Hi everybody, I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday,
I was very lucky to be invited along for a consultation at the Bobbi Brown counter in Selfridges last Friday as Mark Reagan, Bobbi Brown's right hand man, was visiting the London store and offering his advice alongside a plethora of Bobbi Brown make up artists.
I was greeted with a smile, directed to one of those impossibly high chairs {which are a bit tricky to get on wearing a maxi dress FYI} and introduced to Andrea, my make up artist for the consultation. I explained that I'd had a few queries from readers on the Bridal Musings Facebook page that I'd like her advice on and she was very helpful. Here's some of her suggestions:
Kerrin asked: What are their thoughts on shimmer based products and where to put them on your wedding day? {As the camera can make it look a bit odd!}
Andrea recommended using a little bit of highlighter with a slight shimmer {nothing too sparkly as that could play havoc with your photos!} just on the tops of your cheekbones, close to your eye socket but not so close that the shimmer falls into any rogue creases and highlights them!
She said that the tops of your cheekbones, cheeks {and your brown bone-with eyeshadow} are the only place highlighter should go. Not down the bridge of your nose {I had read in a magazine once that it can disguise a big nose} she said it only draws attention to big noses…oops!
Bobbi Brown does a variety of Shimmer Bricks which are perfect highlighters, the pinky tones can be used as a blusher/to compliment your blusher:
Maureen asked: Can you ask how older women {usually the mother of the bride/groom} counter-balance a thin upper lip without surgery?
Andrea suggested avoiding dark colours on the lips and very pale nudes. Sticking to pinky shades and using a lip gloss over the top of your lipstick.
Rebecca asked: Any skin prep tips ahead of the big day…especially for those with sensitive/problem skin?!
Andrea said it's all down to routine {cleanse, tone, moisturize} drinking LOTS of water and prepping your skin on the big day itself by layering products. Let your moisturiser sink in for 5 minutes, then apply corrector, concealer, primer, foundation, powder/bronzer and finally blusher.{That's a lot of products!}
I accosted Mark Regean, who was very busy flitting from make up artist to make up artist {they were all keen to get his tips and advice too!} and asked him for his top tip for bridal make up.
He said it's all about the bride's skin. A flawless canvas is especially important on your wedding day and he agreed with Andrea that layering products is the key to this. Here's an article on the Bobbi Brown website called ‘The Secret to Perfect Skin' which is aimed at helping women choose the correct shade and type of foundation/concealer etc.Unfortunately, I didn't get to question him further on how to achieve gorgeous skin in the months beforehand {sorry Rebecca!} but do check out this fabulous Beauty School post on Bridal Skin Care by my beautician friend, Chantal.
Elise asked: Could you get tips on concealing dark under eye circles?
Andrea explained that the skin under the eyes is the thinnest on our bodies so we need to be very delicate when applying products. She recommends using a light eye cream under the eyes before applying products {and using your fourth finger or pinky to apply so as not to use too much pressure}. No need to use it above. Then after a few minutes, you're ready to apply your corrector and concealer.
Andrea used Bobbi Brown's corrector first and applied it with a brush focusing on the under eye area, the inner most corner of my eyes, and the area close to the bridge of my nose. She also surprised me by applying corrector to the tops of my eyelids close to the lash line. She did one eyelid then showed me the difference. It was a revelation! When I opened my eyes I could see that my eyelid without corrector looked pink and the whole eye area with corrector below and above immediately looked must brighter. Such a good tip!
Then Andrea used Bobbi Brown's creamy concealer kit, which is a concealer and powder. She applied small blobs of the concealer with a brush {only to the under eye area} then gently dabbed it in with her finger. It was a lovely texture, so creamy and easily blendable. Afterwards she applied the powder with a bigger brush to the whole eye area to set it.
As with all of Bobbi Brown's products, the concealer kit comes in a variety of shades to suit all skin tones but I found it fascinating that they all have a similar yellow based, powder to brighten the eye area. So the darkest chestnut shade below would still come with a fair powder! So for all you ladies blessed with a dark skin tone, don't use too dark a powder to set your under eye concealer, go for a lighter powder so you look fresher.
Andrea had some great tips, I'd never considered the importance of ‘opening up the eye' and this may sound a bit controversial, especially as I have been known to wear YSL Touche Eclait {and similar light reflecting under eye concealers} BUT I prefer this concealer kit, especially for a wedding.
Going back to Kerrin's point about some highlighter's looking weird in photos, well I have had ‘reverse panda eyes' in photos when I have been over zealous with a light reflecting concealer, sporting very white, ‘just back from skiing' circles under my eyes! So I think this is a safer option for the big day!
For more detailed tips visit the ‘Learn' section of the Bobbi Brown website where you'll find step by step instructions, videos and articles. There's also the option to live chat with make up artists about specific questions you may have.
I found my Bobbi Brown consultation really useful and I would recommend it to brides. If you didn't want to commit to an hour long bridal consultation {which includes skin care & make up application for £30}, you could arrange to have a shorter, complimentary consultation from their menu of beauty lessons. you are given your own consultation sheet with diagrams, step by step instructions and product details. {So you don't have to try to remember all the product names!} The make up artist even uses the actual products so you can see the true colours!
Here's my consultation details:
Fab isn't it?
Thanks so much to the ladies who shared their questions, queries and thoughts on the Facebook page. I'd LOVE to see more of you there, just click ‘like' at the top right hand corner of this page-it's the easiest way of keeping up to date and in touch. {Also it's where all the real gossip is!}
Coming up in Part 2-Emma's question is addressed with expert tips on how to achieve the perfect smokey eye and on eyeliner technique. As well as The Before and After Photos from my modern, smokey eyed bridal look…eek!
Elizabeth x
