A couple of week ago I was asked to join a team of wedding professionals to provide an afternoon of wedding beauty and advice In central London to brides.

The event was organised by Julie Kim one of Tigerlilys favorite photographers and recently listed as one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the UK.

It was fabulous to discuss wedding design and planning tips with such wonderful brides I was in my element.

During the day I met a lovely make up artist called Amanda Bell, she is totally inspirational and has some of the best beauty products, tips and knowledge I have come across in a long time.

I felt with her wealth of knowledge and experience she would make a valued contribution to our ask the experts season of blogs, and luckily she agreed to write for us.

All of the images included are from the day and demonstrate Amanda’s natural and sophisticated approach to wedding make up.

Happy reading!

How long have you been a make up artist?

I have been a make up artist for over 15 years. I originally studied art and my make ups are very much about creating a glowing, flawless skin. The skin is effectively the canvas and the more imperceptibly perfect the base is, the more adding a touch of colour is just like gilding the lily. I have been lucky enough to do make up around the world, New York & Los Angeles, Paris and the Middle East.

Make up is such an important part of the bride’s day- what is on trend for 2009?

Nude, soft colours for a very professionally polished look that really does not date or a “vintage bride” where there is a tiny hint of retro va va voom with a little pin up chic liner, rosy fresh cheeks and sumptuous lips.

What has been your most memorable wedding to date?

I know it is a cliché, but every wedding is very special to me. Each bride is very much an individual and I don’t subscribe to a 1 size fits all mentality.  2 weddings I really enjoyed doing the make up for a polar opposites were: a writer getting married in Oxford and she had stayed at the Crazy bear- she was really bohemian and the make up was uber glamorous, she looked so sexy even the ducks followed her. Also a wedding where the bride wore a beautiful Vera Wang dress and had a simple chignon and we went for a very simple and flawless Grace Kelly look with the make up, I did the make ups for 5 other people in the party, it was like being backstage at a catwalk show J but when the bride emerged in her dress with her hair and make up done, it was just one of those moments where you feel so proud of what you have achieved.

For brides on a budget what recommendations would you make?

If you are going to do your own make up on the day I have some top tips:

Invest in the best base that you can afford- take samples- don’t impulse buy.

Don’t try the foundation on your hand; try along the jaw line to ensure that it blends in. If you want to add a little “sun kissed” warmth do so with a sheer application of bronzer rather than a darker foundation- tidemarks look terrible in photos.

Don’t try anything different on the day- you will be pushed for time and feeling the pressure- so make sure you don’t do anything that doesn’t work, you have to take it all off again.

Relax; make sure you allocate yourself enough time so that it becomes a little “me” time before the rest of the day.

Where do you take inspiration for your make ups from?

Literally everywhere, Magazines, catwalk shows, films, other make up artists, people passing in the street. I am such a make up geek, it is my passion, I notice everything about people’s make up- I might not know their name but I know their eye colour, lipstick shade etc.

What should brides consider before choosing a make up artist?

An artist that you are comfortable with that “gets” what you want & someone that is professional, calm and just brilliant at what they do. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice if you need it and if you are not sure what you want, knowing what you don’t want is halfway there. Look at work they have done and have a trial. If after the trial you are still unsure, keep looking until you find someone who is perfect.

For more information on Amanda’s make up services please contact her at amanda@pixibeauty.com

Photo Credits

Julie Kim Photography

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 26th, 2009 at 1:22 pm and is filed under Ask the wedding experts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.