As I love doing makeup and find it quite relaxing, I made the decision to do my own wedding makeup, and since then have been trawling the internet for tips on products and application so I can get a flawless finish.
Luckily, you don't have to bankrupt yourself to build an excellent makeup bag for your big day – here are some of my favourite products across a range of price points – all of which will photograph amazingly well.
Click here to read my top tips on a flawless finish, and check out my essential product picks below.
Primer
Budget - Rimmel Stay Matte Primer (€7.99)
Oily or combination skintypes will love this primer which doesn't weigh heavily on the skin and provides a shine-free finish. This goes on smoothly and will give foundation an excellent base to stick to.
Mid-Price – Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer (€33)
Smashbox are the kings of primers, and the Photo Finish is their classic product. It's got a beautifully light texture and smooths onto skin to give a velvety finish. This is a definite makeup bag staple.
Blowout – Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer SPF 15 (€64)
Hourglass are known for their dreamy, lit-from-within highlighting powders, but their Veil Mineral Primer also gets my top marks. It earns it's painfully high price-point due to the gorgeous, fluid texture which softens fine lines and the appearance of enlarged pores. As a bonus it also repels moisture – so it's great at controlling shine throughout the day – perfect for your wedding day.
Foundation
Budget – Max Factor Ageless Elixir 2 in 1 Foundation (€17.99)
Foundation is the one product I recommend investing in for your wedding, as creating glowing, perfected skin is every bride's priority! The Max Factor Ageless Elixir foundation is formulated with a serum to plump up and moisturise the skin, so it has a really flattering, even finish. It has an SPF 15 to protect skin – but not enough to cause camera flashbask. Just make sure to do a trial with any foundation and setting powders with flash photography to make sure you're happy with the results.
Mid-Range - Armani Luminous Silk (€45)
This is a bridal makeup favourite for many makeup artists, and for good reason. This has been one of my favourite foundations for years because of its perfect combination of coverage and glow. It really leaves skin looking gorgeous and lit from within. A Holy Grail for many!
Blowout - Chantecaille Future Skin (€68)
I first heard of this foundation from Glamour's Beauty Director Alessandra Steinherr who is an absolute mine of information when it comes to all things beauty-related. It has a painful price-tag, so I apologise in advance for bringing it to your attention, but this is magic stuff. It's an oil free foundation with a light, gel consistency which glides over skin and leaves a perfecting veil of coverage. It really is impressive in its performance and longevity. Not one for everyday, but worth investing in for a special occasion.
Brightening Under Eye Concealer
Budget – Rimmel Match Perfection Under Eye Concealer (€7.99)
This has been a firm favourite for years – it matches much more expensive illuminating concealers in terms of coverage and performance – and gives a really long-lasting, perfect looking finish.
Blowout – Charlotte Tilbury Retoucher (€33)
This pen-concealer is utterly fabulous, particularly for the under-eye area. It has a wonderful texture that doesn't sit in fine lines and is great at evening out discolourations, with a non-cakey finish. I'm not a huge fan of her Magic pen, which gives a more obvious finish, this is seamless.
Concealer
Budget – Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (€8.99)
This is an excellent product, performing well above its price-point. It's a creamy, gel concealer which gives nice, even coverage.
Mid-Price - Clarins Instant Concealer (€26)
You only need a tiny dab of this creamy concealer to cover up any skin imperfections you might have. Despite its high level of coverage, it never looks obvious or settle into fine lines.
Blowout – Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer (€47)
This is the ultimate multi-purpose product. It can be used neat on the skin as a high-coverage concealer, as an all-over foundation, or mixed with other products to create a bespoke base. It really is excellent, which helps to cope with price, which won't see you get much change back from a €50 note! It can be a little difficult to work with due to the thick texture, but with a little practice you can create a really flawless finish. For a lighter, dewier look, mix it with your moisturiser or facial oil.
Powder
Budget - L'Oreal Paris Nude Magique BB Powder (€10.49)
If you're a fan of easily buildable, natural looking powder then this is a great pick! It gives a velvety matte finish that never looks too powdery, very impressive. It also layers well, perfect for touch-ups throughout the day.
Mid-range - Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Skin-Perfecting Micro-Powder (€42)
The name is a bit of a mouthful, but this gorgeous powder from Charlotte Tilbury lives up to its title – providing a flawless, mattified finish that is almost undetectable on the skin. It also feels like as air on the skin - genius.
