I would recommend scheduling a makeup trial in conjunction with an event you might have. Whether it’s engagement photos, date night, showers, special events, etc. The best scenario would be having your trial on the day of your engagement photos with your wedding photographer. It gives you and your artist a chance to see how the photographer edits the makeup and what the finished photos look like. It doesn’t have to be the wedding look, but your artist will understand what they need to do in order to achieve your wedding look if they have already seen how your photographer edits and if that makes any difference in the overall goals for makeup.  

When thinking about your wedding day makeup look, the first thing you might do is to look at relevant weddings on social media, Instagram posts, Pinterest, and search local wedding hashtags, and local makeup artists.

For the trial, it is important that you take good care of your skin prior so you have a realistic idea of what the makeup will look like. Have your eyebrows manicured the way you like, dermaplaning all the peach fuzz off your face, condition your lips so they aren’t chapped and flakey, exfoliate a few days before, and consider not using Retin-A if your skin becomes flaky and sensitive from it. If you receive Botox or other aesthetic services, it would be smart to have that done 30 days prior to your special event or big day/trial. That way you have had enough time to make tweaks to your original treatment should there need to be. Start working on your skincare goals with an esthetician at least 6 months in advance so you have time to make progress with your goals and possibly multiple visits.  

Come to your trial with a clean face, lightly moisturized. You can use skin care but do not overdo the serums for makeup. Serums can be slippery and sticky and work against makeup in a lot of cases. Also, do not put any skincare on the eyelids.  

We will experiment with colors and depth of eyeshadows, lash styles, and types of liner so having a few inspo photos that you like to replicate are helpful. We will discuss your skin type and the differences between matte and dewy. We will talk about the weather and time of year and what works best for that. Also, keep in mind the skin tone of the inspiration photos, are they similar to yours? They should be.  

It’s helpful to have your hair trial prior to makeup so we can see the total look once makeup is completed, and to wear white so you also aren’t distracted by casual or bright-colored clothing. 

After we do your trial and preview, we will take photos, review them, I take notes from your trial so I have a reference to your likes and dislikes, and I follow up the day after in order to see if there was anything that came up from wearing it all day to update my notes. I always remind my clients that the notes are not set in stone, it’s more of a guide so I remember your likes and dislikes, colors and lashes we used, etc. We can do something totally different on wedding day if you so choose.  

So whether it’s a year in advance or three months in advance, or even a month in advance, the trial is crucial to a seamless wedding day for makeup.  

I’m in the business of doing the things that keep my brides at ease and in the moment on their wedding day, surrounded by their loved ones, so having everything laid out at the trial is one of the best ways to keep things that way.

On my next blog post, I will discuss the schedule for the morning of the wedding and best practices I’ve found from years of being in the business. This includes ideas for getting ready spaces and what they should include, how I decide when makeup should start in order to have a seamless morning and have everyone ready on time, when the bride should go in line up, and other tips I’ve learned from many years of getting ready with my brides on the morning of their most special day.