Wow. That’s one heck of a title, isn’t it?
Today’s post is going to be slightly different from what I usually post here. How different will it be, you ask? Well, I’m sharing some bits and pieces from my personal life here – something I tend to stay away from. I mean, one can only talk about products so much. If this post sits well with you, I might consider pursuing similar subjects every now and then. For those of you who don’t care, fret not. I’ll be back to my run-of-the-mill reviews as scheduled.
In November, 2019, I had the honour of doing my cousin’s makeup for a major event in her life – her wedding. I was anxious, yes, and I had my doubts. But I was lucky enough to have a support system; people who convinced me that I’d do a decent job. The bride herself had utmost faith in me and, in retrospect, I’m so grateful for that. For someone with such low self-esteem, that wound up being crucial to the conviction I’d ultimately have to place in my skills.
I have a very particular aesthetic when it comes to makeup, which, of course, I’ve tried to master over the years. I do not believe in covering up imperfections… What I do believe in is enhancing what one has and working on features that highlight one’s natural beauty.
For example, the bride had gorgeous full eyebrows, rosy cheeks, luscious lips, a flawless complexion and plenty of lid space. I had to find a way to emphasise those features but not to the point that would make the bride look like someone else. It was important for me to make sure that she still looked like the warm person everyone knew and loved. Also, I wasn’t going to contour.
The Eyes
For every single session, I started out with the bride’s eye makeup. Cleaning up mistakes and brushing off fall-out from the eyeshadows is a lot easier when the base is bare.
I used Eyeshadow Sticks as primers for the eyes. I used the Sugar Eyes and Shine Shadow Crayons (in ‘06 Citrine Crackle’ and ‘05 Jasper Jazz’, shades of yellow-gold and brown respectively). They held up just fine but I’d probably use a different brand now, if I had the chance. I used the shadow crayons to lay the colour down and blended them out.
To set the shadow crayons and to build up the intensity, I used the Huda Beauty Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in ‘Smokey Obsessions’. This is a wonderful eyeshadow palette to have around, especially because of how perfect the shimmer shades are for special occasions.
To top everything off, I used Liquid Glitter Topcoats from Swiss Beauty (‘05 Rose Gold Retro’) and Etude House (‘BE101’). They weren’t necessary per se but I just wanted the theatrics that came with the bride wearing glitter. For every time she’d look down or close her eyes, the glitter would sparkle and catch everyone’s attention. The magpie in me found it very difficult to forgo that.
For eyeliner, I used the Missha VIVID-FIX Marker Pen Liner. As for mascara… I believe I used the bride’s. I do not remember what I used, not the name nor the maker.
I also used the L’Oreal Brow Artist Genius Kit in ‘01 Medium to Dark’ to fill in her already-full brows and to give them some more definition.
The Base
For primer, I used the 3CE Back to Baby Base in ‘Glow Beam’. Not only did it brighten up the complexion but it also added some luminosity to the skin.
I had requested the bride to bring her trusted base/complexion products with her, which she did. Normally, she uses the Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation and the NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer and I ultimately wound up using those for her complexion routine. While the foundation matched her perfectly, the concealer was just a bit darker. However, that little hiccup worked out in our favour because the warmer undertones of the concealer worked seamlessly to cover up whatever little dark circles she’d gotten from the jetlag.
Also, I must mention that I did have some Estée Lauder, Maybelline and MAC foundation samples as backup in case I’d need them. Thankfully, I only ever used them on other wedding guests and such and never on the bride. My point is, always have some backups. Just in case.
For highlighting, I used the Glossier Haloscope in ‘Quartz’ on most occasions (the Mehendi and Juroon, as far as I recall). However, for the wedding, I topped off the base with a fool-proof and fail-safe powder highlighter instead. The highlighter in question being the glorious MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in ‘Soft & Gentle’. It’s radiance in a compact.
The Lips
For me to figure out which lip colours to use, I had to take a look at all the piece’s in the bride’s trousseau.
The bride was all set to wear a gold and fuchsia lehenga-choli set for her Mehendi ceremony. I had the perfect lip colour to go with her outfit – Lisa Eldridge’s Insanely Saturated Lip Colour in ‘Skyscraper Rose’. This, hands down, is among my most prized makeup possessions and I was happy to use it on my sister.
For the Juroon, I knew I wanted to keep things muted. The bride’s mekhela-saador was a soft baby pink with golden buta running throughout. The choice was easy for me, honestly. I knew I could rely on the 3CE Velvet Tints because the formulation on those are both long-wearing and comfortable. I picked my favourite colour to use on the bride, ‘Twin Rose’.
For the wedding, I knew I wanted to go for a deeper hue in the red family. I picked a classic from my collection and a personal favourite, the NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in ‘Cruella’. This was the perfect foil to the bride’s wheatish-beige mekhela-saador with golden buuta and red and cobalt meena accents.
The MVPs
I like to think of myself as a blush connoisseur, I take my blushes very seriously. I think they can make or break any look you do. I was also aware of the bride’s naturally rosy cheeks and I simply wanted to enhance them. I still cannot believe I own a Suqqu product but that’s exactly what I used to achieve the vision I had. I used my Suqqu Shimmer Liquid Blush in ‘01 Usumomokurumi’. It, easily, is the most stunning liquid blush I own.
