Sunday, December 2, 2012

Makeup For Your Trousseau

So you know how I said everyone I know is getting married? What I dint mention earlier is that 'everyone' are not 'makeup people'(read- all these girls aren't much into makeup) and hence would like me to suggest stuff they get for their respective Bridal Trousseaux! I've been a personal Shopper and a Co-Shopper and now I think it's time I share it here so it gives everyone I don't know an idea what to get! This is a Makeup for your Trousseau on a Budget post, so you can add/ remove adjust things as and when you want in your Trousseau! Okay, let's get started!!
If you haven't read the first part, you should read that post here; for this one to make more sense to you!
Ok so let's assume (again) that you aren't somebody with a lot of makeup knowledge; but even if you are, at your wedding you will be always pressed for time. So you want to look for products that are easy to use and looks that are easy to do. Here, we'll talk about them all one by one.

1. Base Makeup (Foundation/ Concealer etc)
Foundation - Like I said in the last post, if you are someone who doesn't use foundation, or hasn't ever done it, (chances are, you don't need one at all) there's no need to invest in one especially if you're getting a Makeup Artist for all the main events.
However, if you do decide to get some foundation, this is not the place to cut down on. Go all out to find the right one for you. I've once had MAC's Face and Body foundation used on me, and it was brilliant. Photographs well and is waterproof. So it's perfect when the holy fire gets you sweaty and the sudden burst of tears you might experience!
If you're not getting a foundation, for reasons best decided upon by you, do get a powder foundation/ compact with some coverage at least. You could try the Maybelline whiteglow (white compact not powder) or even the compact from Lakme. I've only used the Maybelline Compact and it's nice. If you need more coverage, try the MAC Studio Fix Powder plus foundation, if you don't need much of coverage and have normal-dry skin, I recommend the MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural.
Before getting either though, I suggest you try them on, get yourself matched properly, wait a day and if you're happy with how you look a couple of hours later, and they don't break you out/ cause any allergy/reaction, get it! These are easy to use, give a good base for your blush, and also give you a decent amount of coverage. Plus it's always handy to have these to do touch ups whenever you need to. If you're buying the MAC MSF Nautural, You may want to invest in a good powder brush like The Body Shop Kabuki brush.
Concealer- You must, MUST invest in some concealer. This will always be your best friend. If you can, I suggest, get 2 concealers. One for under your eye. (with all the pre-wedding sleepless nights, no, not romantic ones, the ones you spend staying up, fretting over every single thing, those! Those will make you look quite panda like) and the other for any sudden zits/ existing spots/ marks on your face. Because most people have different undertones of skin on their face and the delicate, translucent skin under their eyes, the concealer shades vary. And if you've chosen not to buy a foundation, there's more of a reason to get a concealer that matches your skintone because a patch of dark-ish concealer on that pimple on your cheek, set with your powder, will only draw more attention to that area. I highly recommend the MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer. Is is opaque and water resistant!
Only some concealer dabbed on the problem areas and set with powder, gives a nice, naturally polished look!
Facial Spray - Normally, powder is expected to set makeup, But when the finish is too powdery, Like it happens with MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation, especially if you have dry skin,, you can "settle" it with a moisturizing facial spray that eliminates the powdery appearance and gives you a dewy one instead! But if you over do it, it can make you look oily. Good facial sprays are The Body Shop Vitamin E Spray and MAC Fix+
But these, in my opinion are optional. You decide if you want to get one!
You can use a Loose Power like The Body Shop Loose Powder to set your makeup.

