Products I couldn’t do without on my wedding day…

On Sunday 14th May, 36 close friends and family gathered at my husband’s parent’s house to celebrate our wedding. Small and intimate, we wanted something that would start at midday and finish late afternoon, (I’m 6 months pregnant after all). We’ve been engaged for almost two years and initially had planned a big wedding. We’d booked the West London Synagogue and reserved our favourite Marylebone wine bar but with numbers getting out of hand we decided last minute to cancel. With the logistics done, I began my beauty planning.

Two Months To Go

With pregnancy hormones playing havoc with my skin, I didn’t want to put my face through trials of lots of products. I knew from experience that Dermalogica works. The hour long facials are prescriptive and really targets those areas that need attention. For me it was an oily T zone and breakouts on my chin.
I booked a course, one every ten days to include extractions and lots of steam. As a top up at home I treated myself to the Dermalogica MediBac kit (£44).

Top Ups

I used the Clearing Skin Wash everyday to lift excess oil and dirt from my face. Once or twice a week I also used the Sebum Clearing Masque. After just 10 minutes with this my skin looked noticeably clearer.  I never wore foundation for about two months pre wedding as I wanted my skin to be as clear as possible but whenever I had to, I’d use the Clearing Mattifier underneath. It stopped my skin looking shiny. Every night I’d use the Overnight Clearing Gel topically which made blemishes go away. Be careful not to use this all over your skin as in my opinion, it’s quite harsh.

Body

I never dreamed I’d be almost three stone heavier on my wedding day (!) and being pregnant in the heat meant I had very little motivation to exercise profusely. Instead I took solace in the fact I had a relatively comfortable dress and got a good toning cream for my arms. I used Guinot Body Firmness (£64) also great for bum!

Fragrance

Having looked after Grooming at GQ for a bit, I’d already met with so many brands that each promised they had the best fragrance. But it’s when I went to a presentation with my colleague lovely Hannah that I fell in love with Prada La Femme (100ml, £100) and literally didn’t shut up about it. It was one of those instances where I’d sprayed some on a card and kept it in my bag for a good few weeks because it was that amazing. So naturally on my wedding day, I had to have that perfume. It gave me so many positive thoughts and lovely memories.
 

One Month To Go

Hair Masks

My hair is thick, wavy, frizzy. Having had balayage a few months ago, my ends were becoming dry. I knew I wanted to go back to brown for my wedding day but the length needed some serious nourishment before hand.  I smothered my hair in Almond Oil for shine, washing out with the only Shampoo and Conditioner I use. My usual (and brilliant) Sassoon products.

Makeup Trials

It’s easy to follow makeup fashions and wear a trend that’s very ‘now’. But for the wedding I wanted to keep things natural. I toyed with a deep red lip and minimal makeup but after lots of product trialling I found the makeup I wanted.

Two Weeks To Go

Eyelashes

You’ll know from my post on eyelashes that I’m an obsessive when it comes to lash length and volume. I headed to the amazing Seduire Clinic in London’s Soho for a full set of new lashes (£80). Individually applied, each lash stuck to my natural lash line giving me natural looking fullness. I really wanted this instead of strip lashes for the day and Seduire have a great reputation for natural looking results. I loved them and will definitely be visiting Seduire very soon!

Brow Tint

I chose black and went super dark, very thick and very heavy. As the therapist at HC Medspa promised, they lasted for a very long time and by the time the day arrived, they looked very natural and very defined.

Hair Colouring

Of course I’d never trust any one else with my hair colour except the amazing Julien at Sassoon Salon in Covent Garden. As he’d previously created the balayage magic with my hair, he decided to just use a toner rather than full on colour so that my light ends would still lift a few weeks after the wedding. Don’t forget for 20% off cut and colour at Sassoon, just quote SASSY IN THE CITY.
 

The Night Before

Nails

I got my nails done early that morning (a Shellac mani from my usual place in Finchley) and tried so hard not to damage them. I kept my hands super moisturised with the Elizabeth Arden White Tea hand cream (£7). If you haven’t tried it, do, it smells incredible.

Tan & Rest

My bridesmaids had put on the sweetest evening for me the night before the wedding. We had the (non-alcoholic) wine on ice, a hearty meal and lots of laughs. We had props, decorations and gifts a plenty! I got tired quite early and wanted to finish off my beauty prep so by 9pm I was ready for bed. I had a long, quiet soak in the bath with lots of my favourite bath oil (ESPA Soothing Bath Oil, £29) and chomped my way through the giant box of Malteasers from the girls.
After using the wonderful razor from my very own beauty box (in collaboration with Roccabox) I dried off and smothered myself in Bondi Sands tan. What’s great about this tan is that it’s a gradual mousse which doesn’t smell or leave you feeling cloggy. I even slept in white sheets that night and it didn’t come off, true story.

Face

I used my Dermalogica kit once more for the face and gave one last spritz of the Clinique Moisture Surge spray for some added moisture. The wedding day would be the first time I’d worn makeup in a really long while so I didn’t want my face to be too greasy.
 

The Big Day

Prep

To prep, I washed my face and spritzed the Clinique Moisture Surge spray all over and applied the Guerlain under eye cream (£135). To prime my skin, I began by applying the Estée Lauder Illuminating Perfecting Primer to forehead and cheeks. I skipped concealer and instead opted for a layer of the clever little two in one from Clinique; the Beyond Perfecting Foundation & Concealer in colour Ivory. I used an oval brush to apply a relatively thick layer all over my face and neck (hey, I needed it to stay!). Ladies if you haven’t tried this wonder product, you need to head straight to your local Clinique counter to try it. It’s amazing and well, good enough for me on my wedding day!

Eyes

I wanted a subtle yet dark eye so I applied a blend of light brown shades from the Estée Lauder Pure Color Envy sculpting eyeshadow palette (£42.00) over my lid and under eye. With a quick sweep of my trusty Rimmel liquid eyeliner in black, I finished by applying some thick layers of La Roche-Posay mascara in black. I love the definition the mascara gives me. For under my brows (only the Estée Lauder mutli-brow was used) I applied a line of Benefit’s High Brow (£18.50) to reflect the light and brighten up my eyes.

Contouring

I used the Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour (powder) kit (£39) to try and make my face appear a little thinner (not even joking). I used the darker shade along the sides of my nose, across the top of my forehead and through the sides of my cheeks to enhance my cheekbones. Using the lighter shade, I went under my eyes and down the centre of my nose.

Lips

My sister and I had spent hours pouring over virtually every counter in a department store the week before. So we already had lips covered. We actually wore the same liner and lip shade which made me weirdly feel really close to her. Like something we shared. We went for the Elizabeth Arden Beautiful Colour Precision Glide Lip Liner in colour Ballet Blush (£17). Filled in with Pure Colour Love Matte Lipstick by Estée Lauder in colour Blase Buff (£19).

Hair

At the very last minute, I decided that rather than do my own hair (wise) I’d entrust a recommended stylist. I wanted a simple wavy blow out, something I could clip my veil in to and one that required little upkeep throughout the day. All too many times I’ve been to weddings where the hair has been piled with product and by midday it looks lank so my fail safe blow dry helped me out massively. Just a spritz of Elnett and I was good to go!