Wedding Makeup Etiquette for Guests and Bridesmaids

If you are anything like me, your social media news feed is blowing up with weddings and engagements, that is why I decided to write this post. A lot of people already know the basic rules of wedding etiquette, but I will just review some points and tips from the makeup side of things. 

If you are a guest at a wedding, this is not the time for you to try out the crazy colorful, fancy look that you have been storing in your back pocket. It is the time for you to be classy and elegant. 

Neutral colors are best when going to a wedding, this includes; eyes, face and lips. You never want something that is going to attract attention to you, especially if you are a bridesmaid. 

The below is a great example of wedding makeup. The face is very clean and polished, some light bronzer and highlighting. The eyes are neutral and elegant, the light lid color contrasted with the darker crease color gives the eye shadow depth without being a smokey eye. The outer corner of the water line has black liner and that trails below. There is no major sparkle to the eye shadow, which will photograph better. The lips are very simple, the color is Euro Trash by NYX cosmetics. It is a my-lips-but-better color, this ensures that all of the focus is on the eyes. 

Another big thing to remember is foundation. A foundation with a high SPF will photograph very bad, there will be a flashback from the SPF that will cause the face to look ghostly white. If your only choice is a high SPF foundation I would recommend adding additional bronzer. Just remember that you may look good in pictures but if you walk around looking like you got a bad spray tan the pictures will not matter. I prefer a matte foundation, if you want a dewy look let that come from a subtle highlight. A very dewy foundation will make you come off greasy and shinny in pictures, and that ain't cute!

As a general rule you want your makeup to compliment whatever you are wearing (I said compliment, not match) but if you are wearing a brightly colored dress DO NOT wear bright. loud makeup. Another thing to avoid is red lips, the only time this is acceptable is if it is a themed wedding. Red lips mean that all of the focus in pictures is on you, don't be the person to try and outshine the bride.

Now for bridesmaids, sometimes the brides will pay to have your hair and makeup done, or there will be a makeup artist on sight and you will have the option to pay for yourself. This is not always an option and when it is not you need to make sure that whatever makeup you apply that you keep it simple and classy. If you are not total comfortable with applying makeup don't go overboard and feel like you need to wear as much makeup as everyone else. The day of a wedding is not the time to start brushing up on your makeup skills. 

What are your tips for great wedding make up?