2. Eye Makeup
Let me break this to you - Eye makeup makes a huge difference. It's as effective as a bold lipstick or even more than one. Now don't worry, you don't need to start working on any elaborate eye makeup. With all that going on with your clothes and jewelry  a lot going on in the eye area can spell disaster too. Especially if you're a newbie. Because you wont be able to replicate a look even you've done on your own; previously easily. This is what you need, and need to do, for a fuss free, easy and polished eye makeup look-
  • Invest in a good cream/ gel eyeshadow (Not the streetwear kinds that doesn't set) We're talking Maybelline ColorTattoo. Or if you'd like, MAC Paintpots. I'd blindly suggest MAC Rubenesque paintpot. Because it has got me through a million eye makeup looks and always looks polished. You can also see how versatile a product it is, here.
With paintpots/ cream eyeshadows, you just need to use your fingers (no extra brushes needed, though the Maybelline guys give out some brushes with their Color Tattoos). I'd suggest you pick colours like Bold Gold or Bad To The Bronze from Maybelline. Because they will go best with the traditional kind of attire. (But I wouldn't recommend using the Maybelline ones as highlighters for your face)
  • One of the easiest looks to do, is to swipe some paintpot/cream eye shadow on your eyelids and line your eyes. Wear some Kajal and lots of Mascara.
  • Some tips that wont let your Kajal leave your waterline- Line your lower lash line. Not water line. The water line is where you apply the kajal on. Now, the eyeliner not only stays on longer, it also makes sure your kajal doesn't run down your cheeks when your having one of your 100 emotional moments! Alternatively, you can set your kajal by dabbing some black eyeshadow on your lower lash line for a softer look.
The liner best used (for the lower lash line application) is a pencil eyeliner like the ones from Revlon or There are actually a tonne of others in the market (Try Faces, Colorbar), just see what works for you best (doesn't sting your eye, lasts a fair amount of time, and is water proof!). Alternatively, you can also use a gel liner. Maybelline has brilliant gel liners and the best part is that they come with their own perfect brushes, so you don't need to buy one separately. If your eyes aren't sensitive, you can line your waterline with these gel/ pencil eyeliners. Do not do it with a liquid liner ever though! For gel liners, you can also check out MAC and L'oreal. (Since quite a few people with sensitive eyes don't take too well to the Maybelline Gel Eyeliner, Especially on their waterline!)
  • You know that you're not supposed to keep your mascara for more than 3 months, no? It doesn't matter if you've used it only 2 and a half times since you opened it. Once open, toss in 3 months! I recommend the waterproof Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara. Stick to waterproof makeup. It can be a bit*h to take off at the end of the day but it will work better throughout the day!
  • In case you'd like to take it a step further and get some eyeshadows to layer on the cream eyeshadows, get one of those preset neutral eye shadow quads. Maybelline's Chai Latte is a personal favourite as all the colours are useful. The highlight colour (the lightest shade) has been used by me a lot of times as a highlighter for my face. If you have Fair to Medium (wheatish) complexion, it might work for you too.
  • If you are using powder eyeshadows, make sure you choose a primer/ base (like a cream eyeshadow) for bright and fresh looking, long lasting, crease proof makeup.
  • If you have small, close set eyes like mine, don't use dark colours on your eyelids on your own, especially on any of these functions unless you're a brilliant makeup artist yourself. They will make your eyes look smaller, they wont make you look "fresh and doe eyed", Dark colours can easily go wrong (the lighter ones go wrong too, but it's seen easily on the darker colours! Lighter colours are more forgiving) they don't go with our traditional attire, might make you look tired and unwell and if you want to wash it all off and redo it, they have a chance of leaving stains and being messy that you cant easily correct. So unless you've been practicing on yourself for over 7 months and know exactly what you want/ what looks great on you, (the look) has earned you over 78 compliments from different people and you can do it on yourself, my advice is don't try it at the last minute. Keep it simple, and it'll work.
  • For eyeliner application, start with thin lines. make them as thin as you can. You can thicken your line later, if you like.
  • For a slightly smokey eye look, you can line your eyes after applying the cream blush and then blend out the harsh line with your finger. If you're doing this, make sure you line the inner corner of your eye with a very thin line and don't mess with it. Just blend out the outer third (or the outer half; if you have big/ wide eyes.)
This is what I've done here! Lips- MAC Crosswires Topped with MAC Cosmo For the entire makeup breakdown, click This.
For the eyeshadow, just apply it on your eye lid and with a clean finger blend out the edge in your crease. A nice sharp line for an eyeliner and some mascara looks great!

3. Cheeks - Here is the good part. Get a nice blush. Stick to fresh colours. Brownish and mauve-ish shades are not options. But pleaseee don't go overboard applying your blush. Most brides have red circles on the apples of their cheeks. The point is for you to look healthy, happy, (if you'd like) shy and coy, may be even a little flustered (for the realists!) but NOT angry, upset or like a girl who likes to draw balls of sun on either side of her face, just for kicks!
Here, I'd like to add, blend! With a nice fluffy brush; If you get one for your powder foundation, you can use the same one to blend the blush out well into your hairline!
Also, try and keep your blush matte. See, you're most probably going to use a highlighter on the apples of your cheeks. (Like the Rubenesque paint pot or the highlighter from the Chai Latte Quad) and that will add enough sheen to your cheeks. If you do any more than '2 dabs and blend' you're most likely to look like a disco ball/ bride with very oily skin because of the added 'goodness' of those harsh lights and flash in photographs! Some brands to check out for budget blushes- Jordanna (In the 200-250 rupees range), Nyx Powder blushes (around Rs 500-600 in India and Indian shopping websites) You can also check out Lakme, BeYu, Chambor, MaxFactor and Lotus Herbals. I have only used matte blushes from MAC and I'd highly recommend a universally flattering shade like Fleur Power (which is a satin finish blush and not a budget buy either *awkward moment*).

