Unveiling all my bridal beauty bits
Yapping about all my favorite products, tips, and gurus.
Howdy guys! Thank you so much for your patience during my wedding hiatus; it was truly needed to manage last-minute details and spend time with visiting family. But I’m back, baby! And today, I’m going to be walking you guys through all the beauty bits and bobs I used and did in advance of the big day.
For context, I had an extremely small, 18-person, family-only wedding. But honestly, even though our wedding was teeny-tiny, I still found myself feeling stressed tf out in the months and weeks leading up to it. No matter what the size of your wedding is, you’re still trying to basically plan an immaculate and beautiful party, which requires lots of managing, budgeting, and coordination. And size doesn’t necessarily liberate you from one of the worst aspects of the wedding industry, which is this pervasive pressure placed on brides to look “perfect” on their wedding day.
I’m insanely grateful to be so deeply therapized and therefore radicalized enough to completely ignore the noise around wedding dieting. But I’ll admit, I did find myself freaking out a bit when I was hit with a giant wave of anxiety and product-induced closed comedones a few months prior. In the end, I managed to get my closed comedones under control just in time for the wedding day, and interestingly, this experience taught me a lot about closed comedones in general (they are so specific in their peskiness and relentlessness! ), which has been unexpectedly beneficial for my overall understanding of acne for future writing and clients. Looking back, though, I wish I had stressed way less about my skin. Like, honestly, at the risk of sounding so earnest, you are surrounded by so many people who love you deeply and are championing you on your wedding day; no one reaalllyyy gives a hoot if you have some texture or pimples. At the end of the day, I managed to put together a skincare routine that left my skin looking really nice and glowy, which was fab since I did my own hair and makeup. I also fit in some appointments with my favorite beauty experts beforehand. So today, I’m excited to share all my little tips, tricks, and go-to gurus.
Disclaimer: I know it looks like I’ve listed a ton of products, but I promise I didn’t go on a psychotic shopping spree just for the wedding. Everything listed was something I already owned.
Me vs. closed comedones
About three months ago, my skin erupted in some of the worst closed comedones (small persistent textural bumps) I've ever dealt with, concentrated around my hairline, jawline, and cheeks. To put it into perspective, every single morning for the past three months, I woke up with at least two new active, inflamed pimples, along with patches of small bumps surrounding them. They weren't cystic—when I extracted them, stuff would come out immediately—but this led to a cycle of really bad picking habits, resulting in tons of hyperpigmentation. I tried countless products and treatments until I finally discovered a routine that, all of a sudden, seemed to stop the comedones from forming. Closed comedones are really strange in that everyone’s triggers are completely different—I tried following so many different routines I found on Reddit and TikTok, and they pretty much all made matters worse—and ultimately, the products that worked for me, I’ve seen on other people’s no-go lists. The thing about closed comedones is that they’re a really frustrating cycle of trial and error, but I just have to share what worked for me just in case it happens to do the trick for someone else out there.
La Roche Posay Toleraine Face Wash
This is an ultra-gentle, fragrance-free, drugstore, creamy cleanser. I cleanse with this twice, kind of like a one-product double cleanse, to ensure it gets everything off of my skin. Before I switched to this one, I was using lots of cleansers that were way too stripping on my skin.
This product I’d tried before and sort of felt meh about it. But in this instance, it was a total game changer. This is a salicylic acid-based exfoliating toner that also uses green tea to calm your skin, so it has lots of soothing benefits and never strips my skin.
I’ve talked about this before, but azelaic acid is one of those ingredients that my acne-prone skin responds super well to. This is an unusual texture if you’re not used to it, as it’s a sort of serumy cream. I use it after my toner and before my moisturizer. Azelaic acid is so great for hyperpigmentation as well as acne, so it treats both old and new breakouts. This product also has salicylic acid in it for those extra acne-fighting benefits.
This is one of my old tried-and-trues, and it’s a product I know doesn’t break me out. It’s quite thick, though, so if you are super susceptible to closed comedones, this might not work for you.
When I want something a little lighter during the daytime, I use this moisturizer from Futurewise instead. It gives the skin a great quench, but not quite so rich.
Silk pillowcases (wash every 3 days)
Silk pillowcases in general tend to do more for my hair than my skin (I think), but they are generally much gentler on my skin as I often sleep face down. What’s more important, though, is making sure you wash it every three days (seriously, every three days!) with a detergent that doesn’t break you out.
This might get me some hate, but when you’re in the throws of a really intense breakout and you’re trying to figure out what’s causing it, temporarily switching to disposable face cloths to dry your face can be really, really helpful. Face towels can often be a major cause of breakouts due to the bacteria they harbor, so using disposable face towels is a quick and easy solution to eliminate this issue.
Treatments ahead of time
Sofia Visan at Sage & Sound
I discussed her at length a few weeks ago, and I don’t want to repeat myself too much. She’s an absolute gem with magic hands, and here’s a whole post of me raving about her.Emaly Baum for color at Beauty Supply
I saw Emaly about two months before my wedding to get this chocolate-y brown color. But she also sent me home with a little glossing kit, which allowed me to do touch-ups at home to make sure my color was really rich and vibrant before my wedding. BTW, if Emaly is busy (I don’t think she’s taking new clients), see Ashley!
