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It was about two months before my wedding, and I’d put off finding a makeup artist. I’ve always enjoyed doing my own makeup and felt fairly confident that I could do my own wedding day look myself, so I went for it.
I went into my wedding day knowing I’d love how everything looked, and when I got my wedding portraits back I was glad that I still looked like myself.
Another perk is that you get to keep all the products you’ve purchased and can use many of them regularly for everyday looks, so consider it an investment!
1. This Esarora Ice Roller is amazing for de-puffing your under-eyes after a restless night (or one too many late-night cocktails).
2. Smashbox’s Photo Finish Primer minimizes pores and provides your skin with a matte finish with one quick swipe.
3. Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Flawless Filter is somewhere between a primer and foundation, and helps create a subtle glow without the use of glittery flecks.
4. This Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation is a phenomenal full-coverage product that's lightweight and stays in place (hence the name) flawlessly for hours.
5. To brighten my under-eyes and other center points of my face, I used the incredibly smooth NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer.
6. Milk’s Matte Bronzer can be used for effective contouring and sets beautifully no matter what makeup is underneath.
7. I wanted something that would make my under-eyes look almost airbrushed — and Laura Mercier’s Secret Blurring Powder came in clutch.
8. Hourglass’s Veil Translucent Setting Powder was a product I’d already been using, and I knew it would be great for the soft, glowy look that I was going for.
9. Though I’d already used a liquid bronzer in a neutral shade to contour, I used Physicians Formula Butter Bronzer liberally over my cheeks and forehead to deepen those areas.
10. Charlotte Tilbury’s Cheek to Chic Blush has finely crushed pearls that capture the light beautifully and made the apples of my cheeks flushed and healthy-looking.
11. Rather than using a bling-y highlighter, I opted for Hourglass’s Ambient Lighting Powder, a subtle “lighting powder” to apply to the high points of my face.
12. The NARS Voyageur Eyeshadow Palette Mini contains super-pigmented shades — three matte and three shimmery — that blend together seamlessly.
13. This Stila Cosmetics Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner is a holy-grail product that applies smoothly and will survive even the teariest of teary wedding days.
14. Charlotte Tilbury’s Lip Cheat Lip Liner is so smooth and creamy — I used it as an all-over base for my lip color.
15. This L’Oreal Paris Colour Riche Lipcolour provides a beautiful satin finish and uses vitamin E and argan oil to moisturize your lips.
16. Glossier’s Boy Brow gave just enough color output to fill in a few small patchy areas in my brows, but I mostly love the small, spooly brush that lets you shape your eyebrows quickly with a few strokes.
17. And finally: Urban Decay’s All Nighter Long-Lasting Setting Spray kept my makeup perfectly locked in place until the end of the night.
TL;DR: If you choose to do your own makeup for your wedding or another big special occasion, sure, you may not necessarily want to use all of the products above, but they all come highly recommended by me, a real-life human who took on the challenge and went through a ton of trial and error.
