Wedding day beauty takes planning, too

When preparing for a wedding, most women spend weeks — even months — choosing the right dress. Then weeks trying to find the perfect shoes. 

You wouldn’t dream of waiting until the last minute to pick the perfect dress, yet that’s exactly what many women do when it comes to thinking about their skin and makeup for the big day. Don’t be one of them. Flawless skin and makeup doesn’t happen by chance. If you want to leave your groom speechless, start working on your perfect look ahead of time.

Here are some tips to help you look your very best on the special day, a look that two or three years down the road will still make you proud.

Start when you get the ring

Everyone will be looking at your ring — and your hands! A woman’s hands are the first thing that will show aging and lack of a good skin care regimen. To have you hands look their best start with a great daily hand treatment. A thick, emollient cream will help to soften the skin and lock in moisture. Follow this with a lightly scented hand scrub to exfoliate the skin and remove dead skin cells. This will reveal new, glowing skin as a backdrop to your ring. Don’t forget to finish with a rich hand cream to keep the skin soft and moisturized.

Tip: This same treatment can be used for your feet. If your feet or hands are particularly dry and rough, try using the emollient cream at bedtime. Rub it on your hands and feet. Cover with a glove or sock while you sleep. In as little as three days, you’ll see amazing results.

Three months ahead

Every bride wants a flawless look on her wedding day. Even the most glamorous or the most natural look starts with good skin care. The two things that last on our exterior are skin and teeth…and you wouldn’t dream of not taking care of your teeth! So if you don’t have a good skin care regimen, now is the time to start. 

Choose products that will work best with your skin type. Consider working with a beauty consultant who can help select the right products for you.

Two months ahead

Choosing your wedding day makeup is as important as choosing your gown. Your look will be captured in photos forever, so it’s important to put on your best face with no mistakes. After all you are the very center of attention on your wedding day. Why leave your look to chance?

There are many options, but generally you’ll choose one of three looks: natural, classic or dramatic. If you’ve been working with a beauty consultant she can help you find a look that reflects who you are. The key to wedding day makeup is to enhance without looking heavy or overdone. Since you will most likely be in white, you may want a little extra color so as not to look washed out. Use a little more cheek color than normal and an illuminator for the photography so the cheeks look rosy with a natural glow. Feeling a little pale? If you want a little extra color you may want to apply a sunless tanning lotion. Start at least two weeks before the big day. 

You do not have to necessarily try something completely new, but you should fine-tune your look and practice applying your makeup. The wonderful thing about makeup is it will wash off, so feel free to play. If you don’t have the look you want you can always start over.

Just make sure that on your wedding day, you still look like you. You don’t want to change your whole look so that people don’t recognize you. It is important to look like yourself — just the most beautiful you possible.