Your wedding day is one of the most significant moments of your life, and every bride dreams of looking radiant and glowing as she walks down the aisle. Achieving that flawless complexion doesn’t happen overnight; it requires a well-thought-out skincare routine months in advance. According to expert makeup artist Jennifer Miranda of Jenny Makeup Land, following these exact steps will guarantee you gorgeous, luscious skin. Jennifer has also shared her list of favorite products to help you achieve that perfect bridal glow.
MEET THE EXPERT
Jennifer Miranda, the founder of Jenny Makeup Land, established her company more than ten years ago. Her keen aesthetic sense and relaxed personality quickly turned her into a national reference in the wedding industry.
Offering a modern but classic aesthetic and providing a stress-free, caring, and luxurious experience for brides, Jennifer’s company has gained a reputation as a leading name in the Portuguese industry. Recognizing the significance of weddings, the team takes pride and respect in being part of this milestone, with their ultimate goal being to ensure every bride feels beautiful and confident on her big day.
Makeup and skincare go hand in hand when you’re aiming for the best makeup results. It is especially important as you prepare for your wedding day. Establishing a skincare routine and working on it ideally six months before your big day is a good idea. Your routine doesn’t have to be complicated, but it’s important to be consistent and follow essential bridal skincare steps. Here’s what Jennifer would define an ideal skincare routine before the wedding:
STEP 1: Cleansing
Cleansing the skin may be one of the most underrated bridal skincare steps. Without proper cleansing, your lovely skincare products don’t even stand a chance to work their magic. You should cleanse your skin every day with a formula suitable for your needs; we’d even like to go further: you should double cleanse your skin every day, even when you didn’t put on any makeup.
In short, double cleansing is a two-step process involving a first cleanse with an oil-based formula, followed by a second cleanser with a gel or a foaming formula, that will rinse everything out. There’s no pollution particle, leftover sunscreen, or makeup residue that will live past a double cleanse, and those are the odds we like to have on our side when it comes to cleansing.
STEP 2: Exfoliating
The previous step ensures that no outsider particles stay chilling on our skin; in this step, we’re ensuring that overly dead skin cells find their way out. Dead skin cells are part of the stratum corneum, the first layer of the epidermis, and we need them for a proper barrier function. However, if dead skin cells don’t get the gentle assistance of an exfoliant, they may overstay their welcome, and that results in dull-looking, uneven-textured skin for you. Unlike the previous step, cleansing, this should not be an everyday step. Most skin types do well exfoliating once or twice a week.
TIP: If you'd like to be extra gentle, make sure you find a chemical exfoliant, like lactic acid, for example, and there are no rubbing physical particles involved in the process!
STEP 3: Face Hydration
Whether your skin is oily, dry, or a combination of the two, you’ll need to provide it with basic hydration. Hydrated skin is the best host for makeup! When the skin doesn’t find the hydration it needs with skincare, it’ll drain the makeup and leave nothing but pigment sitting on your skin. Ever wonder why the makeup looks patchy or cakey? That’s probably because there was not enough hydration to support the beauty drama you’re layering on top of your skin.
Find a texture that you like that is aligned with the ingredients your skin needs. To find the right formula for you, you may need professional assistance. Your skin will pay you off by being happy, radiant, and healthy!
STEP 4: Eye Cream
The skin around the eyes moves more than we give it credit for. With our eyes blinking more than 10,000 times a day, with some smiling action involved in the middle, the skin around the eyes just follows the lead. It’s around the eyes that you’ll find the first signs of aging, and this area tends to crease more. The power on your side is to provide the skin around the eyes with all the hydration it needs. Find yourself a good nourishing and hydrating eye cream, and prep the skin around the eyes.
STEP 5: Sunscreen
This step should always be there, with or without a wedding in sight. Sunscreen shields your skin from external aggressions and prevents sunburn and premature signs of aging. Without any exaggeration, this should be the priority in your skincare routine. If there’s nothing else you’d be willing to do, then stick with sunscreen and make sure to apply the recommended amount.