Shelby Samaria for cut at Beauty Supply
Shelby knew I was doing my own hair styling for the wedding. So the last time I saw her, I showed her an inspiration photo, and she was able to give me a cut that basically did most of the work for me. This made it so that on the day of the wedding, I really just had to throw in a few loose curls with my T3 curling wand, and it looked exactly how I wanted it to. She gave me a 10/10 haircut, as per usual.
I actually didn’t get botox
I didn’t want you guys to think I was being shady by not including a dermatologist here. So I wanted to just put a disclaimer that I actually didn’t get botox or fillers for the wedding day. I am by no means saying I’m “above” it—in fact I’m desperate to do it soon—but since my wedding was family only, I just couldn’t be bothered ( I was kinda like…who am I getting botox for, my dad?)
How I prepped my skin / got the glow on the day
The days leading up my wedding, I really focused on skincare that helped control my breakouts. But on the actual day of the wedding, I wanted a routine that gave my skin a beautiful, lit-from-within glow, with a dewy finish. And of course, it was essential that whatever skincare I did wouldn’t make my makeup pill.
Ziip Nanocurrent Device
I know this product is so expensive, but as far as at home gadgets go, this is really one of my favorites. Ziip’s nanocurrent and microcurrent device hooks up to an app that helps you achieve all different kinds of treatments—sculpting facials, under eye de-puffing treatments, plumping treatments, even a blemish zapping one. On the day of my wedding, I did the 6 minute long “Instant Gratification” facial, and felt like I noticed this immediate sculpt and lift to my skin.Rhode Glazing Milk
As far as pre-makeup skin prep goes, this essence from Rhode is one of my all time favorites. It has this thicker, milky (but still non-sticky!) consistency, that creates this beautiful juicy, dewy glow to the skin.This is a pretty standard, creamy, semi-rich moisturizer. But paired with Glazing Milk, it gives the skin this major quench and makeup truly just looks 11/10 on top of it.
I’ve been using a sample of this product for months. I’m obsessed with this Lip Mask, so much so I’d argue it’s better than Laneige’s. I used this the night before as well as the morning of so that my lip products would glide onto my lips and never flake.
All the makeup I wore
Pat McGrath Sublime Skin Concealer Light 3 & Light 5
Pat’s foundation and concealer combination is her key to dewy, glowy runway skin. It has good coverage but it’s still incredibly natural looking. I used L3 for my under eyes and L5 for covering zits and hyperpigmentation.
Charlotte Tilbury Highlighter Wand
This is a liquid highlighter that reeeeeeally packs a punch. The trick is to use a teeny tiny bit and buff it out with a brush or your finger. All you need is a little bit and it will give the most insane (but not obviously makeup-y) highlight ever. This is my go-to for events or really anytime I know I’m gonna be photographed.
Pat McGrath Blush Balm “Divine Rose”
This is such a pretty rose color that’s perfect for a wedding flush. I have a few of these blushes and I’m just simply addicted to the creamy, balmy, hydrating formula.
I applied this as a final touch over my blush before walking down the aisle. It's a rosy, sheeny balm that seamlessly melts all your products into the skin, creating a natural glow. It’s super duper pretty and will also make you look like you’re wearing no makeup at all, even if you have lots of layers on.
Charlotte Tilbury “Iconic Nude” Lip Liner
My forever holy grail lip liner that I feel like I’ve talked about endlessly.
Charlotte Tilbury “Pillow Talk” Lipstick
This beautiful, matte, rose-y biege is a bridal classique for a reason!
A bronzer that has a gorgeous buttery formula that melts into the skin with no patchiness. It also comes with a really stunning highlighter too, but I wanted something a bit more drama which is why I went with CT in the end.
Makeup Forever Brown Lip Liner in “Limitless Brown”
This is a gorgeous lip liner, but I’m also obsessed with it as a freckle pencil. It's also my secret weapon against closed comedones: I transform them into cute lil beauty marks, and no one will ever know.
Shiseido Eyelash Curler
A hero product for a reason. Simply the best.This gives an extra little kiss of coverage while also giving the skin this really nice, matte, airbrushed kind of finish. It also never gets dry or patchy.
A long-time holy grail. Love the big spoolie.
Nails
I went back and forth about whether I wanted to do a gorgeous, almond, gel-x french manicure or simple, short nails with a buff and shine. In the end, I went with a plain manicure with Dior Nail Glow, which is one of my all time favorite polishes for a sort of glossy your-nails-but-better manicure.
your bridal skin has convinced me to try the pat mcgrath foundation and concealer. and congratulations, the wedding looked lovely!
I have very eczema prone skin with an acne prone Tzone and I used so many of your Strategist recommendations before my wedding back in 2018. Still use them to this day!