This read offers a few of my favourite tips for helping you to make the most out of your bridal hair and or makeup trial run through.
For anyone planning to book a hair or makeup artist for their wedding day, a trial run through is always highly recommended for the bride to be! It usually takes place around 6-8 weeks before the day when most of the other wedding decisions, like the dress and colour schemes, have been made. I always recommend a bridal trial if possible and also offer the option of one to any members of the bridal party. It provides an opportunity to not only enjoy getting pampered but to provide an extra bit of preparation for your wedding morning, to encourage calm vibes!
As a bridal hair and makeup artist my top priority is for you to feel as comfortable, confident and yourself as possible while in your hair and makeup. So I won't leave a trial until we are both happy and sure of our plan of action for your wedding day look!
I have gathered a few pieces of advice along the way, from my experiences so far, that my bridal clients tend to have found helpful in knowing. So I thought I would collate my tips all in one place, below!
Reference Images
Hair and makeup inspiration pictures are a great place to start when thinking about what you'd like for your own look. As a bridal artist, being able to clearly understand your vision is one of the most important parts of the trial session. Reference images, for example from Pinterest or celebrity looks, are a great visual aid for us, not to copy but to use as a place to start for your look and can help us direct the right prompts to you when discussing each stage of the makeup or hairstyle.
We're not fussed if you can't find the perfect reference as also being able to see elements of the styles your not so keen on is just as important!
Something key to consider is using references where the model has similar features to yourself, like skin tone, hair colour length and thickness. As shown in the example below, these are similar soft glam looks but both required a very different colour palette due to the differing features of the two models. So in order to find a reference that you will know will look more similar on yourself, this is something to bear in mind!
Semi Permanent Treatments
If you are thinking about getting any treatments done for the wedding day, such as a spray tan, brow tint/lamination or lash extensions, lifts or tints, it can be a good idea to get this done for the trial too. As, like explained above with the reference images, this will impact the outcome and techniques used within the makeup application so having this for the trial too will help you to see more accurately how the finished look will turn out on the day. (As well as giving you a another excuse to treat yourself to some self care too !)
Trust The Process
This one is a very common phrase which I find myself saying at a lot of my bridal trials. And that is very understandable. When your'e trying out a hair and makeup style that's typically more glamorous than what you're used to it can be hard to visualize the complete look without all it's elements, like the wedding dress. This also is common when looking at a makeup look without the hair being styled yet and vice versa. So it can be helpful to wait for both to be done before coming to any decisions on changes which you might want to make.
Now obviously I'd be fairly surprised if you turned up to your trial in your dress! But, wearing a similar neckline is one way of being able to visualize slightly better. As well, creating a mood board after or before the trial with your images of your dress alongside photos of your desired hair and makeup look can also help to imagine how it will all look once placed together!
Any Niggles?
Saying this, if even after this you're still not feeling sure on something, please don't hesitate to let your hair/makeup artist know (we will not be offended!) As mentioned earlier, my top priority is for you to feel as comfortable, confident and yourself as possible so if there is anything that can be tweaked to help achieve this I very much want to know.
When at my trials I will always take photos and videos of how everything is looking and at different stages if we have tried out different variations of a look. This will then be sent to you so that you can keep them to look at between the trial and day. So even after the trial, when you will have been able to wear the hair and makeup for the rest of the day, if you decide there is anything at all you would like to alter, that will never be a problem!
Face and Hair Prep
Something else I'm often asked is when to wash your hair in relation to it being styled? The best answer for this is generally the night before! This is because second day hair tends to hold a style better due to slightly higher levels of sebum (the natural oil produced by sebaceous glands in your scalp which help give your hair texture and moisture.)
In addition, although after our initial consultation, I will apply the relevant skincare products during your makeup application, if you have a usual morning skincare routine please feel free to go ahead with that too. Our faces love familiarity!
Holy Grail Products
Leading on from this, I have built up my hair and makeup kit overtime with the constant aim for it to be as diverse as possible for each of the beautifully different skin and hair tones and types which I have the pleasure of being able to work on. I know and love all of the products in their for different reasons and am always very excited to recommend new items to my clients. However, if there is signature a skin, hair or makeup product which you know works for you, for example due to a certain formula or shade, that you wouldn't want to be without on your wedding day, not to worry. If you bring that along to the trial and let me know, we can definitely look at incorporating these!
Feeling like you!
Finally, throughout both the consultation and trial process there is never a question or query that is not valid! From brides who have never worn makeup to the full glam lovers, as an artist we are used to seeing all ends of the spectrum and are there to listen and create your perfect look, not a one size suits all!
During my trials I like to break down each stage of the application and ask as many questions as possible to try and best gage your thoughts and feelings. I have also been trained in colour theory as well as knowledge of what may suit different face and eye shapes best, so am always happy to recommend aspects which I think would work well and to bounce ideas off. It's not all down to you if you don't know where to start!
A Final Note From Me...
Hopefully these pieces of advice will help you feel one step closer to knowing what to expect in the run up to you bridal trial and will help bring some extra calmness to your wedding morning!
For anyone in the process of finding a bridal hair and makeup artist, particularly in the Devon or South West region, I would love to get in contact! For more information about what I offer and for further examples of my work, see my website link below.
Apr 26
6 min read
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