Model: Lauren Givnin from Greer Lange Talent Agency
Hair by Jennifer Stein (first and third image) and Kristine Tuttleman (middle image)
Makeup by Jessica Galoff. All from Elayne James Salon in Greenville.
Page 2: Lips that Last | Local experts share their secrets. Try to look natural.
Lips that Last
Local experts share their secrets. Try to look natural.
How can you get the perfect lip look for your wedding? And how can you make it last through kisses, champagne and food?
“Lips are tough because lip products tend to wear off,” says Christi Miller, owner of Houppette in Greenville. “For brides who need to have their lip last all day, we do some extra work.”
Miller’s pre-lip preliminary procedure begins with a scrub to remove dead skin. She next applies a primer with hydrating elements. And Miller uses eye makeup on the lips. “I’ll put a layer of Laura Mercier’s Eye Basic on the lips,” she says. “It forms a base on the lips, and the makeup adheres to it.”
What kind of overall effect do brides want? “Every bride wants full lips,” says Darlene Baich, a makeup artist at Bling in Lewes. “Most want their eyes to pop, their face neutral and their lips natural. They don’t want a bright color on their lips. But they do want the color to stay on all day.”
To achieve that, both Miller and Baich use lip liner around the mouth and on the lips. Baich uses a waterproof liner. “If the lipstick wears off, the liner is still there,” she says.
After the liner comes the lipstick. “For control, I use a lip brush to apply a coat of lipstick,” Miller says. “I blot with powder, then apply the lipstick one more time. I finish the look with a dot of gloss in the center of the lip to give the appearance of a full lip.”
“Accenting the bow on the top lip is important,” Baich says. “It makes the mouth look full and pretty. The lips, and the whole face, should look natural so the bride doesn’t look like she’s wearing a lot of makeup.” —Melissa Jacobs
Page 3: Makeup Mania | Create your own color at this studio in Hockessin.
Makeup Mania
Create your own color at this studio in Hockessin.
Makeup is makeup, right? Wrong. Just ask Natalie Ruelle of Mix Makeup Studio in Hockessin. It’s serious business.
“We start with a pre-wedding consultation, where the brides come in and we do their makeup considering things like hair color, eye color, skin tone, undertones, warmth, cool—anything that’s throwing off other colors on the face,” Ruelle says. “Makeup is about showing off your best features, not hiding them.”
For brides and bridesmaids looking for a makeup artist on the big day, Ruelle and her staff at Mix are a popular choice. “Brides are typically easier than bridesmaids,” she says. “They tend to wear either white or ivory, so the things we need to consider are their skin and hair, how tan they’ll be, etc., whereas bridesmaids are in different colors.”
For brides with warmer skin tones, Ruelle likes to cool them down with plums and pinks. If a bride has a cool skin tone, Ruelle digs earthtones and neutrals to balance it out. But fantastic makeup application isn’t the only major selling point at Mix.
Ruelle’s studio is one of the few places around where customers can create their own color. “It’s a really fun experience for a bride and her bridal party,” she says. “It’s a chance to get together, be girly and have a good time.”
The process is simple. One starts by choosing a liquid base and finish that result in either a creamy or shiny look. Then add frosting (think richly hued loose eye color) for a fun shot of shimmer. Last, choose a flavor, ranging from mimosa to mint julep.
Glosses and lipsticks range from $25 to $30. Brides interested in custom designing their shades should reserve studio time at least two months in advance. —Amy Kates
Page 4: With This Tan, I Thee Wed
With This Tan, I Thee Wed
Want sun-kissed skin in the middle of winter? Consider airbrushing. There are no UV rays involved, only an FDA-approved chemical called DHA. It’s more precise than booths, where jets spray solution from all angles. And airbrushing can be done in one session.
Here are the tricky parts: timing and shade. Like makeup and hair, the tan needs to be coordinated. That’s where spas come in.
“Airbrushing can last from three to seven days, depending on how the client moisturizes,” says Flora Sutalo of Covet Spa in Greenville. One way to preserve the tan is to begin with an exfoliating scrub. “The less dead skin you have, the less it sheds and the longer the tan lasts. For best results, we suggest tanning two or three days before the wedding.”
How tan is the right tan? Made Ya Look! Salon and Day Spa in Rehoboth Beach uses Fake Bake, a hand-held airbrush. Owner Donna Serafini chose Fake Bake for its style and substance. “It works with your own melanin. If you are pale, it won’t make you look ridiculously tan,” Serafini says. “The color shows up immediately so the client can see what we are doing and make adjustments.”
Another airbrushing bonus: no streaking. The spa professional sees exactly what is being applied. “We can even add contouring and eliminate other tan lines,” Sutalo says.
Moisturizing is essential to aftercare. “Clients have to moisturize at least once a day,” Serafini says. Sutalo says most regular moisturizers are fine as long as they don’t contain alpha hydroxy or other exfoliating products. The key is to stop skin from shedding so that the tan looks even in person, and in pictures. Unlike tans, wedding photos last forever. —Melissa Jacobs
Page 5: Rue the Tattoo? Go Undercover
Rue the Tattoo? Go Undercover
“‘I wish you hadn’t gotten that tattoo.’ I hear mothers say that all the time when their daughters try on wedding gowns,” says Donna Keenan, owner of Stained Glass Bridal and Tuxedo in Delmar.
Wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses can show a lot of skin—and a lot of ink. Don’t want tattoos in the photos? Get special makeup to cover them.
“Some brides want tattoos covered for family reasons, like making grandma happy,” Keenan says. “Others couldn’t care less. They paid money for that tattoo and it means something to them, so they want to show it. It depends on the generation of the person wearing the tattoo.”
Keenan sells a tattoo cover-up kit called Cover Mark. It sells for $27. Available in either fair-medium or medium-dark, Cover Mark resists smudging and sweat.
David’s Bridal in Wilmington has a tattoo cover-up kit that costs $25. It includes a hydrating base, primer, two tubes of Leg Magic and application sponge. Color options are fair-medium, medium-dark and deep.
Other kits are available online. Smart Cover (smartcover.com) was created by Flori Roberts, the creator of Corrective Cosmetics and Dermablend. The company says that Smart Cover goes on creamy and dries to a matte finish without setting powder. The 10-piece Smart Cover Up Kit ($29.75 plus shipping) includes concealing creme, color corrector, smart cover stick, sponges, a brush and an instruction booklet.
Tattoo Camo (tattoocamo.com) has a $45 kit that includes camouflage paste and setting powder. The paste comes in six shades, from ivory to cocoa. Tattoo Camo also makes Magic Shield, a spray that sets the makeup and prevents it from rubbing off on clothing—not a bad idea to protect the wedding gown, and the clothes of all those people you’ll be hugging. —Melissa Jacobs
