By Medha Chawla: The makeup, just like the exquisite outfit and coveted jewels, is one of the defining aspects of a bride’s wedding-day glory. One can go all bold with high-on-glam makeup featuring striking red lips, shimmery eyelids and all, or keep it minimal and natural, or just take a midway route – the options are aplenty. The buzz, at the moment, however, is inclined towards flaunting a barely-there, natural-looking makeup on the wedding day. Courtesy: Bollywood brides who recently tied the knot. Think of Kiara Advani, Athiya Shetty and Alia Bhatt.
Kiara Advani looked dreamy as she walked down the aisle in an exquisite ombre pink lehenga designed by Manish Malhotra. Apart from her ogle-worthy outfit and dazzling emerald-diamond jewellery, her au-naturel makeup accentuated with hints of pink grabbed a lot of attention.
BOLLYWOOD BEAUTIES AND MINIMAL BRIDAL MAKEUP
A while before scenic snippets from Sid-Kiara’s wedding took over the internet, it was Athiya Shetty and KL Rahul’s shaadi shenanigans all over our social media feeds. Of course, we ogled at Athiya’s modish pink lehenga by Anamika Khanna, but her ethereal and minimal makeup was also a cynosure. Almost looking like her glowing bare skin, topped with a subtle pink blush – Athiya’s bridal makeup was light years away from the quintessential beaming heavy glam that we usually see brides don for their wedding celebrations.
And so was Alia Bhatt’s wedding day makeup. She, too, let her hydrated skin and natural glow do all the talking, thereby doling out a lesson that it is important to work more on the skin than makeup. With Bollywood divas being the go-to inspiration for brides across the country, the sudden minimal bridal makeup trend, it goes without saying, has got everyone talking about it.
If Bollywood divas are flaunting minimal bridal makeup, should you love it too? Should you consider embracing a barely-there makeup look for your big day too? If the no-makeup look is working for them, will it work for you too? These are some questions swarming many to-be brides’ minds. We spoke to celebrity makeup artist Arti Nayar, a go-to for an array of celebrities including Radhika Merchant and Shloka Mehta, who weighed in on the matter and also put forth some do’s and don’ts for brides-to-be who are yet to decide their wedding day look. (PS: Don’t miss some really practical pre-wedding skincare tips mentioned below)
A NEW TREND? NOT REALLY
Minimal bridal beauty may have emerged as a trend recently, but Arti Nayar says that it has been in vogue for a while now. “To be honest, as a makeup artist, I have always had my fair share of brides who wanted to keep their makeup very minimal,” she said.
Contrary to the belief, minimal makeup doesn’t mean there is hardly any application of makeup products. The idea is to accentuate one’s own natural beauty and look like themselves. “When I say minimal, I don’t mean that they (brides) don’t want base, highlighter and all. They want everything. But they want it to look more natural and more like themselves,” said Arti Nayar.
“There are brides who believe that for all other functions, they can go all out with the makeup, but for the wedding day they want to keep it simple and traditional,” she added. This is an approach even Kiara Advani followed, as she sported heavy eye makeup on her sangeet.
But does it mean we completely despise a smokey eye or red lip for weddings? Of course, not. “It is to the ease of own,” says the makeup artist. “But there are a handful of brides who really want to keep it light, simple, minimal, and just beautiful for their wedding day. So, it is not a surprise that Alia, Kiara and Athiya chose minimal looks. Because they are women who like minimal makeup in their daily life, they take care of their skin and just wanted to look like themselves on a significant day,” said Arti Nayar.
IS THE MINIMAL BRIDAL MAKEUP TREND WORTH THE HYPE?
Arti Nayar, who recently dolled up Radhika Merchant for her pre-engagement mehendi ceremony, advocates for natural-looking makeup which lets the inner beauty shine through.
When asked if people should take inspiration from celebrity brides when it comes to their simple wedding makeup, Arti Nayar said, “People should take inspiration. I like the fact that they (celebrity brides) are keeping it more natural and ethereal because at the end of the day, as a woman, you are beautiful the way you are. With this makeup, your inner beauty comes through.”
Lekha Gupta, who did Kiara’s wedding-day makeup, also echoed similar thoughts while decoding the diva bride’s wedding makeup. While speaking to indiatoday.in, she said that she wanted to “break this whole myth of misperception that we usually have for Indian brides of doing heavy face makeup, or putting over-the-top jewellery or hair.”
“You may be the bride, but you can still look as pretty and as elegant, even if you don’t do heavy eyes, even if you don’t do heavy makeup because there is something called an inner glow,” she said, championing the minimal wedding makeup trend.
She added that she doesn’t like using the term minimal. “Whether you are applying liner and lashes, giving a good blush and a highlighter – you are doing it all but doing it in a way that it looks natural to you. It looks almost like your skin, like it is coming from within,” she said while explaining the dynamics of natural-looking makeup.
WILL IT WORK FOR YOU TOO?
“This whole narrative that what celebrities do does not work for others is wrong,” she said. “Whether you are a celebrity or not, it all is the same for everybody – whatever kind of makeup you want to do, it is essential to first take care of your skin. And, if you want to go for simple makeup, it is even more important,” Arti Nayar said.
Here are a few tips suggested by Arti Nayar for brides-to-be:
- Drink water and stay hydrated
- Make sure you are eating right
- Make sure you are not taking too much stress
- Follow your skincare routine every day
- Go to the skin doctor if you have any issues.
- Do not self-treat.
- Avoid extra skincare peel and keep it very simple ahead of your wedding
- Wash your face twice a day
- Make sure you use sunscreen
If simple makeup is what screams your style, you should not shy away from embracing it. All you need is a makeup artist who is good at keeping it minimal and natural. But if you always imagined a glamorous wedding makeup, you should certainly not fall for celeb-approved trends.