 Photo Credit: www.ashleysedit.com instagram.com/ashleys_edit To all 2020 couples, firstly I want to send my love to all of you who have had to make difficult decisions to postpone your wedding day. Over the last six weeks I have been talking to my brides and helping to re-arrange wedding plans that they have been counting down towards, saved up for and worked really hard to plan everything to make the day perfect, and it breaks my heart for those who have moved your date but the good news is - your wedding day isn't cancelled - it's just postponed to a date away from the pandemic, and what a celebration it’s going to be when the day finally arrives! So in case you are in two minds about whether or not to mark the occasion that would have been your wedding day or if you are feeling bride-guilt about being upset when there is so much happening in the world right now, I wanted to say it's OK to feel sad about it and share with you one bride’s story on how they spent their 'Wedding Day' in lock-down as it completely warmed my heart and to be honest, at a time when there is so much sadness, why not spread the joy and celebrate your day anyway! The babe in the photo is my good friend and fellow makeup artist Ashley from Ashley's Edit Blog, who was supposed to be getting married on April 20th in gorgeous southern Spain with their closest friends and family. After cancelling their wedding day and pencilling in a new date, Ashley was feeling all the feels that I’m sure many of you may be feeling right now. From feeling guilty about being upset with everything that is happening right now to also feeling 50/50 about whether or not to mark the date and celebrate it at home... her biggest bit of advice for all of you brides in the same boat: your original wedding date will stay with you forever...so why not make it a happy memory! Ashley and Gavin celebrated with a day-date at home, popped the champagne, got dressed up (Ashley's dress link here!) cooked good food and decorated the house with gold sparkles! In the evening, they had a zoom call hosted by their Maid of Honour, who shared video messages from all of their guests! I was following their day on Instagram stories and it was so heart-warming and such a special way to mark what would have been the day they got married that I asked Ashley if I could share her story on my blog for all the other 2020 brides out there who are in a similar situation and wondering whether to celebrate or just let the day pass by. And the answer is: 100% celebrate it and create special memories of your wedding part 1! So stay safe, keep well, and make memories where they were meant to be made! Cheers to Ashley and Gavin, wishing you lots of love for your new date and to all other 2020 couples out there - get the champagne in, buy a pretty dress and celebrate the day anyway! 
1 Comment
 No matter what style of wedding you decide to have, one thing all brides want on their big day is to have flawless, glowing skin! With the right makeup, creating a perfect base is possible BUT following a few easy steps to take good care of your skin leading up to your wedding definitely helps.  January 2018 on the Left to December 2018 on the Right. Skincare and skin-love is something I learnt a lot more about when preparing for my own wedding in December 2018. I've always been prone to breakouts, so for my own wedding prep I decided to do some research and learn how to take better care of my skin in preparation for the big day without having to cut wine and chocolate completely out of my diet! When you try anything new with your skincare routine, you may be prone to a few breakouts as your skin will be 'detoxing' and adjusting, so I would always advise starting this at least 3 months before your Wedding. So here are my 5 easy-to-follow skincare tips to prepare your skin for a flawless wedding day glow: 1: BIN THE FACE WIPES! Just get them and put them in the bin. Close the lid, walk away and go and grab yourself some Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water and some Cotton Pads.  Most face wipes are soaked in alcohol to keep them wet, hygienic and ready for use, which can be really drying and irritating on your skin. Instead, use the Micellar water, which is a really gentle formula suitable for sensitive skin, too: on a cotton pad to remove makeup, just the same way you would use a wipe. It's actually a lot faster and more effective at removing makeup and the bottle is going to last you a lot longer than a pack of wipes too! Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water £4.99 2: START USING A SCRUB Exfoliating the skin makes a HUGE difference to your skin texture and how long your makeup lasts - it removes any dead skin sitting on the surface of your face, revealing a fresh layer of new, soft and glowing skin. This not only makes your skin look brighter as you have removed dead skin, which has a dull appearance, but it means your makeup will last longer as it won't 'fall off' with dead skin throughout the day taking the makeup with it. You only need to scrub 1-2 times a week, and always do this step the night before your wedding to ensure you have a good makeup day! If your skin is more oily, I would suggest doing this 3-4 times a week. Here's a couple of scrubs I recommend:  TREATING YOURSELF? Bobbi Brown Buffing Grains for Face £33 *Pour the buffing grains into a cleanser in your hands, controlling how much or little you add, making it either stronger or softer.  3. MOISTURISE Although on the day, your Makeup Artist might use minimal moisturiser to ensure your makeup stays put all day, during the lead-up to the wedding you cannot moisturise enough! More is more. It doesn't have to be a fancy one, you just have to make sure you apply it generously every day. When your skin doesn't have moisture on it, it starts to produce its own, which can look like shine rather than glow. So make sure - even if you have an oily skin - to moisturise daily. Go for one that says it hydrates too, as this really helps to reduce the appearance of texture in the skin. Here's a few that I like:    OILY SKIN? Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Face Base £44 *This one is oil-free but contains Shea Butter instead. 4. USE A FACE-OIL AT NIGHT OK. Don't knock this one until you have tried it. This is my all-time Top Tip for anyone looking to improve their skin. So instead of a night time moisturiser, use an oil designed for the face instead! You will wake up with much brighter and more plump skin than you went to bed with. This one is for oily skin too - when you strip an oily skin too much it panics and starts to over-produce more oil. A bit like when you wash your hair too regularly, you end up making it appear more greasy. So oil will actually help to balance out an oily skin as it makes your skin think you have enough oil already. I'm no dermatologist, but it just works! Here's a couple I recommend:   5. DRINK LOADS OF WATER!  All you need to do is Google the '30 Day Water Challenge' before-and-after photos and you will see what an amazing difference drinking at least 2 litres of water a day can do for you skin, the brightness of your eyes and the dark circles underneath. It's an AMAZING beauty product! Try and start drinking more water than you usually do and after just a week you should start to see a difference in your skin. The week of the wedding, try and drink 3 litres a day and cut down on alcohol and caffeine (sorry!). |