Simply Your Best! Essential Make Up Tips For Mature Brides

Are you a mature bride getting ready for your big day? Congratulations! Your wedding day is a celebration of love and new beginnings, and it’s important that you feel confident and beautiful on this special occasion. 

Whether you have decided to tie the knot for the second time or simply found your soulmate later in life, all that matters is you get to say “I do!” In the end, it’s all about boldly embracing your age, isn’t it? So, don’t try to hide those beautiful laugh lines or crow’s feet – they tell the story of a life well-lived.

You’re getting married and you probably don’t need to do a thing to make your partner happy on this special day except to be there —and, I might add, be there as yourself. Your spouse doesn’t want to see a new hair colour that wasn’t there yesterday or a style he has never seen you wear. 

However, if you are a mature bride, perhaps middling or on the other side of 50, just wondering how to confidently enhance your natural beauty and feel your absolute best on your big day, a few more considerations may go into your ‘presentation’ for this ceremony, especially if you’d prefer to do it by yourself.

Start your preparations as early as possible 

You’ve probably noticed—it sometimes takes a little longer to feel pulled together beautifully when we’re a little older. That’s why for this wonderful event in your life, planning is a good idea.

So, before starting to delve into any colour palette, it would be useful to ask yourself a couple of questions or two.

Such as:

• What colours are you wearing? 
• How is your skin looking/feeling—do you need to do any special prep for photographs or videos? 
• Will the ceremony be daytime or evening?
• What about the lighting?

These might seem like little details for those who are not professional make-up artists but indeed they are crucial if you want to look great on your wedding day.

Reboot your complexion for your big day

The secret to concealing imperfections is actually before you even start putting on any makeup. A good beauty regime is key to radiant skin (not just occasionally for a wedding). 

So, if you can afford it, go to a beauty salon and book a series of facials. I’d suggest a good moisturizing facial a week or two ahead of time (as we age, we tend to have drier complexions and makeup always looks better on moist skin). Otherwise opt for a daily home regime of cleansing, exfoliating and moisturising which will improve the texture of your skin and invest in one of those microcurrent facial tonic devices to improve elasticity. Apparently, Kim Kardashian, Kate Hudson, Kim Bassinger, Elle McPherson, and Goldie Hawn, can’t live without it.

To plump up any little stray lines or wrinkles and give your skin a nice, healthy, moist glow, I also recommend a deep moisturizing mask the night before.

Practice with your wedding make-up in advance

I had the honour of doing bridal makeup for my good friend Lynn recently, who got married for the first time in her 50s. I kept it natural adding a little bit of 24 kt silver sparkle on her decolletage and shoulders. I also added a lovely shine to her cheekbones using bronzer and a little touch of gold on her eyelids. 

Lynn was glowing with beauty and joy. But she was still herself—and that was the best wedding gift I could give her, and I hope you can achieve it also.

Suppose you are a confident and mature bride and prefer to do it all by yourself, in that case, I’d suggest you start to play at home with brushes and colours and practice your wedding make-up look well in advance – at least a couple of times before the wedding day, especially if you usually don’t wear makeup much. 

Also, I’d encourage you to follow your usual makeup routine for the best results —perhaps adapting party makeup for an evening ceremony and also taking pictures of yourself after each application to see how well your face looks in the photo.

However, If you’re unsure of how you want to look, booking at least a makeup session with an expert will guarantee you to be fully on board. Show the makeup artist your favourite personal shoots or pictures from those magazines that inspire you. He or she knows how to make you look natural and also will be able to guide you through trends adapting them on you so that you’ll still look fresh in the wedding photo album but, in coming years, won’t look dated.

Last but not least, don’t forget to have a run-through for hair and makeup so that you’re happy with the total wedding look. 

On the wedding day: bright and shine!

For the big day, nothing can beat a clean face, a great serum, and a great primer to minimize creasing and fading as the best start.  I recommend having your hair done first so you don’t overheat from drying/styling tools. You don’t want this to affect your makeup. Also, have a little water before the dress goes on!

Start with applying a good moisturizer followed by a light mineral foundation or a tinted hyaluronic serum to match your complexion and then use a mineral powder on top to achieve a great, even, smooth skin. Choose a lightweight formula that won’t settle into fine lines, and opt for soft, neutral tones that complement your skin tone.

When it comes to eye makeup, the winning palette depends on your skin tone, eye colour, and dress or outfit. In general terms, I wouldn’t go for anything too different or vibrant than you usually wear. You can experiment with different eyeshadow shades to find ones that enhance your eye colour and make them pop, however, you’d never go wrong sticking with muted shades.

If you’re concerned about under-eye bags and heavy eyelids, don’t worry: if you have a good foundation, a concealer is usually unnecessary. However, if you need one, lightly use an eye-brightener or light-enhancing concealer.

And for droopy or (heavy-seeming folds) in the eyelid, distract the viewer: a properly placed contour does the trick. 

The key to any contour look is to use dark and light tones to create contrast. It involves applying a matte, light-coloured eyeshadow to the centre of your eyelid and blending it up towards the brow bone. Then, use a darker shade to the outer corner of the eye and blend it into the crease. This creates the illusion of a lifted, more open eye.

Of course, never underestimate the power of waterproof mascara combined with eyeliner. But in this case, in order to avoid a too-harsh line, I’d blend and soften it with a pencil or even eye shadow for the big day to give your eyes that extra sparkle. 

Another good trick to lighten your hooded eyes is using a shimmery highlighter on the inner corners of your eyes to brighten and open them up.

Once done, finish your look with a light powder and either bronze or blusher to give your face definition (especially if you want to look gorgeous in the photographs/videos). 

Last but not least, don’t forget to wear moisturising lipstick, it will give your overall makeup a more youthful vibe while disguising lip wrinkles. Just keep in mind that these types of lipsticks might not last as long as matte ones, so make sure you’ve got a solid lip liner to keep your pout looking lovely throughout the day.

Remember, your wedding day is a celebration of joy. There are no rules that say mature brides have to look a certain way. After all, it’s your day and you get to decide what makes you feel your best, but with these essential makeup tips, I’m sure you can effortlessly embrace your age and radiate confidence on your special day.

Need some inspiration? Check Deborah’s make-up tutorial videos, book a consultation or read  ‘The Grace Factor,’ the 100-page book available on Amazon and other outlets.

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