Blowout – Hourglass Ambient Lighting Palette (€65)
Ok the price tag will make your bank balance wince, but this beautiful palette has three powders, so you're practically saving money, right?! There are three powders which create different finishes – Dim Light, a neutral beige, is lovely to set your foundation, while Incandescent Light highlights and Radiant Light adds a sun-kissed glow. Gorgeous stuff.
Lip Liner
Budget – NYX Lipliner in Peekaboo (€6)
This is a fantastic dupe for Charlotte Tilbury's amazing Pillowtalk, which was brought to my attention by the brilliant brow artist and makeup guru Kim O'Sullivan. It's a neutral pinky-toned lipliner that looks so natural and creates the illusion of fuller lips.
Blowout – Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat in Pillowtalk (€22)
It's almost four times more expensive, but Pillowtalk is worth the splurge if you are in the market for a really long-lasting neutral liner. It also provides an excellent base for many different lipsticks as it has such a natural look. An everyday staple in my makeup bag.
Lipstick
Budget – L'Oreal Colour Riche Collection Privee (€10.49)
This collection is really clever – containing six custom made nudes to suit a wide range of skin tones. They have a pretty, satin finish and are incredibly flattering – well worth a gander. I particularly love Julianne's nude, a lovely peachy pink.
Blowout – Kevyn Aucoin The Expert Lip Colour in Thelamdora (€34.50)
It's a lot to pay for a lipstick, but this perfect rosy nude shade from Kevyn Aucoin is hard to beat. More than any lipstick I own, it makes my lips instantly look plumper and fuller, and is the perfect match for my pale skin. Divine.
Mascara
Budget – Rimmel Volume Flash x 10 (€7.99)
There's little in the world of beauty that annoys me more than wimpy mascara that barely makes any improvement to my lashes. Luckily the Rimmel Volume Flash x 10 isn't such a mascara, and performs excellently well given it's price point – which will see you take home change from a tenner. It volumises and adds length with little fuss. The only trouble you may run into is clumping – but with a soft touch this can be avoided.
Mid-price – Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara (€14.49)
This is a seriously impressive mascara, giving bigger, bolder lashes with ease. The wand is slim and easy to use, with bristles that hug every last lash to provide instant volume and length. You don't need to work hard to get the false-lash effect. Top marks Max Factor!
Blow-out – Clinique High Lengths Mascara (€22.50)
I think this is my all-time favourite mascara. The brush may look a bit bonkers, but for me the curved slim shape beats bushy bristle brushes as it's much less messy and more precise. The formula of the mascara is lovely too – easily buildable to create dramatic, voluminous lashes, without having to put in lots of elbow grease. If this is ever discontinued I may cry.
Brow Product
Budget – Rimmel Professional Eye Brow Pencil (€4.79)
For less than the price of a pint in many bars, you can pick up this Rimmel brow pencil. This applies like a dream and lasts commendably well – extremely impressive given the low price-point.
Mid-Range – NYX Micro Brow Pencil (€10)
The dual-ended wand features a micro-kohl pencil on one end for filling in sparse brows, and a spoolie on the other to soften and groom the brows. I love the precision this tiny pencil offers, you can mimic hairs with soft strokes and the finish is very natural. This is one of my favourite way to cheat fuller brows, without looking like they've been drawn on!
Blowout – Charlotte Tilbury Brow Lift (€30)
The Brow Lift comes in three shades to suit light, medium and dark hair colours. I find the Cara D shade a good match for my dark brown hair, and love the triangular shaped pencil which is great for filling in brows in a hurry. It also contains a shimmery highlighting powder in the centre of the wand which is intended to be used under your brow arch, but I find is perfect for adding some light to the inner corner of the eyes. There's also a handy spoolie brush for combing through the brows and to ensure the product isn't too harshly distributed.
Contour/Highlight
Budget – Rimmel Sculpting Palette (€8.99)
This lovely palette from Rimmel comes in two colourways for different skin tones – Coral Glow and Golden Bronze. I have found Coral Glow a lovely match for my pale skin, containing a subtle champagne highlight, a pretty coral-pink blush and a pale sculpt shade that has a hint of shimmer. The powders are all creamy and easily blended to create a natural but contoured finish.
Blowout – Charlotte Tilbury Bronze and Glow (€65)
If you don't mind pushing the boat out, you'd be hard pressed to beat the Charlotte Tilbury Bronze and Glow. This delectable gold palette contains two highly flattering powders to shade and illuminate the skin. The bronze shade is not too warm so it's well suited to paler skin tones, while the glow shade provides a gorgeous soft focus to skin. As Charlotte herself says, it's like dripping your skin in candlelight, and we can't argue!
For more amazing fashion tips and tricks, check out RTÉ LifeStyle's Instagram.
