Most brides book a trial thinking it is a rehearsal. It is closer to a conversation. You are not there to sit still for an hour and hope. You are there to tell me what you want, and to watch me build it on your own face.
Here is how mine work, and how to get the most out of yours.
What a trial is really for
Three things. We find the look, we see how your skin behaves with the products I use, and we agree the timings for the morning itself.
The look matters most. Photos help, but your face is not the face in the photo. A liner that suits a hooded eye will not sit the same way on a round one. At a trial I adjust as I go, and you tell me what you think while I am doing it rather than after.
Bring photos, and bring the right ones
Save five or six images, not twenty. Include one you love and one you definitely do not. Knowing what you want to avoid narrows things down faster than knowing what you like.
Where you can, pick photos of women with colouring close to yours. A smoky eye on very fair skin reads completely differently on deeper skin.
Come with your skin ready
- Arrive with a clean, moisturised face and no makeup on.
- Avoid a facial, peel or any new treatment in the week before. Your skin needs to be behaving normally.
- Wear a top you can take off without pulling it over your head.
- Bring your lashes if you have already chosen them.
Tell me about the day, not just the look
Whether you are outside in July or in a candlelit barn in November changes what I reach for. So does how long you will be in it, whether you cry easily, and whether there is a dress change. A look that photographs beautifully at two in the afternoon still has to be there at eleven at night.
After the trial, live in it
Keep it on for the rest of the day. Go out in it. See it in daylight, in your own mirror at home, and in photos taken on a phone rather than a camera. Most of the useful feedback I get comes the day after a trial, not during it.
Then tell me honestly. Changing something at the trial stage costs nothing. Changing it on the morning costs you calm.
When to book it
Book the wedding date first, then the trial. Brides often do it the other way round and find the date has gone. A trial two to three months before the wedding tends to work well. Close enough that your skin and hair colour are roughly what they will be, far enough out that there is room to rethink.
If you are getting married around Bedford
I work from my studio in Bedford and travel across Bedfordshire for wedding mornings. If you are still deciding, the bridal page covers what I offer, and you can book a trial or send me a message about your date.
More wedding makeup notes are on the blog.