At a wedding, the bride often looks unrecognisable with tons of make-up having gone into her “bridal look”. This may be good for the camera, but not always for the onlooker or the bride herself. To protest this trend, a no make-up movement is taking shape.
Many brides are refusing to wear make-up on their wedding day. A bride glows naturally, reasons one online, and why hide that glow? Our mothers and grandmothers look stunning in their wedding photographs – because
they wore no make-up.
It is another thing, of course, to prep yourself up for the no make-up look.
According to an estimate, seven months, a range of skincare products, 10 glasses of water every day and 8 hours of sleep every night later, does a woman emerge with the skin and the hair on which make-up looks like a blemish. The Net is full of pictures of brides now, from India and elsewhere, where fresh faces are looking up from their bridalwear with nothing but a smile and eyeliner on!
No every bride can put in such hard work for so long, though. For them, there’s an easier way.
Look like yourself on your wedding day, by trying the “no make-up” look. Or on any day. Here make-up artist Vatsala Bhagat explains.
The fresh, dewy, radiant natural look with a healthy, glowing skin and rosy cheeks requires a lot of work, points out Vatsala.
“The key to achieve a no make-up make-up look is to prep your skin properly before actually applying the make-up. Well-hydrated skin looks so luminous.
You can apply a hydrating face mask before the make-up,” she says.
You use everything that is required for regular make-up, but subtly.
BEFORE
AFTER
A gentle exfoliator can be used to exfoliate the skin, or one can go straight to cleansing, toning and moisturising. You can apply some face oil/ serum followed by a sunscreen and primer. You can also use an illuminator after the prep to add more glow to the skin.
This should be followed by a light layer of foundation which has a natural finish, instead of the matte or luminous foundations. Or you can use a BB cream whose colour matches with your skin.
Use concealer on spot marks, discoloration and dark circles. Dab the concealer lightly over the problem area, wait five minutes, then gently tap to blend it. This should be done with a wet sponge as this helps to pack pigment into the skin, while absorbing the extra amount, giving the skin perfect coverage.
“It makes the difference between your foundation looking like makeup and your foundation looking as if it's just your skin, but better,” says Vatsala. This should be set by powder mainly on the T-Zone, as we don’t want a full matte face, but a glowy face.
BEFORE
AFTER
This should be followed by the use of cream eyeshadows a shade or two darker than your regular skin tone. Blend the shadow up from your lash line, fading as it gets closer to your brows.
One can then use a brown eye pencil to define the eyes, as brown appears softer and more natural than black. This should ideally be smudged. One can also use flesh coloured kohl on the waterline to give the appearance of brighter
and bigger eyes.
A single coat of a light-weight mascara through the lashes is enough. A tinted brow-gel on the brow can be used to add definition. “It is very important to keep the eyebrows looking as natural as possible,” says Vatsala.
Ideally use a cream-based product to contour, and set it with very little sheer powder. One can then use a cream-based blush which has no shimmer or a cheek tint to add colour to the cheeks. Cream-based products are preferred as they add a sheer layer of colour. One can then use a cream-based sheer highlighter on the cheekbones, browbones, bridge of the nose, making the glow look more naturally radiant.
The lips can do with a coat of sheer tinted lip balm, or a very light sheer lipstick.
One should avoid using matte products while trying to achieve this look, Vatsala stresses again.
• Models: Bazla Reaz and Sayantani Guhathakurta
• Styling: Sumit Sinha
• Co-ordination: Samresh Patra
• Photographs: Subhendu Chaki
