Weddingbee Blog

I’m a Do It Yourself type of woman. And while I can swing a hammer and handle a glue gun, I’m talking about DIY Beauty. I prefer to be in control of my own makeup, manicures, eyebrows, etc.—everything except my hair, which I gladly leave up to the professionals. Since Mr. Cheetah and I got engaged and decided to have a wedding, there has been a constant debate going on in my head: DIY makeup or Pro Makeup Artist?

Normally I do my own makeup for formal events, but I’m not sure if I want to go the DIY makeup route for our wedding. Here I am in Bridesmaid Mrs. P’s wedding earlier this year, where I had my hair done but did my make up myself:

Doesn’t the bride look gorgeous? I adore her veil and vintage dress! Her makeup was professionally done, but it still looked natural.

Photo by Michael + Anna Costa Photography

I think I do a decent job with my makeup, but I don’t know if I apply the most photogenic or longest lasting looks.

Another concern is timing: if I’m doing my own makeup, I can see easily getting distracted/running late and not leaving enough time for makeup. Whereas if I hire a makeup artist (MUA), there will be a set time and place designated for makeup (which I know I could plan even if I went DIY, but it’s easy to overlook time when it’s all up to you). Plus I imagine my nerves will be all over the place on the wedding day, so it may make sense to trust someone else’s hand when it comes to my makeup—especially since I’ll likely want false lashes and I have not yet mastered the skill of applying them.

Yet, I’m still not sold on hiring a MUA…I have only had my makeup professionally done a few times; a couple of times it was fine and once it was a hot, hot mess (think 65-year old Caribbean Lady of the Night with a partial fake tan circa 1970. I wish I was kidding.). Even when the pro makeup looked fine I didn’t like it any better than how I do it myself.

Last week we had our engagement photos and at the last minute I decided I needed to try a professional MUA so I could get an idea about what pro makeup would look like in photos. I made an appointment at Makeup Mandy here in LA (and it was 20% off, bonus!). While this wasn’t a really a trial-run since the wedding is in Palm Springs, I thought it could help with my makeup decision.

Here is what I looked like at the end of the night, about 7 or 8 hours later (the lipstick is way gone):

And eyes closed:

above 2 pics personal photos

The makeup didn’t feel heavy and that the foundation she used was very light. The lipstick is gone, but it was a soft pink/berry. I loved the dramatic false eyelashes (which are still on 3 days later), but my concern was the eyeliner. I thought it might be too much. Mr. Cheetah approved, but I am waiting until we get our e-pics back before I make my final judgment.

I’m having a real makeup trial in Palm Springs in a couple weeks which will hopefully help me finalize my wedding makeup decision. I just don’t want to end up looking like an Island Floozy again. Side note: doesn’t Island Floozy sound like a delicious frozen drink that should be served in a coconut?

Will you (or did you) do your own wedding makeup, or did you hire a pro?