I made an impulsive decision to buy a large pack of makeup sponges from Etude House, which, later turned out to be one of my smarter investments. I used the sponges on not only the bride but also the handful of other “clients” I accumulated over the course of the wedding events. The sponges are lovely and make your base/complexion look far more seamless than, say, a brush.
Another MVP in my kit wound up being the MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Microfinishing Pressed Powder. I didn’t have to worry much while using this because it’s a translucent setting powder and would work on just about anyone. As long as I knew what I was doing with this powder, white cast and flashback weren’t issues.
The bride during her Mehendi
Note: I only got permission from the bride to use these photos. Hence, the blurring of other faces. It wouldn’t be respectful of me to splash the faces of her significant other and her friends when I didn’t ask for their permission.
- Base:
- 3CE Back to Baby Base in ‘Glow Beam’
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation
- NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer
- Suqqu Shimmer Liquid Blush in ‘01 Usumomokurumi’
- Glossier Haloscope in ‘Quartz’
- MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Microfinishing Pressed Powder
- MAC Fix+
- Eyes:
- Sugar Eyes and Shine Shadow Crayons in ‘06 Citrine Crackle’
- Huda Beauty Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in ‘Smokey Obsessions’
- Missha VIVID-FIX Marker Pen Liner
- L’Oreal Brow Artist Genius Kit ‘01 Medium to Dark’
- Mascara
- Lips:
- Wet n Wild Color Icon Lipliner Pencil in ‘Fab Fuchsia’
- Lisa Eldridge’s Insanely Saturated Lip Colour in ‘Skyscraper Rose’
I wanted to do a statement lip that would mesh well with the bride’s outfit; that’s where the fuchsia lipstick came into play. I kept the rest rather minimal, with a wash of gold shadows swiped across the lids and some brown to add depth. I also did a small flick and added a generous coat of mascara. While I did set her face with powder, I made sure the cream highlighter was left nice and luminous.
The bride during her Juroon
- Base: 3CE Back to Baby Base in ‘Glow Beam’
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation
- NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer
- Suqqu Shimmer Liquid Blush in ‘01 Usumomokurumi’
- Glossier Haloscope in ‘Quartz’
- MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Microfinishing Pressed Powder
- MAC Fix+
- Eyes:
- Sugar Eyes and Shine Shadow Crayons in ‘06 Citrine Crackle’
- Huda Beauty Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in ‘Smokey Obsessions’
- Missha VIVID-FIX Marker Pen Liner
- L’Oreal Brow Artist Genius Kit ‘01 Medium to Dark’
- Etude House Mirror Holic Liquid Eyes in ‘BE101’
- Mascara.
- Lips:
- 3CE Velvet Tint in ‘Twin Rose’.
I decided to emphasize the bride’s eyes and cheeks this time around. Hence, I used plenty of golden eyeshadow to brighten up her eyes. I topped off the eyeshadow with some gold liquid glitter on the lids. The eyeliner was minimal and I decided not to wing it out; instead, again, opting for a simple flick. I emphasised the bride’s lovely cheeks by applying a baby pink blush and some cream highlighter. The lip colour I chose was a muted dusty rose that went well with her outfit.
The bride during her wedding
- Base:
- 3CE Back to Baby Base in ‘Glow Beam’
- Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation
- NARS Soft Matte Complete Concealer
- Suqqu Shimmer Liquid Blush in ‘01 Usumomokurumi’
- MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in ‘Soft & Gentle’
- MAKE UP FOR EVER Ultra HD Microfinishing Pressed Powder
- MAC Fix+
- Eyes:
- Sugar Eyes and Shine Shadow Crayons in ‘06 Citrine Crackle’ and ‘05 Jasper Jazz’
- Huda Beauty Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette in ‘Smokey Obsessions’
- Missha VIVID-FIX Marker Pen Liner
- L’Oreal Brow Artist Genius Kit ‘01 Medium to Dark’
- Swiss Beauty Metallic Liquid Eyeshadow in ‘05 Rose Gold Retro’
- Mascara
- Lips:
- NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in ‘Cruella’
I did a golden and brown halo-eye of sorts and drew the eyeliner a lot thicker. I knew I wanted to do a classic red lip but I also knew that I wanted to go a smidge darker than your fire-engine red and ‘Cruella’ was the perfect fit. I also wanted her highlighter to pop more, so I went for the tried and trusted MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in ‘Soft & Gentle’. The bride was glowing with happiness all night, naturally, and with a tiny bit of help from a really good highlighting powder, it looked like she was over the moon.
This post took me such a long time to compose and type up, it’s bonkers. I hope it’ll be worth my while, frankly.
I used to think that I thrive under pressure and this experience only solidified that, if anything. I’d like to whole-heartedly thank the bride for giving me free rein over her pretty face. It’s not too often that I get the freedom to exercise my so-called aesthetic on others. Especially when it comes to makeup. This was such a fun experience for me and easily one of the many highlights of 2019.
Anyway, I hope you had fun scrolling through the photos and words. I’d like to do more of these but judging by how time-consuming they can be, it won’t be anytime soon. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
I’ll see you in my next post (which, I hope, won’t be too long).
♥
