As with any other areas of fashion, health and beauty, wedding make-up, as a creative art, goes through definite trends and fads. Looking back at the wedding photographs of friends and family members, even if only over the past five years, you will almost certainly notice that the hair and make-up of the bride have [...]

As with any other areas of fashion, health and beauty, wedding make-up, as a creative art, goes through definite trends and fads. Looking back at the wedding photographs of friends and family members, even if only over the past five years, you will almost certainly notice that the hair and make-up of the bride have evolved over a relatively short period of time, and will continue to do so. Brides-to-be that are planning to get married in 2011 can look forward to a mixture of dramatic, mysterious eyes and subtle, sensual lips. The following trends guarantee an exciting year of glamorous girls and breath-taking brides:

• Bold, alluring eyes – while the new eye make-up trend is decidedly ‘smoky’, the colours used to accomplish this are no longer restricted to blacks, charcoals and chocolaty browns, as was seen in the past. Rather, this effect is now achieved by using shades of purple, green, silver and even blue. Bronze eye shadows can also add a warmth and pizzazz to smoky make-up, translating very well on camera.
• Wholesome, kissable lips – when your eyes are bold and daring, you lips need to compliment them – not by competing with them in colour or intensity, but by being subtle, inviting and ultimately kissable. A ‘nude’ look is not necessarily a flesh-coloured lipstick (unless this really suits you and the rest of your wedding make-up). It can be shades of pinks, peaches and even gold-browns. To finish it off, cover your lips with a tinted gloss to create a shimmery, inviting pout.
• Natural, healthy cheeks – instead of rouged pink apples, cheeks should be clear, covered evenly with foundation. To perfect the look, apply a light dusting of pale pink blusher or a golden bronzer. While bronzers are definitely the flavour of the moment, they might not work on every complexion, in which case rouge is optimal. The emphasis, though, is on subtlety and achieving a natural radiance.
• Airbrushed beauty – if you can afford this effective (but costly) technique, you can be assured of a fabulous finish. Once your make-up has been applied, the make-up artist sprays a tinted spray onto your entire face and neck. This gives you a healthy, tanned effect as well as ensuring that your make-up is securely protected beneath the layer of spray.

It is imperative that you have a trial session with your make-up artist before the big day. Once the make-up has been applied and you are happy with the overall look, take photographs of yourself in different lighting (inside and outdoors) so that you can see what it looks like in pictures. Also, leave it on to see how long it will last, giving you a good idea of what will need to be touched up during the course of your wedding day. You want to look and feel your best on this important day, so always ensure that your make-up suits you, not relying solely on fashions and trends to determine your wedding day style.

Photo Courtesy of My Wedding Dream