Last weekend we attended our friends wedding in the gorgeous surroundings of Clonabreany House (You can check out the blog post on it HERE). We had such a brill day!
I was lucky enough to nab an appointment with the incredibly talented makeup artist Deirdre O’Reilly . I have been following Deirdre for a while now on social media and I LOVE her work. I also actually went to school with Deirdre so it was so brilliant to see her and catch up. I can honestly say I was THRILLED with my make up – She did an amazing job.She is one REALLLLLY talented gal!
I have had so many emails about my make up since asking what did she use on me etc …So……I am so thrilled that Deirdre has given us this awesome step-by-step guide on how she created my wedding make up look.
Hope you enjoy
Naomi xxx
Naomi’s Wedding Makeup Look
Hi all,
Can I start by saying you this is my first attempt at a blog so here goes….
On Saturday last I had the privilege of doing Naomi’s make up; Naomi was attending her first wedding with her husband Cormac since the arrival of their beautiful little girl Annabelle Ivy, so I really wanted to pamper her and allow Naomi spend time browsing through my kit collection as well as going through some simple tips and tricks on makeup.
A couple of days before her event Naomi & I briefly talked through some ideas as to what sort of a look she wanted to go for, Naomi wanted a strong brow, defined but neutral eye tones and fresh flawless skin, with an emphasis on highlighting. On the morning Naomi came to me with cleansed skin so I started straight into her skincare prep.
STEP 1 – SKINCARE
Skincare is the most crucial step to creating that flawless long lasting skin. Having spent many years working for MAC Cosmetics we were well educated into the importance of really assessing the skin prior to any makeup application. To put it another way; if the foundations of a house are neglected everything else around it will fall down over time. Same goes for your makeup. If you don’t address the clients’ skin type and use the appropriate products and brushes makeup will not withstand the test of time!
Naomi’s skin: Naomi had advised me her skin was quite dull and lack lustre of late so I really wanted to pump back some hydration and luminosity into her skin. I started out with a serum (MAC Moisture Infusion Serum) which really helped to retain that moisture to Naomi’s slightly dehydrated skin.
I followed with possibly my all-time favourite product Strobe Cream by Mac – Trust me, this product is going to change your lives for the better. Strobe Cream is an iridescent moisturiser which instantly illuminates the skin and furthermore with a few drops added into any of your existing foundations this can also transform the texture creating that dewy silky finish we all love. In fact this product was supposedly applied all over Kylie Minogue’s ‘bottom’ while wearing those infamous disco hot pants in her ‘Spinning Around’ video.
MAC Strobe Cream, see here
Strobe is a luxury product but more and more budget brands are introducing similar style illuminators nowadays. My top budget friendly picks are Flormar Radiance Primer and Pennys Pro Illuminating Primer)
Finally I primed Naomi’s skin using a Laura Mercier primer. This water- based formula helps to create a smooth layer that expertly holds foundation and guarantees that makeup stays fresh and colour true for hours.
STEP 2 – EYES
While those key skin bases were working into the skin I focused my attention on Naomi’s eyes and brows. You may be find it odd that I do the eyes first but I feel you actually save time by doing eyes first! For me it allows me to be as messy as I want blending eyeshadows/adding pigments/cleaning liner flicks etc. You will be cleaning up this fall off from eyeshadows afterwards so trust me it works for the better!
Naomi told me she wanted strong, defined brow. She already had a great base so I just worked on shaping and lengthening the brow with a brow pencil called Spiked (by MAC). Less is more sometimes with brows so always choose your shade wisely.
Top Tip: To choose the best shades for your eyes a useful guide is to think of the Colour Wheel. The colour opposite your eye colour is the best colour/tone to really make the eye colour pop. (For you brown eyes gals, brown eyes are a neutral shade so all colours suit you- purples, golds etc)
How to choose eyeshadow shades to suit your eyes
Naomi has blue/green eyes and I really wanted to draw out more the green of her eye. So the tones I opted for were rich warms browns and a lighter champagne pigment on the eyelid (see all eye product deets below). I defined her lash lines using a complementary soft reddy brown eyeliner pencil (I find black very harsh) and finished off with a gel based eyeliner applied to the root of her top lashes.
We decided to go with individual false lashes in three different lengths to give that full fluffy but understated fall lash effect (I used Ardell lashes which you can get in Penneys & Pharmacy’s nationwide).
For added effect I applied a light coat of black mascara (MAC False Lashes) to her own lashes.
Ardell Individual lashes (Can get in Penneys/ Salon Services or Pharmacies nationwide)
Eyes I used the following:
Teddy eyeliner pencil (lash lines) / Inglot AMC Gel Liner #77 (root of top lashes)
Inglot AMC Pure Pigment Eyeshadow #14 (on eyelids)
Mac eyeshadows Kid/Folie/Handwritten (socket definition)
Inglot AMC Pure Pigment Eyeshadow #14
STEP 3 – SKIN & CHEEKS
Now that the skin was nicely prepped I decided to go with a luminous long wearing foundation by Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk in shade #6.5. This shade is not too olive or too pink, it is a perfect warm toned colour that sat perfectly against Naomi’s tan.
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, see here
My aim was to add lots of texture and radiance on top of this already lightly dewy based foundation so I worked on defining Naomi’s cheekbones and the centre panel of her face with a mix of a lighter concealer (Select Moisture Cover #nw20)
And a powder based highlighter by MAC Mineralise Skin Finish in shade ‘Soft and Gentle’ (Naomi instantly fell in love with this product so Cormac you know what you will be investing in this Christmas)
MAC Mineralize Skinfinish in shade ‘Soft & Gentle’ – See here
I added a soft contour to subtly enhance Naomi’s cheekbones and applied a powder based blusher called Melba (MAC) to add extra warmth to her cheeks. I finished off with a light dusting of translucent powder to the forehead and sides of the nose and chin to prevent an unwanted shine coming through.
MAC Powder Blush in ‘Malba’ – See here
STEP 4 – LIPS
Finally to complete Naomi’s look I defined the lip using a lip pencil called Subculture (by MAC) and buffed a nude lipstick Velvet Teddy (MAC) on top.
The contrast between the highlighted skin and eyes and a more played down matte lip worked beautifully and we were both very happy with the outcome.
Liner: MAC ‘Subculture’
Lipstick: MAC ‘Velvet Teddy’
ET viola – Naomi was ready for off!
About Deirdre O’Reilly
With over 10 years’ experience in the makeup industry, 8 ½ of which were gained working for leading brand Mac cosmetics, Deirdre O’Reilly is a highly trained professional makeup artist with a wealth of knowledge when working with her clients.
Deirdre specialises in bridal/beauty makeup and travels nationwide on request. She is extremely passionate about her profession and also teaches makeup artistry at Sallynoggin College of Further Education.
She is fast becoming a much sought after freelance makeup artist and is widely recognised for her creative flair and her ability to tailor that perfect look for each individual bride.
How To Book Deirdre
You can email Deirdre here deirdreoreilly1@gmail.com Don’t forget to check out her most recent work on Facebook or Instagram too
Snapchat
Check out some snippets from Naomi’s Snapchat just after her makeup was done. It gives you a much better idea of how her make up looked in person
Snapchat username: thestylefairy