* No 1 – Cutesy 1950′s wedding make up.
I have penned this look Sugabilly© because I think it’s a perfect combination of rockabilly styling and classic pastel tones. Use hot pink lip stain and gradients of blended soft mauve shadows to create this look, with plenty of pink blusher in the right shade for your skin tone. Eyebrows are softer as are eye liner lines so this is much softer and subtler than the other two looks. This looks great on blonds but can be toned for darker hair and skin.

* No 2 – 1940′s wedding make up.
I adore the glamour and impact of red lip stick teamed with naked eyes with a huge flash of eye liner. With this dark hair it’s stunning and it works for most skin tones and colourings. Play around with the thickness and length of the eye liner sweep for the perfect look for you. Use a soft cream shadow all over the eye then shade in a soft brown/mauve around the eye socket to provide some shape and depth and to frame the open eye along with the liner. Add lashings of mascara and fake eyelashes for true drama. Red lipstick also comes in hundreds of shades so don’t be afraid to ask in shops to try them and go outside in the light and take a photo of yourself to judge the best tone for you. To create a look as dramatic as the one picture take the lip liner just outside the lips and colour eyebrows in dark creating a pin up arch for authenticity. Victory rolls pull this look perfectly together for absolute 40s glamour.

* No 3 – 1920′s/30′s wedding make up.
This is quite a look, with inverted eye shadow shading, thinly drawn eyebrows and dark red lips. I personally love it. It’s chic and memorable and at nearly 90 years old this look is pure vintage. Team with finger waves in the hair and unusual head dresses like this one pictured (available to purchase on our website LeKeuxEvents).

Not sure which to go for? Give LeKeux Events a call for a free consultation on the vintage bridal styling right for you. Or try Emily Jane our favourite make-up artist and colours stylist. All the photos featured here were taken by Siren Photographic whose Sasha captures these looks authentically and will always snap you in your best light and angles.
And if you are looking for more inspiration make sure you check out this recent post on 40′s and 50′s vintage glamour make up for a London hen party. And also this page on LMW which is full of vintage wedding ideas.

I was called in by a friend of mine to style her Hen party in exactly this way, she wanted something different and loves to dress up, plus they were off to the All Star bowling lanes in Brick Lane and to a 40’s themed night after. So we gave the 14 girls the vintage twist – how delightful.

I called in the services of my gorgeous friend Beatriz who is a fellow makeup artist and hairstylist and together we worked our magic!
Tongs, Elnett hairspray, grips, MAC Ruby Woo lipstick, plenty of black liner and dustings of powder and blush…

And best of all we got to do the makeover in the most fantastic setting of 40 Winks – the über cool, stylishly designed mini-boutique hotel – mini, mini as there are only 3 rooms! Check it out as they have some great little soirees and events on there.

You can find out more info about my services and view a portfolio of make up shots on Emma D Makeup. I guest blog for LMW on a regular basis on hair, make-up and styling – check out my previous post on Wedding Make Up Tips.

Vintage Gold Leather Bead and Sequin Hair Band £60

What is your inspiration for doing this?
All the many beads, sequins and fabrics to be used…and of course Stephen Jones

How did it come about (do you do full time or for hobby?)
I have a full time job, so I literally have to do this in my spare time…such a chore…NOT!

Soft Pink Peony Fascinator £35

What tips would you give to brides when deciding what sort of hairpiece to go for?
Get the frock first and then choose the style of headdress. Personally I would suggest to choose something you can change from bride to dancing belle for dancing with your new man on your first dance…the great thing with Hatastic! is that you can pretty much have whatever you want as I offer a bespoke service too.

Rose & Pearl Bridal Wedding Veil £50

What is your most popular style for brides?
I LOVE my fascinator pieces – especially the Soft Pink Peony Fascinator and the Rose and Pearl Bridal Veil, as they take the traditional veil and make it a bit modern and cute, without taking away that vintage/classic look.

Dusty Pink Vintage Sequin Hairband £35

The lady who creates these wonders is called Chloe and you can follow her on twitter.com/hatastic or check out Hatastic on Folksy where she sells all these goodies, they are such great value that I am going to order one next time I am off to a wedding.

