How to prep your skin for wedding makeup in Colorado

A Colorado makeup artist’s timeline for healthy skin, smoother makeup, and avoiding that dreaded cakey look.

“I don’t want my makeup to look cakey.”

That’s probably the sentence I hear most often as a makeup artist.

The good news is that “cakey” makeup usually isn’t about wearing too much or heavy makeup. More often, it’s about the condition of your skin underneath it.

Living in Colorado, I work with dehydrated skin all the time. Dry, dehydrated skin creates texture, and texture is exactly what makeup settles into. Even the best foundation can’t completely disguise texture. Healthy, hydrated skin is what helps makeup look smooth, natural, and most like your skin.

It’s never too early to start on your healthy wedding skin journey. Skin doesn’t change overnight, and giving your skin time to improve will always give you better results than trying to fix everything a few weeks before the wedding.

And it doesn’t have to be complicated. Healthy skin comes from consistency and using the right products for your skin.

Here’s the timeline I recommend to my brides.

6 to 12 Months Before

I highly recommend scheduling a professional dermaplane facial with a licensed esthetician. It’s a great way to jump start your healthy skin journey, talk about your skin concerns, figure out what your skin actually needs, and build a routine you can stick with leading up to the wedding.

I recommend scheduling a dermaplane facial every 4 to 6 weeks leading up to your wedding.

For my Colorado brides who are local to the Denver area, we can do all of this together in my studio. At your first appointment, I’ll evaluate your skin and current routine and recommend products based on what I’m seeing. As I continue seeing you for monthly facials, we can make adjustments along the way as your skin changes.This is also the time to start thinking about any other beauty services you may want for your wedding, like lash extensions, brow lamination and waxing, or a lash lift.

Do NOT try something for the first time right before your wedding. Trust me on this one. Try it months out so you know if you actually like it and have plenty of time for everything to return to normal if you don’t.

3 Months Before

Stay consistent with your skincare routine. Now is not the time to try something new, or start hopping between new products.

If you haven’t already, now is the time to start any beauty services you’ve decided on for the wedding, like lash extensions, brow lamination, or a lash lift. This gives you time to make any adjustments before the wedding.

If you’re considering Botox, filler, laser treatments, or other cosmetic procedures, talk with your injector or provider about your wedding date and the best timeline. Give yourself plenty of time for everything to settle and heal before the wedding.

Wedding Week

Your final dermaplane facial and any facial waxing should be done at least 5 to 7 days before your wedding.

Skip aggressive treatments, chemical peels, or anything you haven’t tried before. Your goal now is just to maintain your hydration and all the progress you’ve made.

Don’t pick at blemishes! Your makeup artist can camouflage a breakout much better than dry, irritated, healing skin.

The Night Before & Wedding Morning

The night before, exfoliate and stick with hydrating products. Skip your active ingredients and retinoids for the night.

Wedding morning, keep it simple. Splash your face with cool water and apply a lightweight hydrating moisturizer.

For my bridal clients, skip the SPF that morning. We’ll do your skin prep together based on what worked best at your trial.

The products I recommend most.

Colorado is dry, and our skin feels it. These are some of my favorite products for keeping skin hydrated and healthy.

Let’s get your skin wedding ready.

If you’re local to the Denver area, I’d love to see you in the studio!