Makeup University Inc: THE KNOT brides wanted to know, so why not you too!

Hi, I was just writing some bridal beauty answers for THE KNOT brides and figured it was something that everyone could use. Enjoy!

What’s a good trick for keeping your face from getting oily in the heat of summer?

Humid areas: apply a mattifying lotion: the best is Peter Thomas Roth MAX Anti shine gel. You can get it at Sephora, there are other brands, though this is the one I use most in film and television plus on my brides and it will last through humidity. For our shiny brides, with their full face of makeup on including mattifying lotion, the key is to BLOT the face with tissue, or kleenex or preferably a toilet seat cover...yes, toilet seat cover and even the stuff coming out of the top of gift bags. Take a piece, press onto the skin, lift up, press again till the tissue no longer shows a mark of oil. It is better to blot repeatedly to control shine versus layering on more powder.

Any tips for choosing a foundation shade? (For brides that usually don’t wear it.) In my book Bridal Style DIY "How to take control of your wedding day beauty" available on Amazon I have what's called the "Wet'n'Wild" bride. An entire wedding day photo ready face for $20! Our budget conscious brides who don't own foundation and don't plan on ever owning it after the wedding need to visit Sephora, or the cosmetic counter at the department store and get color matched by the staff artist, and take home a sample. Sephora gives a generous sample and it is enough for the wedding day plus some!

Here's the key for our do it yourself brides: where the same color shirt to the makeup counter as the color of your dress and then make sure to check the shade in sunlight or lighting similar to the time of the wedding so there are no surprises.

Can a bride simply use her regular makeup? If she can’t splurge for the whole deal, but want to do it herself, what is the most important product to purchase?

Yes! A bride can use her own makeup! I know that most women have the shades she needs in her cosmetic bag right now. The shadows need to be matte to photograph best, a stain for lips and cheeks will make all the difference for longevity on the face, and the most important makeup tip for the wedding day is amazing skin.

There is only so much makeup can do. True, good foundation helps. I like ERA Classified Cosmetics or Laura Mercier, plus the L'Oreal True Match is good too! But the skin! It makes all the difference in photos for of a lifetime to have well exfoliated hydrated plump healthy skin!

Start several weeks before the wedding preparing your skin with facials, exfoliation and good hydration from a moisturizer. Add some anti-aging serums and you are really in business for amazing photos.

These can be at home treatments with drugstore products or trips to the aesthetician. As a personal favorite item for the wedding day, I highly suggest the bride buy a "signature lipstick". Pick a color that marks the day, and can be used as a memory touch stone during the marriage. Maybe it's only used on anniversaries or special date nights, but the memory of the intimate wedding ceremony triggered by the color is what we are after.

Any tips for teeth whitening? The thing that makes teeth the whitest is flossing. I know, nobody wants to hear that. Second, a dental cleaning before any whitening treatments whether at home or in the dentist office because who wants to pay to whiten plaque? Third, the Crest Whitestrips are good and they work, plus they have coupons on their web page. ZOOM treatments are worth the investment, then again, it's several hundred dollars. Maintain all this action with whitening toothpastes and don't forget what our grandmothers did, baking soda. Dip your wet toothbrush in baking soda, brush, rinse with a solution of half hydrogen peroxide half water. Not so glamourous but it is efficient.

Know any great products that keep eyeshadow from creasing? Okay, the MAC shadow base is good, I like the Paula Dorf shadow base, in a pinch a creme concealer applied before the shadows can help the powder hug the eyelid. Some people like me, no matter what, our shadows crease. It's something to do with large eyes that have alot of lid. We are the people keeping eyelid tuck doctors in business. When this product is applied...it must "set up" and dry first. Don't rush it, otherwise you waste your time, product and spoil the mood of the day!

Ideas for making eyes look bigger and cheekbones more defined?

To make the eye look bigger, we use basic art theory 101: put the light color on the areas you want to come forward or stand out, and we put the dark color on the area that we want to recede or go back. Meaning, we put highlighting shades on the brow bone underneath the curve of the brow, and on the inside corner of the eye, about a pinky's width. Just a smidge, not a big stroke. Finish coloring in the rest of the lid with a medium toned brown/taupe for a natural day look. In the crease of the eye, make a small arc, like a half semi circle of darker shadow. Blend the darker shadow until it is soft looking on the edges, work the brush back and forth gently. Use a little powder to start, and layer until you get the depth of darkness or "contour" that you are looking for.

That's the biggest makeup artist secret around: blend. When you think you are done blending, blend some more. The goal is to see your beauty not your eyeshadow.

To make cheekbones stand out more you are going to need three colors: light, medium, dark. What ever color family you pick is fine, you just need a highlight, a tone, and a contour.

Smile big, on the apple of the cheek, where it gets pinched, apply a light coat of color and work the brush in a small circle. Just like the tattoo artist does. If you haven't got a tattoo yet, you just got some insight into what happens. Next, take your dark color, the contour, and make a small half circle, that looks like a kidney bean in the hollow of the cheek. If you don't have a hollow " hollow" of the cheek, this will help make it look like it. Again, blend the dark color in a small circle. Using your blush brush, in small circles, work from the front of the cheek back towards the ear and hairline. Finish the defined cheek look with the light, or highlight shade. Wipe the blush brush off on a towel or tissue to take off the darker shades, load with the highlight and now in a sweeping side to side brush stroke, apply the highlight color on the top of the cheek bone, right under the eye. It will also light up the eyes.

Tricks for not looking tired? Dark under eye circles can be remedied with the application of cold raw potato slices applied directly to a closed lid for several minutes. Puffy eyes are fixed with cold water soaked chamomile tea bags. Red, tired, jet lagged, cocktail soaked from the night before "oh no I"m getting married in 4 hours eyes" can be fixed with cold cucumber slices. The key is to make the slices thin so they fit the contour of the eye.

As for makeup for these tired eyes, blue mascara. Not the shocking 1980's version, but a good dark navy blue. The best wedding mascara in my opinion is Christian Dior "Dior Lash" and it comes in navy, I know that Benefit Cosmetics BADGAL lash does also. If these aren't in the budget for our bride, the next best thing is L'Oreal Voluminous. It is hard to find that brand in navy. When I find it, I buy up everyone hanging on the rack.

My one personal insider secret for bridal makeup: foundation must cover the ears, neck, collarbone and any skin showing in the front so that the photos appear seamless. If my bride has blotchy skin anywhere that is showing, I cover that with foundation also and set it with translucent powder.

Getting married is such an amazing event. Girls of all ages dream about it and we all would like some version of the fairytale, including me!