4. Lips - Many of you might want to kill me for saying this, but I've been battling the urge to put up bride pictures of makeup gone wrong! In fact, a lot of this advice is coming because of some pictures I saw of a bride on one of my Facebook friend's list who got married before reading this post! =| (She had the brightest shimmery pinkish red lipstick on and those round red cheeks I spoke about. She was obviously decked in gold and jewelry and was wearing a beautiful bright pinkish red lehenga! Not in her 'Bride avatar', she looks really really pretty! I wish her Makeup lady had just played Holi in March instead of playing it on her face!) But with makeup matching the dress, one cant tell where your lehenga ends and where your face starts! This kind I've seen a lot in the North Indian Brides. And the South Indian brides are saved because of their less (when compared) flashy looking wedding outfits. But more than compensate in their reception lehengas and makeup!
Girls, your outfits are LOVELY! But just because that's nice, there's no need to replicate the design and colour in the rest of you!! It's okay to wear a soft lipstick when you're wearing so much colour on your outfit!!
I'm not saying, wear a nude lipstick, NO. With so much colour everywhere else, you need some on your face to look alive, But not as much! So wear soft pinks and corals that don't wash you out. Wear soft apricot shades. Steer clear of browns and mauves. In my perfect world, no one would be wearing Maroon either. Terracotta is another shade you can try but nothing darker! Choose colours that flatter your skin tone and brighten your complexion. If you try some lipsticks on your lips in the store, you'll see the difference different shades make!
If you can tolerate the smell, I really like the Colorbar Velvet Matte Lipstick range, There are many colours to choose from. Last really long, aren't drying and are affordable at Rs 250 (lesser online). But these tend to make the fine lines on one's lips too evident, so theseneed to be applied on well moisturized  exfoliated lips! Maybelline Color Sensational and Moisture Extremes have great shades too, but they don't last as long and don't stain lips, which might be a good thing, but when you're on the stage, and can't afford to reapply lipstick every hour and a half, it's probably a good thing to have your lips stained because of lipstick!
Some Shade Suggestions from Colorbar Velvet Matte Lipsticks range- Pretty Please, Creme Cup, Over The Top, Bare (You NEED a mute Your Lips But Better Colour in your stash!) Brick-o-la, Peach Crush, Oh My Megenta. A beautiful, Bright Red from this range is All Fired Up! But Please don't wear that with your red lehenga!!
Gloss: Keep a light coloured gloss handy so you can tone down some bright lipstick. Or A gloss Like Maybelline ColorSensational Hooked on Pink that can be worn on its own and topped on a lipstick like Colorbar Velvet Matte Bare or Maybelline My Mahogany to give it some extra colour! If you've found the perfect lipstick colour and can't bear to see the colour altered, keep some clear gloss like Maybelline Watershine Liquid Diamonds with you!

5 Nails- A lot of brides these days prefer getting a french manicure. But if you're someone like me who prefers colour,you can try Revlon and Lakme Color Crush Nail polishes (as budget buys) The Lakme Color Crush #23 is a personal favourite and lasts for 4 days easily on me! Also, check out the Colorbar Nail Lacquers for interesting shades!

I'm so tired after writing this post, I keep feeling I've missed out on something. I'll check it later in the morning and if I can think of anything I shall update this space. If you spot something missing/ have your own list of suggestions, please feel free to remind me! This must be the longest post ever! phew!
Other than this, Don't forget your skincare (which even includes tinted lipbalm, yes!) This post is just to give you an idea about what you may need and what you might like to check out before making your purchase. If you were feeling completely lost before, hope this get's you started in some direction! Please check everything out on your own. These products have worked for me, me, might not necessarily work for you. So try them before you buy anything! And because I've been assuming you're getting married soon and hence reading this, all the best for everything!! 
SHARE:

13 comments

  1. girl who likes to draw balls of sun on either side of her face, just for kicks!"girl who likes to draw balls of sun on either side of her face, just for kicks!"...Still laughing at that n hubby thinks I'm drunk!

