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Indian Bridal Makeup Tips

Bridal makeup isn’t one of the highest wedding-related search keywords on Google for nothing—it’s only one of the most important decisions you take for one of the biggest milestones of your life. While it’s clear that your bridal lehenga or gown is a top priority for when you go shopping, it helps to remember that the outfit is guaranteed to look as good on your wedding day as it did at your fittings, but your makeup is a whole other ball game. You have to be able to trust in either your own skills or pick the right makeup artist, who is able to translate your exact vision onto your face for one of the most photographed days in your life. Here, we put together a complete guide of all things bridal makeup, from how to pick the perfect artist, the best trends of the moment, and all the care you need to indulge your skin into prep it for freshest glow ever.

What makes wedding makeup different from makeup for other events?

Wedding makeup needs to check off certain boxes: it should reflect your personality; complement your outfit; make you look like yourself, but accentuated, as opposed to like a whole other person; and most importantly, not budge throughout the ceremony.

While your lightweight foundation might do the trick for a weekend night out or a family dinner party, your wedding makeup will need to provide you with a lot more coverage. You’ll need to make sure your concealer manages to mask all those pesky dark circles, so you don’t look tired on your wedding day.

Your lipstick will need to be super pigmented, and not simply swiped on your lips—you’ll need to buff away dry flakes, prime with a little dab of foundation, then go in with a lip pencil for a base and then apply at least two coats of color to make sure it stays through all the smiles. In case you ever wondered why wedding makeup takes so long to do, there’s your answer. Most importantly, your wedding makeup needs to either be more intense than your usual makeup, or an elevated version of what you usually do, with longer-lasting, fuller-coverage products.

What are the different kinds of Indian bridal makeup?

Indian bridal makeup is hardly one look fits all; the sheer number of cultures within our country call for different looks for every type of wedding. While many Indian brides tend to play up their eye makeup with thick kohl and eyeshadow and swipe a pink or red hue on their lips to finish off, there are multiple variations you can create with these products. Let us give you a quick download of some of the most popular ones.

While Bengali brides love accentuating their eyes, they also have intricate forehead art in white and red colors using sandalwood paste, as part of their wedding makeup. South Indian brides opt for minimal makeup, but always adorn their crown and the length of their hair with real flowers. They also often opt for stick-on jewels to highlight their features. Punjabi and Sikh brides, more often than not, choose smoky, kohl-rimmed eyes with dramatic lashes, and go with soft pink hues for the rest of their face. Muslim brides usually opt for similar wedding makeup too. Maharashtrian brides like to keep it simple as well, with even skin, kohl on their upper and lower lash lines, and a bright red lip—not taking any attention away from their ornate nose pin. Christian Indian brides will go for fresh-faced makeup, with pearlescent eyeshadow and pink lips and an updo to support their veil.

What are the biggest trends right now, according to bridal makeup artists?

It’s absolutely essential that your bridal makeup artist is aware of the current trends in the industry, and makes sure you look your best on your wedding day. We got some of the best celebrity makeup artists in the country, who also create a bridal makeup look for your favorite actors, to give us their take on the coolest bridal makeup trends of the moment.

“One of the most desired looks right now is monochromatic makeup in neutral tones. Tones of peaches and cream with flawless skin and really clean eyes, just mascara, and a soft mouth are trending at the moment.” – Puneet B Saini “Today’s brides are glamorous but still want to look real, as opposed to a painted doll. Highlight your eyes; dark lips are completely passé as they can add age to your face. Ditch the eyeliner and opt for a soft, brown eyeshadow on your upper and lower lash line—minimalism is the key. Instead of heavy eyelashes, pick individual lashes that look regal yet soft. Soft, muted lip colors in nude pinks and corals are a rage at the moment.” – Ojas Rajani “Clean minimal makeup is the way to go. Makeup is not to change your skin tone, it’s to even it out. If there’s one big rule to makeup on your big day, it’s to not cake up your face with products. Opt for glowy, dewy skin and with the winter coming up, a red lip looks beautiful.” – Vardan Nayak

How can you pair your bridal makeup with your outfit?

If there’s one thing you’ll keep in mind for your bridal makeup, it’s balance. When you’re an Indian bride, it’s likely that your parents, friends, sisters, and every other relative you have, have an opinion on every part of your bridal look—whether it’s your outfit, jewelry, makeup, hairstyle or shoes. What you need to make sure here is that everything is complimentary, as opposed to fighting to cancel each other out.

Ensure that your bridal makeup adds to your outfit, not overshadows it. If you’re wearing muted tones for your clothes, picking a bright red or pink lipstick might not be the best call. Instead, pick a darker hue from the same color family, and accentuate your eyes with a dramatic eyeliner. If you’re wearing solid colors like a black or a dark blue, play up either your eyes or your lips—you don’t want very dark makeup to make you look dull either.

Simplifying bridal eye makeup

Bridal eye makeup can be very tricky. Too much can make you look tired or garish, while too little can be underwhelming. If you’d like to keep the attention at your eyes, incorporate features like a winged eye or a dark smoky look and false eyelashes into your bridal eye makeup. If you prefer a bold lip, go easy on your eye makeup and opt for brown hues as opposed to black, highlight the inner corners of your eyes to make them look wider, and add individual long lashes as opposed to thick sets. If you’re adding glitter to your bridal eye makeup, make sure you don’t overdo the dewy finish of your skin with the highlighter, so that your face doesn’t look like a shiny disco ball.

What should you keep in mind when picking a bridal makeup artist?

Before you zero in on your bridal makeup artist, make sure you check these boxes prior to your big day.

Refer to Instagram and listicles online for the best in the biz, but also ask around for personal referrals. Maybe your best friend’s cousin’s bridal makeup artist is the one for you. Know what you want on your big day. Have a rough idea before the first preliminary meeting with your bridal makeup artist, but allow them the space to tell you what their own vision is too. Get a makeup trial if possible. Once you’ve had a look at their portfolio of work and believe that they could be a good fit, get a basic trial. This will ensure that you’re not in for any surprises on your wedding day. Make sure they pay attention to your skin. Speak to your bridal makeup artist about any treatments they might need you to undergo before your wedding, to help prep your skin for a flawless look.

Should you or should you not go for bridal facials pre-wedding?

Pick up any dermatologist’s brochure or look at any of their ads in a newspaper, and you’ll find them advertising bridal packages with bridal facials topping the list. Many brides-to-be tend to sign up for packages without knowing the actual needs of their skin because they believe that they simply must.

Bridal facials form a very important aspect of bridal skin care.  When done by trained therapists, they can help the skin to tone, firm, and rejuvenate. This helps in better circulation of blood, thereby giving a refreshed look to the face. However, you shouldn’t try a new treatment too close to your wedding day, as it can cause a flare-up that can take time to rectify. And while bridal facials are important, they don’t exactly work by themselves. It’s important to put in a skin routine along with facials—just a facial done once in a while would be more like a blow-dry.  It’s important for you to take care of not just that instant glow, which will only last you for maybe three to seven days, or a maximum of 10 days. [But] if you support it with a skincare routine at home, that’s when you get the results of a good facial.

But too much of nothing is a good thing.  We don’t advise frequent facials. Instead, we suggest a series of corrective treatments over a few months for a long-lasting glow.

Indian Bridal Makeup Tips images to pin on your board

Vision boards are made to help you turn your ideas to reality. Pick from these bridal makeup images and pin them on your online inspiration board, so you’re always sure of what you want—and remember to make changes in case you alter your outfit.