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Every bride wants to be in tip-top shape and looking her absolute best on her wedding day. In order for this to happen it takes weeks of prep, not just a quick pluck, spraytan and blow dry. In this blog post I am going to take you through my wedding beauty prep leading up to the big day.
2 months before: water
Lots and lots of water! I cannot stress this enough, believe me it shows on your skin. I also cut down on alcohol (a glass of wine, or two, was needed to deal with the stress), and sugar.
1 month before: teeth
We all want the perfect Colgate smile, with sparkling pearly-white teeth. I know I definitely wanted this for my wedding day. However, the professional at-home whitening system recommended by my dentist was a bit pricey.
Continuing my search I found the White Glo Express Whitening System (R199.99) which lifts stains and yellowing on the surface of the teeth, providing results in a application time of 5 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised at the difference (slight but noticeable) in colour of my teeth after just one application.
After two weeks of using the product my teeth were definitely whiter and the product didn’t leave my teeth feeling sensitive like some other whitening products.
2 weeks before: Dermalogica BioActive Peel
I wouldn’t normally recommend going for a peel so close to your wedding day, however from previous experience, I knew that the Dermalogica BioActive Peel (R690) is very gentle on the skin and has no downtime. It reduces signs of pigmentation and ageing by safely removing dull outer layers of skin and helping the skin underneath regenerate.
I experienced a little bit of redness after the treatment, which subsided after an hour. My skin was left smoother and glowing. The results were really visible by the fourth day.
1 week before: hair
My hairstylist, David Gillson from Carlton Hair in Constantia, and I had been chatting about my ‘wedding hair’ for months prior to the day. I was loving my flaming red hair colour, but we decided to tone it down to a shade a bit closer to my natural hair colour for the wedding (I didn’t want to look back at my wedding photos ten years later and wonder what I was thinking!). We did this over two appointments until we got to the perfect shade of copper, still bright and vibrant, but natural and complimentary to my skin tone.
2 days before: (this is a busy one!)
Nails
As I am very hard on my nails and had a lot of prep to do at the venue the day before the wedding (which would destroy normal nail polish), I opted to have Gelish on my hands and feet. I chose neutral tones; a natural pink shade for my hands and a taupe shade for my toes. I am not against a bit of colour for your wedding day, however my dress was a blush pink tone and I didn’t want a bright colour to detract from the soft unusual shade. My mani and pedi was done at Bliss Beauty Salon in Harfield.
Lashes
I absolutely LOVE semi-permanent eyelash extensions and had to have them applied for my big day. I always recommend that my clients have them done 2-3 days before your wedding day as they still look fresh and fabulous, but gives you enough time to get used to them. My gorgeously glam lashes were applied by Fennec (R495) in Rondebosch Tel: 083 975 2641.
Endermolift treatment
This is one of my favourite non-invasive anti-ageing treatments for instant plumping and smoothing of the skin. The Endermolift treatment, available at Legs Eleven in Greenpoint, is designed to reawaken your sleeping youth cells and reverse your skins natural ageing process. The plumping and radiant results are visible immediately after the treatment and still experienced days afterwards. Read more about this treatment and prices in my previous post; a work out for your face.
Fake Bake 5 Minute Mousse
This is one of my favourite self tans on the market at the moment and because I have tried and tested this product (see previous post Tried and tested self tan reviews) I was confident to use it for my big day. The easy streak free application results in a natural bronze tan.
Fake Bake (R419) is available at Legs Eleven salons.
On the day: hair and make-up
Please don’t underestimate a trial prior to your wedding date. No matter how clear your instructions are and the endless references you send your make-up artist and hairstylist, your vision might not be suitable for your features or hair type. A professional will also be able to offer advice on what they think would be best for you. A trial allows you to iron out all these details, try different things and gives you a clear idea of what you will look like on the day. No one wants to have to deal with this on the day of their wedding.
I would recommend a trial a minimum of a month before your wedding date. This will allow you enough time to have your hair trimmed or coloured and a facial or treatment if necessary.
Being a make-up artist, this was one thing I couldn’t let go of doing myself on my wedding day. However, I did have my hair styled by the very talented JP at Yemaya Spa and Hair in Seapoint.
On the best day of my life!
After 2 months of fun beauty prepping, I felt like a true princess on my wedding day. Remember to enjoy the process and don’t sweat the small stuff, because once you are walking down that aisle with your grinning groom waiting for you at the end, it will all be a distant memory.
For more beauty tips check out Cindy's blog.
