Professional prettiness

One of my many appointments in the Outer Banks next week is a makeup trial. Like most gals, I'll probably go for the "me just more" look at our wedding, but I'm looking forward to "playing makeup" with a pro. Makeup is fun for me... in college I was a nerdy Honors Program student and Senate intern by day and top-selling makeup/skincare guru by night. It was a great release, actually, a way to shut off the more serious things flowing through my brain and be creative (kind of like this wedding blog compared with my neglected politics blog, hmmm...).

My fave products these days? A healthy mix of Nars, Benefit, Stila, and Laura Mercier. I'm a sucker for lip gloss, shimmery potions, and anything that makes green eyes pop. Here are a couple of ideas I have going into the trial run:

• Red lips? Normally I'm a berry girl, but the vintage vibe of our wedding has me curious to try red lips. Not dramatic dark red, but more of a sheer red, paired with bright skin and low-key eyes. (Moment of silence for my favorite discontinued red, please... Laura Mercier's Just Lips) We'll see what the pro says.
  
  
• Eyelashes. I have pathetic lashes. Trevor doesn't have lashes, either, so our kids are screwed. At any rate, I was considering doing lash extensions, but Our Fair Economy is pushing fakies the day-of as a more viable alternative.
  
  
• Looking like I have makeup on. The primary reason I wanted to hire someone to do my makeup was because on that day, I don't want to stress out over it myself. While I do have fun with makeup, I don't want that kind of pressure on my wedding day (also, I'll need a free hand for mimosas, helloooooo). My biggest complaint with my own "special event" makeup is that every time I see photos of myself when I know I spent a considerable amount of time getting ready, it still looks like I have nothing on my face. My hand is way too light; my hatred of too much makeup runs too deep. So I just need to put the power in someone else's hands. And don't bother talking to me about primers, either - I own three different brands, and still look like I'm bare-skinned. (Waaay back on prom night, my mom actually sent me back inside to apply more makeup... twice. Ironic, then, that I ended up getting paid to do other people's makeup, isn't it?)
  
  
• SKIN! I'm a big fan of skincare and the rule that if you invest more in your skin, you can invest less in your makeup. Since our wedding is outside at the beach, this will most definitely be a sheer, sunkissed, freckled, glowing kind of celebration. Which reminds me: sunscreen. I'll leave that for the next beauty-related post.
  

For more wedding-related makeup chatter, check out the great column over at Weddingbee PRO by Laura Nadeau. A makeup artist herself, "Lo" has the best day-of makeup tips, including posts on red lips and fake lashes. Her how-to video on applying fake lashes is great.