STEP 6: Face Masking
Once your skin is free from potentially disturbing particles and over-dead skin cells, it’s time to play your finest cards. In the skincare world, we’d say the upper hand is the face mask! As it happens for most bridal skincare steps, you’d need to choose a formula tailored to your needs. If your skin is prone to dehydration, you may find your best self after a hydrating mask. You’ll also find available formulas that erase signs of fatigue or even masks that contribute to firmer and smoother skin. Call the mirror for a consultation and find what your skin needs!
TIP: Here, you may choose leave-in, rinsing-off as well as sheet mask formulas. All of them have a place in your bridal skincare routine if combined wisely!
STEP 7: Lip Balms
Your lips are made of thinner, structurally different tissue compared to the face’s skin. With a thinner protective layer, water tends to leave your lips never to return, leaving lots of lovely faces with permanently dry and peeling lips. To counteract this phenomenon, you need to care for the lips with love. And the love language your lips understand is pretty simple: lip balm. Lip balms deliver hydration while creating a film that locks in moisture. In return, you’ll have plumper and softer lips!
The sky is the limit when it comes to the number of lip balm applications daily. Apply it before makeup, before bed, and throughout the day when you feel dry lips. Winter is a particularly tough season, so don’t be shy about layering up!
Favorites
When it comes to a bridal skincare routine, it’s important to keep in mind that results are gradual and take their sweet time to show. Once you find the right combination for you and consistently apply the formulas, you’ll see how it improves the overall appearance of your skin and enhances your makeup results. To elevate your experience, here are our favorite skincare products:
OSKIA
Renaissance Cleansing Gel
The cult and original gel-to-oil cleanser. Melts beautifully into skin to quickly and gently remove impurities and makeup while actively illuminating and nourishing to reveal balanced, clean, fresh, radiant skin that feels soft and smooth. Wonderfully rich in vitamins and enzymes.
DIOR PRESTIGE
Le Sucre de Gommage
The Dior Prestige face and lip scrub with sugar micro-crystals for gentle skin exfoliation and luxurious experience. As the massage takes effect, the exfoliant’s delightful texture transforms into a nourishing mask, enhancing the skin with a texture that is rich in oils, waxes and butters to deliver nourishment and comfort.
OSKIA
Isotonic Hydra-Serum
A technical take on skin hydration, this hydrating serum infuses instant and long-term cellular hydration to quench thirsty skin and bio-hacks the skin to produce and regulate its own hydration. This serum also offers anti-inflammatories to calm and contains ceramides to strengthen the skin’s barrier function.
CHARLOTTE TILBURY
Charlotte's Magic Cream
Miracle moisturizer with cushion and lift mesh technology that smooths, firms, plumps, and primes the look of skin in one step. Clinically proven to help boost your skin barrier. If you have oily skin, Magic Water Cream will work perfectly for you.
SISLEY
Black Rose Cream Mask
The Black Rose Cream Mask offers the skin the look of “instant youth”. Rich in anti-aging ingredients, it immediately works on diminishing signs of fatigue and leaves the skin looking more youthful and energized.
CHARLOTTE TILBURY
Instant Magic Facial Dry Sheet Mask
Textile mask with ingredient vectors that stay dry for mess-free masking. It is rich in natural vitamins and fatty acids to help nourish and moisturize the skin.
DIOR
Addict Lip Glow
A unique formula made with natural-origin ingredients infused with cherry oil and shades to suit all skin tones, the essential Dior Addict Lip Glow lip balm has been reinvented with an as-always sensorial texture for lips that are both beautified and protected from dryness.
ELIZABETH ARDEN
Eight Hour Cream
ISDIN
Fotoultra100 Spot Prevent SPF 50+
The daily sunscreen with very high UVA/UVB protection that helps prevent the appearance of sun spots on the skin. It contains ingredients with antioxidant action and has a light texture that is quickly absorbed.
