Beauty Preparation for a Hen Do Abroad

Hen Do's are becoming more and more lavish, gone are the days of the hen-do being thrown the night before the wedding. These days hens can take place weeks before the wedding, are several days long and often abroad. 

I recently had my Hen Do in Valencia, 2 months ahead of my wedding, and decided to share my pre-hen beauty regime:

Hair

I get my hair highlighted regularly so my hair routine didn't really change ahead of my hen. It is really important to work out timings ahead of your hen/wedding, for example I timed my hair so that I was due a colour just before the hen and have already booked in my next 2 colours so that my hair will be looking at its best for the wedding in a couple of months time. I would strongly suggest that you avoid making any drastic changes to your hair as your wedding draws closer, if you are thinking of making a change you should do it well in advance of the wedding.

Skin

With a hen do abroad I didn't want to feel like I needed to wear full make-up in the daytime heat, therefore I wanted to ensure my skin looked flawless with minimal make-up. As someone who has very oily, spot-prone skin I needed to up my cleansing and moisturising ahead of the hen. I have particularly been loving the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm for daily use and the Moringa Renewal Treatment Mask for a more intense treatment. When in Valencia I found the Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue a must for the daytime and BarePro foundation for the evenings for it's long lasting power!

Eyelashes

As mentioned I don't like to wear a full face of make up when I am abroad so having eyelash extensions is a great way of feeling 'done up' even without make up. I chose to have Russian Lash Extensions by the fabulous Daxita at AthertonCox Hair Salon. They looked fabulous during the day with very little make-up and also in the evenings when I had eye make-up applied. Daxita was brilliant and the treatment only took 1 hour for a full-set of Russian Lashes, usually this would take 2-3 hours! I will definitely be wanting eyelash extensions for my wedding day too!

Tan

For a long weekend we knew we wouldn't have much tanning time so to get that bronzed look I booked in a spray tan. It is important to work out the timings of when is best to tan, particularly with false eyelashes. My tan was booked in for the day after my lash extension so that the lash products didn't remove my tan. I felt much more confident getting into a (white!) bikini with my spray tan, although you still need to be very careful about tan-lines...think of how that will look in your wedding dress! 

Are there any other beauty treatments that you would use ahead of a hen abroad?

Sophie

xoxo

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

The Negatives of Planning a Wedding

Everyone talks about about the positives of planning a wedding, yes it is an exciting time, but it can also be incredibly stressful. Here are some of the negatives but also some planning advice!

Book: Rock My Wedding - Charlotte O'Shea 

Finances

Weddings are expensive! It can feel like adding the word 'wedding' to an item automatically bumps up the cost. Planning a wedding is likely to be the first time you have done any sort of event planning so make sure you shop around to get the best price!

Guest List

Choosing your guest list is actually very tricky! Who gets plus ones, are you inviting children, are you inviting people you have never met, what about evening guests? There are so many decisions and it's tough not to offend anyone! Set some ground rules for who gets an invite and remember that it is your special day so it is your decision!

Wedding Party

This is another one that sounds easy until you actually need to make a decision. How many bridesmaids do you want? Lots of bridesmaids might look too much in photos and can also be expensive, (also establish whether it is you or your bridesmaids paying for their dress, shoes, make up etc!) Is your best man comfortable with delivering a speech? Remember asking someone to be best man/maid of honour comes with a lot of responsibility so it's important to choose the right person! and not someone with whom it will feel like a burden!

Theme

Even if you are not having a theme as such, you will still have colour scheme, your venue will influence your style of dress and your wedding stationery will follow a theme. It is important to give this some thought as you will want the wedding to flow beautifully and your 'theme' to follow through the day.

Table Plan

Once you have selected your guest list and sent out your invites you still have some tough decisions to make when it comes to the seating plan. Unless you are very fortunate there is bound to be some politics between your friends and family so selecting who sits where can be challenging. Try to avoid any awkward encounters as best you can but remember that everyone is there for you so should be able to put their issues aside for the day.

Gifts

Some people can be a bit funny about gift lists preferring to choose their present themselves. Try not to let this deter you from creating a gift list or asking for money, most people will really appreciate the help and would prefer to give you something they know that you would like.


Hopefully planning your wedding isn't too stressful, it is totally normal to have a few disagreements so try to not panic! My biggest piece of advice would be to remember the purpose of the day is to marry the love of your life, everything else is just detail (important detail but not the be all and end all)!

Be My Bride
xoxo

Bobbi Brown Bridal Week

How To Do My Wedding Make Up

Choosing your Bridal Make-Up is a really huge decision, you want to be look fabulous for your big day but at the same time still feel like you! The Bobbi Brown Bridal Week was a fantastic opportunity to pick up tips on "How To Do My Wedding Make Up" with one the Bobbi Brown Pro Artists.

Amalie and Eleni were on hand at the Bobbi Brown Soho Studio to create a beautiful bridal look and share their tips for the big day.

Skin Prep

Preparing the skin for your wedding make-up is key. As someone who suffers with oily skin, moisturising has sometimes been a step I've felt I could skip, but this is actually a crucial stage because without it the skin will produce more oil to overcompensate. 

First up, it is important to cleanse and tone using the Hydrating Face Tonic to remove any excess oil/dirt. After this we used the Bobbi Brown Face Base, which is oil free, all over the face. Bobbi Brown Skin Smoothing Pore Perfector was then applied to the T-Zone. Following cleansing, toning and moisturising the skin texture should be like a plump cushion.

Colour and Set

After the skin has been prepped it is time to apply concealer and foundation. For a bridal look I want a flawless finish so a peachy pink corrector is used to lift dark circles, while a concealer to match my skin tone is used to cover blemishes. The Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Even Finish Foundation is used to create a flawless base. The Sheer Finish Pressed Powder is then applied to the T-Zone and the Re-Touching Loose Powder is applied all over, creating a dewy glow. Bronzer is applied to the areas of my face that the sun would naturally hit and then a pink blush is added to the apples of my cheeks.

Dramatic Eyes

For my Bridal make-up I want my eye make up to be slightly heavier than usual to show up on camera, to create this look a neutral colour is used on the lids with eye-liner creating a dramatic feature. When applying liner you should start from the outside, this will structure it and accentuate the eye shape. We used a lighter shimmery tone of shadow on the base with a slightly darker matte tone on the crease, then a gel liner is used on the eyelash roots to mimic a thick lash look. When it comes to applying mascara, for a bridal look we used 2 mascaras to create more impact, first the Bobbi Brown Eye Opening Mascara is used to build the lashes and then Bobbi Brown No Smudge Mascara is used to build a "raincoat for the eyes" - something which is essential for those happy wedding tears!

Kissable Lips

Let's face it on your wedding day your lips needs to be looking perfect for kisses! To create kissable lips we used the Nourishing Lip Colour in the shade blush, to create full lips a lip pencil should be used after applying lipstick to define the shape of the lips. 

And for the finished look....

Would you do you own wedding make up?

Be My Bride
xoxo