6 Tips for Acing Your Make-up Trial

As your big day inches closer, a wedding make-up trial will provide an early glimpse of how your glam will look before, during, and after you say "I do." One of the most integral appointments in your beauty roster, having a good trial can set the tone for how you feel on your wedding day so it's important to come prepared!

1/ Timing is Key

Finding the right time to have your trail can be trickier than you would expect. Too far out from the wedding date, and you may fall victim to chronic indecision and trend cycles, but too close to the day, and you may realise there's no time to make the changes you would prefer, e.g. microblading or a chemical peel. We would generally consider three months from the wedding day to be the perfect sweet spot; you'll want your natural hair and skin to be exactly (Or as close as possible) how it will look on the wedding day.

2/ Gather Your Inspiration

For most brides, the mood boarding starts the day after they get the engagement ring! For the artist, having visual aids will be a lot more helpful than a vague description, but be careful that you don't get pin-happy! Showing up to the appointment with 15 references of entirely different looks will not be the help you think it is, so take the time to go through your inspirations and figure out why you're pinned each image (Do you like the lip colour of one shot and the eyeshadow shape of another?). It can also be really helpful to bring photos of your dress and bouquet for your make-up artist to take inspo from.

3/ Preparation Makes Perfect

Putting a bit of work into cleaning and clearing your skin before the appointment gives your artist the best canvas to work with and is more indicative of what your skin will look like on the wedding day. It can also help guide your make-up artist on what products to bring on the day and what to avoid/recommend you avoid using. Beauty products can react to each other in strange ways, and that goes for how your skincare and make-up work together; it's better to find out during the trial that your moisturiser is making the foundation pill up or your lash serum is making your mascara run than finding out on the wedding day.

4/ Take Risks

If you've been considering wearing a bold lip colour or dramatic eyes, your trial is the perfect time to satisfy your curiosity. Your artist can guide you in a flattering direction while still holding true to the style you want to wear.

5/ Look Your Best

If you're a frequent makeup user, you know how a lousy hair day can make or break a look. It's hard to judge how beautiful you feel when all you can focus on is your greasy ponytail or three inches of root grow-out. If possible, schedule the hair and makeup trials back to back so you can properly judge how the whole look comes together.

6/ Properly Test The Look

One of the reasons you book a makeup trial is to see how long and how well your makeup stays on during your wedding day (Keep in mind the day starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 2 a.m.!). Take advantage of the full face of professional glam and go out for a night on the town! Not only will you look and feel amazing, but dancing, drinking, and eating will be a much better test of longevity than sitting at home or returning to the office.

- Gráinne