Bridal season begins

April is the month the bridal season kicks off......well for me it seems like its all kicking off now. And of course we have the Royal Wedding to look forward to. So I thought I would share with you a bit about the bridal makeup work Ive been doing and what is still to come for me this year and also my 3 top bridal makeup tips.

My first piece of bridal work came last year when I organised a shoot with Catherine at The White Dress Boutique in Leamington Spa. I used some girls from my workplace as willing models and teamed up with local photographer Lucy Clarke for the shoot and the girls all looked gorgeous in their wedding dresses. You can see the photos on my facebook page.

My most recent photoshoot was a couple of weeks ago and it was amazing. Some of the photos are in my Bridal Gallery already and it gave me a great opportunity to work on a variety of models and also build my portfolio. We shot at the Menzies Welcombe Hotel and at Billesley Manor in Stratford. It was great to see so many different wedding dresses as well as some Indian bridal outfits and was brilliant to meet and work with so many photographers. One of my favourite looks from the day was definitely on Tiff who wanted to look a bit like Katie Price, false lashes, dark eye makeup, bright pink lips. Was fun to do.

This Saturday Ill be doing my first Bridal Fashion Show at the Smudge Magazine Wedding Fayre which Im sure will be a great day.Im a bit nervous but also very excited.
Later this year I'll also be doing a photoshoot with local dress designers LuaSarcy. Lucy and Sara are both fab so Im really looking forward to working with them.

I absolutely love what I do and bridal makeup is possibly one of the most rewarding jobs, making someone look and feel absolutely gorgeous on their wedding day, I cant think of anything better and of course its always nice to meet so many lovely brides.

My top 3 tips for bridal makeup:

• Always use waterproof mascara, especially if youre an emotional bride or if your eyes get watery in the sun like mine. Use brown mascara for a more natural look and use black for a dramatic look or to finish off a smokey eye. Similarly, make sure you use a waterproof eyeliner. Liquid liner tends to run unless its waterproof. I prefer to use a cream or gel liner.
• Your wedding day is not a day to be trying out a new look. You want to look like yourself but at your best. You dont want to be unrecognisable, especially to the person youre about to marry, so stick to a look you know works for you, and if you dont usually wear makeup, keep is simple and natural by highlighting your best features.
• Make sure you have a touch up kit. Touchup kits usually include some extra powder for avoiding any shine throughout the day and some extra lipstick. Your wedding day is a day of kissing, talking, drinking and eating so youll probably need to touch up the lippy at some point. For a longer lasting lipstick, use a lipliner to line and fill the lips before applying your lipstick. Applying it with a brush also helps.