Our Wedding Journal

Steps to the Big Day: Bridal Make-Up

Bridal Make-up is an important aspect in the preparation, along with the bridal gown dressing and hairstyling.

For many couples, their wedding is most likely a one-in-a-lifetime experience, with all its sweetness and memorable moments; even more so for the bride, as the queen of the day.

Bridal Make-up is an important aspect in the preparation, along with the bridal gown dressing and hairstyling. Unlike ordinary make-up, bridal make-up actually requires expertise in the field, to match the best style with the bride’s dress and hair, while enhancing her features.

The interview with renowned make-up artist/lecturer of MakeArt Academy Mr. Jason Ooi will provide us with some insights into the art of bridal make-up. Mr. Jason Ooi had various experience in the art of make-up and styling, in a wide range of fashion. He had started his early career as a Make-up Assistant in a bridal studio, before joining the Shu Uemura Cosmetics Malaysia as a make-up artist, and later on, had taken up assignments from other projects including Fashion shows and TV programs. Among the list of his achievements are as the following:

2007 – 2008
Bridal House as Makeup Assistant
Shu Uemura Cosmetics Malaysia as Makeup Artist
Malaysia yearly Fashion Show
Salsa Fashion Show
Be a Star

2009
MAKE UP FOREVER Cosmetics Malaysia as Brand Ambassador
Tough Jeans Fashion Show
Schwarzkopf Hair Seminar
«FACES» Magazines as Makeup Artist/interview
«Seventeen» Magazines as Makeup Artist
Singapore TV show, Asian Uncut
Fried Chillies TV cooking show as Makeup Artist

An Overview on Bridal Make-up

Bridal Make-up, according to Jason, does have some similarities with the more formal make-up for dinner. Both are to accentuate the most beautiful feature of the person’s face, and both are also meant to last longer than casual make-up, as functions usually last for quite some time.

The main difference between the two styles lies in the overall finishing with the combination of the hair style design and the bridal gown or evening gown worn, with a wider color palette to choose from. Also, to complement most of the gowns, eyes, the ‘windows to a person’s soul’, are usually the feature to focus on, although for some, lips may also be in the feature.

Comparing both day and night make-up, Jason has said that make-up for day occasions (e.g. the actual wedding day) are usually lighter, using lighter shades of colors, as compared to make-up for night occasions (e.g. the wedding banquet), where the dim lighting and yellowish lights of the venue setting may obscure lighter make-up, making heavier make-up the better option.

Step-by-Step Demonstration

In order for us to understand, Mr. Jason had a live demonstration for us, as he explained to us the details regarding bridal make-up. The make-up style which he will be using, he said, is more suited for the dinner banquet, matching the best with simple elegant gowns such as a flowing satin gown.

  • Foundation

The foundation is the foremost important step before applying any make-up. According to Jason, a  properly done foundation (with the right type of foundation used) not only helps smooth over skin imperfections, but can also act as a moisturizing layer, keeping skin soft while making the make-up last longer. The image here shows the difference of the face with foundation on (left) and without foundation (right). For this demonstration, Mr. Jason used a gel-based foundation, mixing 2 different hues to come up with one that matches the model’s skin tone.  (pic)

  • Eyes

After the face foundation, Mr. Jason proceeded to the eye make-up, using a combination of concealer to smooth out lines and puffiness. The colors used for the eyes are purple, magenta and gold, with a suitable amount of black—mainly to accentuate the shape of the eyes, and to freshen up droopy-looking eyes. Purple hues and gold are on the top of the trend now, he added, and are also the right colors to bring out the elegance and allure. (pic)

Fake eyelashes and mascara the final touch, adding dimension as well as accentuating.

  • Cheeks

Before any make-up is applied, Mr. Jason had made sure to highlight and outline the shape of the face and the nose first with different shadings. This will add more dimension to the nose, reduce flatness, while refining the shape of the face. For the blush, a mixture of pink and orange is used, firstly, being suitable for the model’s skin tone, and secondly, goes well with the overall style.

  • Lips

For the lips, a simple layer of foundation is applied first, to smooth out the cracks, especially if the lips are a bit dry. After that, lip-liner is used to outline and balanced out the shape of the lips, which after that, is filled in with lip color of similar hue, finishing with a touch of shimmering lip gloss.

The final finishing is as shown in this picture, where the final change of the gown will complete it all. As one can see the comparison before and after the make-up session, one really has to agree that the skills of the master himself/herself are just as important as product quality and everything else.

And just as Mr. Jason said, the biggest joy a passionate make-up artist gets is when his client shows his/her appreciation for the effort and the end results.

For those who are interested in learning or acquiring Mr. Jason Ooi’s services, you may refer to the MakeArt Academy website for more information.

  

Steps to the Big Day: Bridal Make-Up was last modified: May 1st, 2024 by Petrina Goh