6 Mistakes Makeup Artists Wish Brides Would Stop Making

After spending all that time dreaming up your bridal beauty vision, hiring a glam team, and doing a makeup trial, the big day will finally arrive. While you might have a clear idea of what you want to look like and how the getting-ready process will go, there are still some factors at play that can put a dampener in your wedding makeup plans.

From improper skin prep to improperly organizing the schedule, makeup artists routinely see brides make mistakes that can affect their beauty goals. Ahead, we asked seasoned wedding industry pros to share these faux pas and how brides can avoid them to absolutely look and feel their best on their big day.

Changing Your Routine

While many brides give their skincare routine a refresh before walking down the aisle, makeup artists advise doing do well ahead of your nuptials in case your skin reacts badly. “Any skin routine changes should be made at least six months prior, so your skin can get acclimated to the change,” advises Felicia Graham. She also recommends to avoid getting treatments in the days before events begin. “This can be disastrous,” she says. “I once had a bride that went for a facial the day before her wedding and she looked like she had a chemical peel on the wedding day. I was mortified for her.”

Removing Facial Hair Too Close to the Big Day

Similar to receiving a harsh facial, getting your brows or upper lipped waxed in the few days ahead of the big day is a major mistake. “Sometimes, it leaves the skin red and irritated and hard to cover with makeup as it’s still too fresh,” shares Lucas Dean Bowman. Graham agrees to lay off the facial hair removal. She adds, “This should be done at least three days prior to give your skin a chance to recover.”

Not Drinking Enough Water

Hydration is key to prepping your skin for your wedding day makeup application. However, makeup artists note that some brides aren’t on top of drinking enough water the evening before. “If you are drinking a lot of alcohol at the rehearsal dinner, it totally dries your skin out which can make the makeup artist’ job more challenging when trying to create a dewy skin-like finish,” says Graham. Her advice? “Make sure to drink a glass of water in between wine and cocktails.”

Adding Bridal Party Members to the Schedule Last Minute

While it is totally fine to let your bridal party opt out of professional makeup to save money, pros note that often people change their mind last minute. “Allowing your bridal party to choose not to get makeup from the bridal team is a pet peeve of mine,” says Graham. “What almost always ends up happening is they see everyone looking great and decide they want makeup, too. However, the makeup timeline was created and finalized prior to the day, so adding on additional people at the last minute can cause the bridal party to not be ready in time for photos.”

Getting Your Makeup Done Too Late

As you are putting together the morning schedule for yourself and your bridal party, make sure to give yourself proper time to have your makeup artists execute your vision. “I wish brides would not insist on being last in the makeup schedule so their makeup is the freshest,” says Bowman. “It tends to lead to rushing to meet the schedule needs and could cause unwanted stress.”

Not Getting Touch-Ups

To have your beauty look stay perfect all day long, Bowman recommends brides factor touch-ups from their makeup artist into their wedding budgets. Shedding a few tears at the ceremony and time spent outdoors can slowly melt away that beautiful look you had at the start of the day. He adds, “Sometimes they could have really used the touch-ups in pictures we receive later.”