    AWESOME post...and I LOVE ur style of writing. It reminds me of Sophie Kinsella's writing (who's my fave chic lit author)!

    Just a couple of recommendations:

    Foundation:MAC studio Tech - love this coz it gives moderate to full coverage, matte finish without being dry and photographs beautifully!
    Powder: Clinique Blended Powder- yes I know it isn't budget but it's wonderful and lasts for ages!!! (Iv been using mine snce almost 2 yrs and am just halfway through so works out cost effective right?)
    Eyeshadow: L'Oreal Chrome Shine in Sepia Sparkle is a shimmery, sparkley champagne gold which would go with most traditional outfits. Just a wash of this, winged liner, kohl and mascara and ur eyes r done. Easy-peasy.
    Blush: Bourjois blushes in Tomette (shimmery peach) and Lilas D'Or (shimmery rose). Personally, I think these two are all u need...they are shimmery but not overly so and would look great on most skintones. And if u want a matte look, dust some powder on top of the blush.
    Eyeliner: Splurge here and buy Estee Lauder Double wear eye pencil in black...its THE BEST eye pencil iv ever used...smooth, sets fast, doesn't fade, quite waterproof...I love it...have been using it for more than a year now. And of course the Maybelline gel liners.

    Ok...this is quite enuf..better stop now...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Omg! I can't believe you just said that! Thank you soo much Dollie!! If I weren't half asleep, I'd have tears of joy in my eyes! I haven't tried any of the produts u mentioned! But I dint add the Bourjois bluhes because most of them are shimmery and while a friend looked beautiful in person, she looked quite shiny in photographs wearing those. Thankfully it was somebody else's wedding! :P oh and I just sat and read my post again!! And ewww I've made SO many mistakes because I wrote it in installments! First thing tomorrow, imma sit and edit! And thank u thank u thankkkuuu SO much once again for everything! I'll sleep well tonight!

      Delete
    2. Don't edit...the mistakes (hardly noticable) make it more likeable :).I'm addicted to ur blog now...luv readin all ur old posts and I'm definately getting the mac paint pot in rubanesque.

      Sleep well gorgeous :)

      Delete
    3. You are SO sweeettt!!! Thank you soo much for saying this!

      Delete
  2. Awesome Post Ikya .. am sure would help a lot of clueless girls .. very well written ..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice post ikku.... my 2 bits of advice here:

    1)dont buy your cosmetics based on what your mum/aunt/grandma have been wearing. you need colours and products that are age appropriate. i have seen a couple of brides pick up shades like maroon, brown etc and stick to those only. they are instantly ageing. if you want to sport these shades, wear sheerer versions topped with clear gloss

    2)your lipsticks, eye shadows and liners will last a while. so think about how you can use this makeup later on as well. your first diwali, weddings of cousins, husband's cousins, office parties, family get togethers etc. even if you are not big into makeup, you might start liking it post the compliments of your wedding. the stuff you buy should be good to last you at least a year or two of these events (or until they expire)

    3)leave your makeup shopping till your outfits are frozen! indian brides, typically north indian would build an entirely new wardrobe post marriage. they cant wear any of their old stuff at least a few months after the wedding. so get your new outfits in place and buy the colours that go with them. i didnt say match. i said go...

    4)u might not buy the makeup as soon as your wedding is fixed, but spend time looking at the brands and noting things you like during your shopping. buy a test lippie or so and see if it wears well and solves your purpose. if it does, buy multiple shades from the same range when the time comes

    5)if you know exactly what you want, buy your stuff online. most sites have regular discounts and u will save big bucks. in store promotions usually give gifts with the purchases which may be exciting for makeupistas but not everyone. u might wanna save money and buy another shoe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anksiee! You actually put what I wanted to say and more in just these five points! Very, very well put! I really need to learn to shorten the post!

      Delete
    2. dont do that ikku... we love your long posts :)

      Delete
  4. Great post! Love love love the lip products you picked!

    ReplyDelete
  5. U r tempting me so much with d mac paint pot ..

    ReplyDelete

© IKYA KESIRAJU | All rights reserved.
Blogger Templates by pipdig