All hair pieces by Hatastic

Photography Credit : Jerilee Brown Photography

There are a bazillion options for wedding day hairstyles. But here are five practical tips that I gathered from my own wedding experience:

1. Choose a style you know works for you.

If you normally wear your hair back, go for an up-do on the Day. If you’re used to wearing your hair down, leave your mane to roam free. And if you know your locks go limp after an hour, look into to dos with lasting volume. But most importantly, go with the style that you feel like your fabulous yourself in and wear it with grace.

2. Do a trial run.

When I read this suggestion in wedding mags, I scoffed. I really did not think this was necessary. Whoops! Although I was fortunate enough to have my hair turn out as I wanted, I ran into an unanticipated snafu. My veil was attached to a comb, but with all the pins holding my bun together, the comb couldn’t get all the way through. To my dismay, a few ‘memorable-moments’ photos were ruined by the view of the comb peeking out of my bun. I’m sure I was the only one who noticed, but still! I wouldn’t have been constantly shoving the comb back in during the post-ceremony photos if I had been smart and done a trial run.

3. Bring a photo to your stylist.

No matter how anti naff bridal magazines you are, you will undoubtedly be tempted to gloss through a few during your early wedding planning stages. In them you are will likely find a photo of the hairstyle you want for the Day. Supplying your hairstylist with a photo will definitely decrease the chance of any surprises (but a trial run virtually eliminates the possibility of terrifying tresses on your special day).

4. Take the weather into account.

If you know you tend to easily get the frizzes and you are planning an August wedding in say…Miami, an up-do just might be the way to go. If it’s an outdoor wedding, factor in the wind. I’m not suggesting you let the location dictate the hairstyle but simply take it in into consideration.

5. Get your cut/colour done at least a week before the Day.

As you all know, it takes about a week for your new cut/colour to settle in. Plus, in the week leading up to your wedding, no matter how under control you think things are, you will be busy with last minute details. It is highly unlikely (and not recommended) that you will have the time to get a cut/colour done on the day of the wedding. So make an appointment with your trusted stylist for 1-2 weeks before the big Day and let your pre-wedding pampering begin!

Ultimately you want to be comfortable with your hair, and you want it to last through lots of hugs, kisses, photos, cake-cutting, and dancing. Thank god for our stylists, who have tricks us lay people know nothing about.

Click here for more posts on wedding hair and beauty and to get some top tips and inspiration for fabulous hairstyles for your special day.

Ems doing my make up

Is it the season for weddings?…it’s always the season for weddings according to my good friend, Emma Dennis, make-up artist extraordinaire! Ems did the make up for my wedding in Dec last year and I have to say I had a lot of great comments about my skin and the lovely natural look she created so she comes highly recommended. Ems is going to guest blog on this site for me with make up tips, ideas and real life examples of her work from recent weddings so hopefully you can get some inspiration from her and some of the pics.. this is a long post but a good one if you want to pick up some top make-up tips.

As she says…..

And I was lucky enough to have attended two this year in Europe, so great excuses for a couple of vacations! The second in Cognac in France was extra special and I was doing the makeup for the beautiful bride.

Laura Mercier Tint

I had already done the trial in London a few weeks back. Of course brides want to look their best and therefore on the makeup front usually less is more as it were, why mask their natural beauty and happy glow. You want them to shine through not be hiding behind heavy foundation and crazy eye colors! And in the French heat you certainly don’t want cake melting down their cheeks!

Under this I also used the Laura Mercier oil-free primer which not only smoothes the skin and creates a good base onto which to apply the rest of your makeup, but really helps it stay put during your day. I applied a touch of concealer round her eyes to cover any slight dark circles, not that she had any though really! Finally a dusting of light powder to set.

Brow brush

I then filled in her eyebrows a little, she is blond and therefore her eyebrows aren’t very dark. Eyebrows really frame a face so this is an important part of her ‘look’. You have to make sure though that you get the right colour, a light brown matt eyeshadow works really well, stroked in with a MAC 208 eyebrow brush. It has slanted, short, firm bristles which makes it easy to use.

