Mac makes a more matte shadow called Orb. Lipsticks such as Lame, Sequin, Wuss are great by MAC. Their Spice lip liner is also fabulous. Blushes in soft pink or a woody pink are perfect.

Everyone is different (isn't that the greatest thing?) SO explore. Go to the cosmetics counter and have fun. Try on stuff. Get someone to help you. Look for a salesperson behind the counter whose makeup you like. They tend to apply makeup on other people [similar to] how they apply it on themselves. If they look nice, it's a step in the right direction. Tear pages out of magazines with makeup looks that you like. Refer to them. Study them.

In the end, you needn't worry. Every bride is gorgeous. And that means you! Have a blast!

About Janice Kinigopoulos

Janice Kinigopoulos has been doing make-up and hair since she was 18, when during college, she got a job at Bloomingdales in the make-up department. Janice has worked with such celebrities as Jodie Foster, Liv Tyler, Angela Bassett, Vivica A. Fox, Sheryl Crow, Paula Abdul, Rita Wilson, Ben Kingsley, Tipper Gore, Gillian Anderson and Richard Gere. Janice styled Richard Gere's hair in the film Runaway Bride and recently finished grooming the coifs of the cast of the upcoming sequel film Blair Witch 2. Janice, also, is the author of her upcoming book, Bridalbabe: The Make-up Book for Brides.

SOURCE:

BridalBabe
Janice Kinigopoulos
www.bridalbabe.com