Liz's Big Day......

Liz's Big Day... Words by Miss Rose Gold @ GS Pro Team

When I first met Liz at her trial, I knew she was going to be great to collaborate with. As prepared as a bride can be, Liz had brought photos of her dress and had her jewellery with her for reference. She wore makeup to arrive at her trial, so as to give me an idea of how she likes to look on a day to day basis. A huge help to the artist when creating a look that feels true to the bride!

Liz had previously had a trial that did not go as well as she had hoped, so our initial chat was very important. Liz talked me through the details of the look she was trying to achieve and was confident that she wanted her thick blonde hair down in waves. To make her hair stand out – Liz had brought a beautiful jewelled hair comb with pastel tones that we needed to incorporate in to the style. With a good chat and sharing of ideas under our belt – we were ready to get started.

As lucky Liz has such lovely long and thick hair, it was important to add plenty of product to the hair and curl it in sections. I used the DIVA hair tongs for a natural wave, which get up to 210 degrees, then set the hair in a curl with a clip. Once this was all done, we could begin with the makeup and leave the hair to cool in its shape ready for styling!

As Liz was getting married in June when the weather can be hot, it was important to prep Liz’s skin thoroughly. I used a Lancome cleanser, Pixi Glow Tonic toner and then applied Colbert MD Nurify and Protect moisturiser with light massage movements to lift the skin and prep for makeup. The Hourglass primer in Ambient Light was then worked in to the skin to ensure the makeup would last all day.

Liz has a beautiful complexion and wanted a medium coverage for her wedding day – a great choice for longevity and looks fab in the photos. We made a note that Liz might have more of a suntan on the day of her wedding, which she did, so we just added a slightly darker shade into the mix to create a bespoke colour. At Liz’s trial, I used Double Wear by Estee Lauder in Desert Beige for a glowing and even coverage. On the wedding day, we added a few drops of Tawny to deepen the colour. I used liquid highlighter in shade Opal by Becca to the cheekbones and patted in with my fingers for a natural highlight.

As Liz is fair, we needed to slightly darken her natural eyebrow shade to help frame her face. I used Dipbrow in Blonde by Anastasia Beverly Hills which was flicked through the brows to create a natural look. To make Liz’s eyes sparkle, and to tie in with her beautiful iridescent wedding dress, I opted for a cream shadow over a powder. Makeup Forever’s Aqua Cream in shade 16 is a pretty, pearly pink and worked perfectly. I then added a single coat of Max Factor 2000 calorie waterproof mascara to Liz’s lashes before layering small and medium individual lash extensions. A further coat of mascara was added after the lash glue had dried to blend everything together. The lashes looked so gorgeous against the shimmery eyelid and really made Liz’s eyes pop. Afterwards, we softened a line of Illamsqua black liquid liner along the upper lash line with Mac’s carbon eye shadow.

For the cheeks, Liz had prepared me - she likes lots of blusher! So together we chose a unique blend of Mac cream blushers in shades Posey & Lazy Sunday. The cream blend looked lovely and fresh and the texture tied in perfectly with the creamy textures used on the eyes. For lips, we lined Liz’s mouth with Mac Hip n’ Happy liner and then tried Mac’s Patisserie & Please Me lipsticks. On the wedding day, Liz introduced a new lipstick shade Ballet Pink by Bobbi Brown. We tested out a few colour combinations on my hand and went for a blend of Ballet Pink & Patisserie, which had a nude look with a hint of pink. A slick of lipgloss in Bare by HD Brows and Liz was nearly ready to walk down the aisle.

Our final step on the big day was to style Liz’s hair. We let the waves tumble out and then layered the hair with Schwarzkopf Professional Silhouette hairspray. We added a deep parting and sectioned off the back of the hair in an angle to create a space for her hair slide that would also support its weight. After pinning the hair in place, we pulled out a few strands at the back to loosen up the style. A large section at the front of Liz’s hair was kept loose and then re-curled for added bounce.

After Liz had a glass of bubbles and exchanged gifts with her bridesmaids, we added a touch of Tom Ford bronzer in Sahara Dusk to build a soft contour and a few pats of Mac’s Frost eye shadow to her brow bone and cheeks for extra glow.

Liz was a dream to work with; I really hope we achieved her vision ☺ xxx