Then for her eyeshadow, I used a very light brown, taupey colour swept over the whole lid, this gives a bit of colour and evens out the skin of the eyelid. Make sure before applying any eyeshadow the lid is well dusted with powder, this will ensure the longevity of your shadow and reduce creasing. Alternatively you can use eyeshadow primers, MAC and Screenface do them. I lightly lined her eyes with dark brown shadow for definition, shadow is less harsh than kohl and can be blended out so you don’t get such a sharp ‘line’.

Next I gave a good sweeping of mascara, sometimes you might find that actually a mascara in dark brown is better on blondes than black, it looks a little less showy and brash, which we don’t want for a bride!

Benefit Hoola

Her cheeks were almost made to look like she was flushed…I blended a pinky rouge onto the apples of her cheeks, NARS Multiple in Portofino is a great colour, a really natural rouge and its great to apply, very smooth…you can blend it in with fingers or a foundation brush.

I then used a little light bronzer, Benefit Hoola is a great matt bronzer, too much glitter and you look over St Tropez! I dusted this lightly under her cheeks bones and a little on her t-zone, i.e. over the forehead, browbone, then down her nose. She had a tan anyway, so this was just to slightly enhance this.

For her lips I suggested going a little darker than she would normally choose to wear. Making the lips stand out a little looks prettier and in photos a pale/beige gloss can disappear. I used a little lipstick just a shade darker than her natural lip colour and then gloss over the top, not too much though, you don’t want your vale or your new husband getting stuck on your lips! Not just yet anyway!

Emma Dennis make up artist - the end result!

So bride done! I then had her sister, her mother, her mother in law, and her two sisters in law to do! What a day, I only just made it to the wedding myself!

With thanks to Franck Prignet the wonderful photographer who have sent me this gorgeous sepia photo and captured the magnificent beauty of the day. You can check out more of my wedding and fashion make up at my site emmadmakeup.

If you are looking for a wedding hair and make up artist then take a minute or two to check out these pics which I love. Its always difficult trying to find someone that you will click with, who you can trust to make you look your best and most importantly who will make you feel relaxed on the day. Alexis Daly comes highly recommended as a fab make up artist and hair stylist based in London with lots of experience in making brides look (and feel) their very best on their special day.

 
Alexis’s company, Big Day Beauty, combines hair and make-up for all occasions. Weddings are one of her specialities and she has trained in Hair at Vidal Sassoon and Make-up at London College of Fashion. Alexis has a treasure trove of hair and make-up products in her kit, from Liz Earle skin care to Armani, Chanel, Mac and Bobbi Brown make-up. Hair products include Redken, Kerastase etc. She has worked with the BBC and Big Day Beauty (her company) has been featured on ‘Sky Wedding TV’ and in ‘You and Your Wedding magazine’ of which she is currently working with a lucky competition winner who gets all her wedding hair and make-up done as part of the prize.

I really love the make up and hair on these brides – great work Alexis and also thanks to the photographer, Amy Murrell, for supplying these lovely black and white shots of Alexis at work. Make sure you take a peek at the rest of her work on Alexis’s site and also read what real life brides have said about her in the ‘Happy Brides Section’! Let me know what you think…..

I enlisted the help of a good friend who is a beauty and health PR and knows all the top spots for waxing, massage and the ultimate facial and she recommended a few places reknowned for good treatments. I opted for Scin, in Nottinghill, not far from where I live in London and the reviews were fantastic.

Scin is a small, boutique salon, run by 2 lovely sisters, where I had the most fantastic facial I had ever had. I told them I was getting married and what I wanted and they recommended the hour long dermalogica facial, which was deep cleansing but also incredibly relaxing – my favourite bit was the added bonus of the Indian head massage whilst my face mask dried. Utter relaxation and you come out feeling fantastic.

Scin quite often have special offers and I was lucky enough to get 6 treatments for the price of 4 so it made it all very worthwhile – I managed to squeeze 5 of those in before the wedding and then treated myself to my last one just before my honeymoon a month later.
I would definitely recommend preparing your skin in the run up to the wedding – enjoy it, you will feel so pampered and your skin will be fresh and glowing. Make sure you speak to your therapist about the best time to have the treatments, – you don’t want that post facial outbreak on the wedding day.