Paula Alleyne is back to reveal the top 3 items in her bridal makeup kit! A QC Makeup Academy Student Ambassador, Paula is also a graduate of QC’s Master Makeup Artistry Course. Her professional makeup business, PAULA MONIQUE, specializes in bridal, editorial, and special occasions makeup. Connect with Paula in the QC Virtual Classroom on Facebook!
Bridal makeup artistry is a great way to serve, enhance a person’s life, and earn money. But it can also be a stressful time if you are not prepared, and do not have a calm demeanor. Despite these possible stresses, I love bridal makeup artistry. What better way to serve than to help a beaming bride look gorgeous for one of the most important days in her life?
Makeup: Paula Alleyne. Photographer: Rommel Alleyne. Bridal designer: Jaye Applewhaite. Lighting assist: Akinwole Jordan. Model: Tiye Kelly. Venue: The Crane.
I entered into bridal makeup artistry because it was a natural progression from my style of natural beauty. My love for clean, classic looks augured well with bridal.
It was actually my tutor, Nathan Johnson, who unknowingly encouraged me to pursue bridal! In his feedback for one of my assignments, he indicated that I was certainly “doing bridal by now”. But at that time, I actually wasn’t. Nathan’s comments boosted my confidence to step out and enter bridal artistry… and I’m glad I did!
One of the major impacts that bridal artistry has had in my budding career is the wonderful networking opportunities gained. Whether I’m meeting bridal designers and models for collaborations, or meeting photographers at weddings – becoming familiar with professionals within the industry is always a great way to develop your business!
The Components of Bridal Makeup Artistry
When entering into bridal artistry, there are a few main components to consider:
- The initial contact;
- The consultation, or trial day;
- And application on the day of the wedding.
The Initial Contact
During the initial contact, it’s great to get an idea of the wedding date, as well as the time, style, and theme of the wedding. Keep in mind that at first, the bride may not always have all the details of their wedding sorted out yet. However, once she has indicated an interest to continue with you, understand that at that moment, you will be connected with her for months before the big day. You’ll be taking the journey with her!
Makeup: Paula Alleyne. Photographer: Rommel Alleyne. Bridal designer: Jaye Applewhaite. Lighting assist: Akinwole Jordan. Model: Tiye Kelly. Venue: The Crane.
The Consultation
The consultation is the next major juncture. Here, you want to create the replica of what the bride would look like for her wedding. The consultation – also known as the ‘trial’ – is the time for the bride to freely express her ideas and concerns of makeup for that day.
Invite her to bring her ideas, along with photos of the dress, hairstyle, and jewelry. You should also discuss:
- Any skin issues
- Schedules for facials
- The length of the ceremony and reception
- Possible changes in attire during the wedding, etc.
Addressing these points will allow you to begin to gain a good sense of what the big day will look like!
While it’s ideal for the bride to have the hairstyle, dress, and attire known by the time of consultation, the reality is that some brides may still be undecided. What they are certain about, though, is what they want their makeup to look like for their special day. Use that one surety, and assist them in creating that perfect look.
The Day of the Wedding
When the big day finally arrives, it’ll be time for your makeup application. It’s vital that you remain calm. The bride may be in a state of nervousness. After all, things planned for that day may have gone off-track, and there is a lot of activity happening.
Arrive on time to setup your station. Confirm times for photography arrival and transportation departure. By this point, months will have passed between you and the bride; from the initial contact to this day. When facilitating the timely execution of your services, do not use a forceful approach. Instead, a natural, encouraging tone is the way to go!
Makeup: Paula Alleyne. Photographer: Rommel Alleyne. Bridal designer: Jaye Applewhaite. Lighting assist: Akinwole Jordan. Model: Tiye Kelly. Venue: The Crane.
Learning Bridal Makeup in QC’s Master Makeup Artistry Course
I was excited to get to the bridal makeup unit in QC Makeup Academy’s Master Makeup Artistry Course. I knew that looks associated with bridal were ‘up my alley’, and I was looking forward to learning whatever I could.
Prior to taking the Master Makeup Artistry Course, I had no professional training in this specific area of makeup artistry. As a student, I was delighted to find that this program also offered extensive business training as part of its curriculum. I was given insight into bridal contracts and invoices. I was taught what my role with the bride would be, and the professional attitude I’d need to have to be successful.
The most valuable take-away for me was QC’s promotion of your soft skills as the makeup artist. Yes, your artistry has to be great to help the bride look beautiful. But what bride wants to be around an artist who makes them feel nervous, is disorganized, and feels burdensome on their big day?!
Bridal Makeup Kit
One of the questions I get asked is: “What are the must-haves for your bridal makeup kit?”
Well, there are several great brands of makeup products that can be used for a bride. Regardless of the brand I use, they must be broken down into 3 main categories within my makeup kit:
- Skin preparation
- Makeup application
- Setting powder
1 – Skin Preparation
Skin preparation is essential to facilitating smooth makeup application and creating the appearance of a flawless face. For this reason, one of the key ingredients in my makeup kit is moisturizer.
Once the face has been cleansed, you must ensure the bride’s skin is moisturized. This will help it to remain supple, and reduce the appearance of lines. It’s also just as critical to ensure the moisturizer used is appropriate to the bride’s skin type.
Sweat control is another key ingredient in my makeup kit. If it’s an outside wedding, the bride can get hot. In other cases, the anxiety of the day can cause her to sweat more than usual. This product helps to keep the sweat at bay. In the end, this assists the makeup’s longevity.
Primer is another must-have in my kit. Primers serve as a great base for the smooth application of foundation. Similar to moisturizers, primers should be appropriate to the bride’s skin type.
2 – Makeup Application
Once the skin has been prepped, the makeup application covers four (4) main areas:
- Eyes
- Face
- Cheeks
- Lips
The variety of colors for eyeshadows are endless! However, for bridal makeup, I have found that most brides want natural, cool shades that are elegant and not overpowering. My makeup kit must have eyeshadows that are highly pigmented, in colors similar to champagne, browns, bronze, and taupe. Colors which have a bit of shimmer are also great for adding highlights under the brow bone.
When it comes to the eyes, my makeup kit also includes a brow powder or brow pencil. I’ll make sure to stock up on varying shades of brown, so that I can create a natural shape and definition to the eyebrow. Waterproof mascara on this emotional day is also essential!
Next up is the face! We want our brides to have a flawless, even complexion. That means that you need a foundation that’s accurate to their skin color. My makeup kit must not only have a foundation palette that offers a variety of shades; it should also have a primary color palette as well.
My foundation palette cannot cover every single skin tone out there. Therefore, to be efficient on space and finances, my primary color palette allows me to make a foundation color that’s exactly to the bride’s complexion. This eliminates the need to spend unnecessary money on several different foundation palettes!
Another must-have for face makeup is cream blush. I am in love with cream blush! This product allows the face to have a flush of color that appears to radiate from the bride’s natural skin. Cream blush is buildable, and can subsequently be enhanced with powder blush.
3 – Setting Power
After creating that gorgeous, lovely face, you’ll want it to last as long as possible. The first step is setting the foundation with no-color powder. No-color powder is critical in my bridal makeup kit! After all, once you’ve applied that perfect foundation shade, you don’t want to mess it up by putting on a powder that changes the bride’s skin complexion at the last minute.
In addition to setting powder is setting spray. Setting spray not only gives the bride a great, fresh finish – it provides staying power to ensure the bride’s makeup application lasts even longer!
