Dear Diary- Today
my five year old asked me who I was for Halloween. When I asked him what he was talking
about he took me over to my bridal picture on the mantle and pointed.
“Halloween” he said. Halloween? What was I thinking? I never should have worn
that pink tulle headpiece with the pink streaks in my hair and the matching pink frosted
eyeshadow. Now that I look back on it, I could have been a Cyndi Lauper roadie.
Okay, I made that
story up. But it is very significant for the
soon to be bride to take under consideration. It
reminds me of a real bride that I dealt with
who spent a
half-day searching for the perfect metallic brown lipstick to match the roses in her
bouquet. It seems her wedding party was
wearing chocolate and her roses were a similar color.
She was determined that her lips would exactly match those roses despite the
fact that a frosted brown was not going to be flattering on her and she was wearing a
white strapless gown. Can you say,
“muddy”?
She chose not to
hire me for the wedding, mostly because of my reluctance to put the metallic silver/brown
lipstick on her. I tried to talk to her about
a more classic makeup, but my words fell on deaf ears.
I’m sure
that her wedding photos look lovely regardless of her thin lips being the color of a
freshly waxed dining table. I’m sure
that they bear no resemblance to either Crystal Carrington or a cast member of “Thriller”.
A friend of mine
who was married in the late 80’s took her bridal photos down and packed them away
because she didn’t like them anymore. She
had glued her thick eyebrows straight up for her wedding and the photographer had etched
them in eternity.
Imagine putting
her picture next to a 1940’s snapshot of Audrey Hepburn. I promise that Audrey’s picture would look
more modern, more fashionable, and more beautiful. Why?
Because those gravity defying brows, those ultra-trendy Madonna boy-toy brows, date the
picture. The picture of Audrey will look
timeless; the picture of my friend becomes soooo eighties.
And this can be said for many photos of old.
My grandmothers wedding portrait is still beautiful to this day, because it
is so simple.
Back then there
wasn’t a large variation of product. Fashion
was very styled and streamlined. That is why
those same styles women wore in the 30’s and 40’s are classic. This style has been apparent every decade since
women started wearing makeup, even today. But
in our time we are so bombarded by the latest trends and colors and styles, what is
classic becomes cloudy.
These are things
for you as a bride to be to think about when planning your image for your wedding. Remember that the most tangible
“product” of the wedding is the photos. Those
photos will be around for years to come and hopefully be displayed for a lifetime. The quality and beauty of those photos is
ultimately more important than any trendy whims you as a bride might have for your
“special day”. (I myself wanted to
look like a fairy ice-princess and cover myself with sparkles on my day. But let’s be honest, the pictures would have
looked like a UFO convention. So I
compromised what I wanted in the immediate for what I wanted for the rest of my life.)
So now you want
to ask me what “classic” entails? Well,
simply put, classic is simple. It is the
easiest look to achieve if you know that it exists. From
a makeup standpoint it means preparing your face for photos and real life. Which means finding a pretty middle ground between
a glamour shot and a Gucci ad.
Many people
believe that having your makeup done for photos means wearing more and this is not true. It means wearing it more evenly. It means not a lot of frost as frost makes odd
reflections on film and can date a photo. (A
bit of shimmer on the shoulders and the eyelids is always soft and beautiful, especially
in evening weddings, but it must be subtle.) It
means having a very even finish to the skin. It
means wearing colors that can be seen in both black and white, and color photos. It means not putting trendy colors on your mouth
but sticking to classic variations of…you might not like this..pinks and reds for
light to medium skins, and reds and browns for darker.
From a hair
standpoint being classic means keeping it simple. One
of my pet peeves is trying to work with a bride that purchases a comb fitted headpiece and
then wants her hair down. Unless you are
doing a retro-style with a big Raquel Welch backcombed ‘do, those pieces always look
better with the hair up. A general rule is
that the later in the day the wedding and the more skin showing on the shoulders and the
more formal the headpiece- the more appropriate it is to wear the hair up. Remember that all up-do’s don’t have to
be teased to filth. If your face can tolerate
a sleeker up-do, these are very stylish and classic.
Look like
yourself, but a beautiful elegant version of yourself.
If you need help,
hire someone. Most brides hire caterers,
floral people, photographers…people to do what they cannot. So, if you cannot fully create a timeless image of
yourself for your wedding…get some help. You
will be grateful in the long run that you did.
Terri
Tomlinson is a professional film, video, and print makeup artist and hair stylist located
in Richardson, Texas, and is represented by the Campbell Agency. Terri is also the author of the book:
"Foundations: A Makeup Artist's Guide To The Basics" and the creator of
"Foundations", a line of custom designed high end makeup brushes at a very
affordable price. Check out Terri 's terrific
site at: www.makeup101.com |
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