Weddingbee Blog

Okay first off, your foundation and blush is beautiful. Beautifully applied and you clearly know how to work with your skin.

That said, I am thinking the consultant steered you a little wrong.

Not that it looks bad – far from it! But if you are looking for the drama around your eyes that are in your inspiration photos, I think it’s about a little more than eyeshadow.

It looks like from the thumbnail you have blue eyes, and the standard advice for women with blue eyes is to use brown eyeliner and mascara, because supposedly black is too harsh. I think this rule is silly. Brown eyed women can use brown product, and blue eyed women can use black. It’s all about the effect you’re going for. If you want soft, desaturated, and natural, go with brown. If you want drama and impact, go for black.

She also, according to her diagram, suggested a liquid liner, a tight line with a slight wing, and no smudge or underlining. No underlining is, again, standard advice for women over 25, because supposedly that extra millimeter of pigment will draw undue attention to our wrinkles so deep you could plant corn in them.

Again, I think it’s hogwash. An underline makes makeup look more dramatic and accentuates the whiteness and brightness of the eye.

To more accurately replicate the look, I’d suggest switching to a black pencil liner with a smudge attachment. The thickness of the line you’ve been using for your top lid, do on the bottom to approximately the position of the pupil when your eyes are looking forward. On the top lid, go a little thicker and use the smudge attachment to blend it out just a little.

To the shadow, I’d suggest adding a dab of a highly pigmented, sheer white to the tear duct and blending it out – it makes a huge difference when pulling light into your eyes.

I’d also encourage you to re-think your stance on false lashes – they’re super easy to use! If you’re concerned, you can always buy a cheap pair at CVS and practice with them in advance. But if you decide against them, go with a black plumping mascara and apply around 3 coats. Use a business card to hold the lashes up between applications so you really coat every side of the hair. If you’d like, you can use a bit of brown mascara on your bottom lashes as well – I’d advise against black here because even the best waterproof mascaras will run a little, and it’s your wedding day! So you’ll probably be crying and you don’t want raccoon eyes.

Lastly, the great ignored makeup zone on many women’s faces is the brow line. But a poorly defined brow will draw attention away from even the most beautifully made up eyes, and conversely, you can get away without a lot on your eyes if you have a strong brow.

You look like you have fair brows, yes? In your case I’d suggest getting a brow pencil in a shade lighter than your brows, and a brow powder that’s maybe a shade darker. Draw in the brow line with the pencil, and fill it in with the powder using an angled brush, and even seal it with a little brow sealer or mascara if you want! Here is a great tutorial (not made by me, just so you know!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR9-RwY9Na8

At any rate, I think you’re going to look lovely on your wedding day.