Makeup Touch-Up Tips for the Wedding Day

It’s your big day. Your dress is better than you imagined, every strand of hair is perfectly pinned in place and your bridal makeup is flawless… for now! On your wedding day, after kissing your groom and busting out your best moves on the dance floor (not to mention sweating under all those layers of crinoline), makeup touch-ups are inevitable. No matter how longwearing your foundation is or how expertly it was applied, there is no way it’s making it on its own, so make sure you have everything you need to keep your look fresh.

Task a bridesmaid with stashing your wedding day survival kit. Chances are, you don’t have a professional makeup artist in tow, so pack up a small emergency kit with all of the following touch up essentials (plus a little aspirin), and you’ll be ready to face the day.

1. Blot before you powder! Using a touch of finishing powder to set your makeup or mattify your look is a great idea, but there’s a fine line between flawless and cakey. Every layer of makeup you add creates texture on the skin, so it’s best to blot away the oil with oil-absorbing makeup papers, and then add a light layer of powder.
2. Keep cotton swabs on hand. You will be amazed at all of the nifty things you can do with a cotton swab! Smooth out your eye shadow if it begins to crease, clean up your lip line after eating and wipe away smudged mascara when you inevitably get teary. Even water resistant mascara has its limits, so be prepared.
3. Have lipstick within arm’s reach. Even with a full coverage, longwear lipstick, after repeatedly kissing your groom, talking with relatives you’re pretty sure you didn’t invite and enjoying your buttercream-covered wedding cake - your lips are going to need some love. Bring a tube of the color you originally put on your lips, plus something with a little extra moisture like a clear gloss or a hydrating balm to revive the skin. If you’re hiring a professional artist to do your wedding makeup, coordinate with them so they can purchase the lip shade you selected during your pre-wedding makeup trial. They will use the fresh tube on you, and most likely leave you with the tube and include it in your total.
4. Keep lash glue and eyeliner in your touch-up kit. Fake lashes can amp up your look, but lash glue is a fickle frenemy, so bring a small tube or jar in case it decides to turn its back on you. If you’re forced to ditch your falsies mid-reception, your eyeliner will get pulled off with the glue, so bring liner for backup and smudge it out with a cotton swab for an effortless, smoky look. Aren’t you glad you brought those cotton swabs now?
5. Don’t be afraid to take some valuable me-time. It’s hard to walk away from a party, especially when everyone has come together to celebrate you, but if you need five minutes to take a breather, powder your nose or have a bite to eat away from the crowd, go for it. Ultimately, you will look and feel much better and it’ll give you a few extra minutes to freshen up your makeup, if needed.