As thousands of brides around the world cancel their over-the-top ceremonies in favor of low-key weddings that are broadcast on Zoom, Meghan Markle’s long-time makeup artist Daniel Martin has offered up his top tips for women who are having to do their own bridal beauty looks at home.
The New York-based beauty pro, who was responsible for the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding day makeup, revealed how brides can achieve a stunning, but natural-looking, glow for their wedding day amid the coronavirus pandemic, without the help of a professional artist.
Speaking to Vogue.com, Martin also offered up expert advice on how brides can ensure that their makeup looks perfect in-person – as well as on camera, for all of those women who will be tying the knot while their loved ones watch the special moment via a livestream video.
DIY bridal beauty: Meghan Markle’s makeup artist Daniel Martin has shared his top tips for women who are doing their own wedding day beauty at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Expertise: The New York-based beauty guru explained that the perfect bridal beauty look starts with perfecting the skin using a blurring primer
Drawing on the same technique that he used to prep Meghan for her wedding to Prince Harry, Martin shared that the key to perfecting any bridal beauty look is perfecting the skin before any makeup is applied.
‘You want a little radiance, but you don’t want to be too shiny,’ he said, explaining that the best way to achieve this is by using a blurring primer that will help to create the perfect blank canvas for your makeup.
The next step, Martin said, is to tackle any redness, uneven tone, or blemishes by using a full-coverage concealer, which should be dotted on any areas that need some extra help – including around the sides of the nose, and on the under-eye area.
According to the makeup expert, the key is to ‘balance out your skin tone’ in order to achieve the most natural, flawless look, with Martin warning brides: ‘This isn’t the time to show off your contour skills.’
For any women who are concerned about their eye makeup abilities, Martin urges them to focus on their brows, saying that ‘a nice brow finishes off the eye area’ without the need to any over-the-top shadow or eyeliner.
But before you start to fill in your brows with makeup, he advises that you make sure that they are shaped to your ideal specifications – and if you’re not already comfortable using tweezers to perfect your own brows, Martin says it is ‘time to learn real quick’.
You glow girl: He told Vogue.com that brides should aim to achieve ‘radiance’ without making their skin look too shiny, and recommended a blurring primer
He advises using YouTube tutorials so you can go through the process step by step, before you move on to applying your products.
As a first step, Martin revealed that he likes to use gel, which he brushes through the brows in the opposite direction to the hair growth in order to thicken up their appearance. Then, after the gel has dried, brush them back into place and fill in any holes with your product of choice, whether that is a pencil, a gel, or a pomade.
This technique, Martin says, is the ‘easiest way to get defined brows without them looking too Instagram-y’.
Whether or not you are an expert with eye shadow or someone who tends to run in the opposite direction whenever they spot a palette, Meghan’s makeup artist and friend says there is an easy trick to achieving a natural look that will still help your eyes to pop.
He suggests just applying a ‘wash of color or shimmer’ onto the eyelid, explaining that this will help to ‘open up the lid’ and give your look a little something extra.
Not sure what color to use? Try applying your preferred blusher or bronzer onto your lids with a fluffy brush, or even your finger. This will ‘create a natural contour’ and help to bring more ‘harmony’ to the face, Martin said.
If you still don’t feel confident adding any color to your lid, he says that a slick of waterproof mascara will add plenty of definition to the eye area – and should survive any wedding day tears.
When it comes to perfecting the complexion, Martin says that, while you shouldn’t go crazy with contour, blush is a must for any bride – just don’t go crazy with the color or the application. A simple tip for achieving a natural flush is to start applying your product at the center of the cheek, directly under the pupil.
He warns that you shouldn’t bring the color too close to the nose, and instead sweep the product out from that center mark, bringing it back towards the ear. As far as the color is concerned, Martin says you can be pretty liberal with your choice – just make sure that it doesn’t clash with your lipstick for the day.
If you feel like your face needs a bit more color, you can add some bronzer – however Martin advises that you stick with a matte shade, and only apply it to areas where the sun would naturally hit the face.
Finally, it’s on to the finishing touches: a slick of neutral lipstick, and a spritz of setting spray to ensure your makeup lasts all as long as your wedding celebrations, whether they are taking place on Zoom, or in front of a crowd of millions, as Meghan’s did.
And, if you make any mistakes along the way, Martin urges brides to stay calm and simply start the process over again, rather than getting worked up while trying to fix your error. After all, ‘the wedding is starting on your own time,’ he points out.
This is not the first time that the beauty guru has opened up about wedding day beauty – having already shared several of the secrets that went into perfecting the Duchess of Sussex’s bridal makeup.
In October, Martin appeared on British morning show Lorraine, when he detailed exactly how to recreate the former actress’s signature glow in ten simple steps.
He also revealed exactly what it was like on the ‘incredible’ morning of the day she tied the knot with Prince Harry, insisting that Meghan was completely relaxed and had ‘so much fun’ creating her wedding look.
Tip and tricks: In October 2019, Martin recreated Meghan’s 8221923wedding day beauty look on morning show Lorraine
Finishing touch: He explained that the final elements of the beauty look are a neutral lipstick shade, and a spritz of setting spray
After his model had prepped her skin using her own individual skincare regime, Daniel began by applying foundation the size of ‘5 pence piece’ and applying it with an eyeshadow brush from the middle of the face.
He said: ‘ Whether i’m working with a Hollywood artist or doing a friends wedding makeup I like to keep things natural.
‘First step is to prep the skin with your individual skincare regime.
‘The first thing is your complexion, so I take size of 5p of foundation I use a small eye shadow brush.
‘As we have a lot of redness in the middle of our face it’s better to start here and blend out so you can gauge the coverage you’re getting.’
He then takes a sponge and blends the foundation with some concealer, which is applied underneath the eyes and on any blemishes on the face with his finger.
He said: ‘I like to go in with a sponge and blend out.
‘Now I’m taking a little bit of concealer, I like to use my finger for concealer because it enables me to feel the face and where I need to cover it.’
Next, he creates Meghan’s signature dewy look by mixing together a liquid highlighter with more foundation and using the same brush to apply.
He explained: ‘So the next step is a fun step and that’s adding a bit of radiance to the skin.
‘For Meghan’s wedding what I did was mixed the luminizer with foundation so it integrated the glow.
‘I’m gonna use the same brush that I used and then I’m just gonna apply that.’
Rounding off the skin look he used a neutral setting powder just on the T-zone to allow the ‘radiance’ from the highlight to still shine through.
He revealed: ‘I just really concentrated the powder right in your T-zone because I really want this radiance to come through.’
For the eyes, Daniel uses his finger to apply a dark brown eyeshadow as a base followed by a lighter shadow in the corner of the eyes.
He told: ‘I’m going to use my finger and a brush so i’m gonna take this aubergine warm brown.
‘Laying down with the brush really helps give you that form, and then I’m just gonna pop a little bit of light into the inner corners of your eye.’
He went on to use a flat brush to add mascara and ‘always starts at the base’ – he then finishes off the eyes by applying liquid eyeliner to the bottom of the lashes, just to ‘add a bit of drama.’
To finish the look he shapes the face using a light bronzer and adds a high-pigment gloss for the lips.
When quizzed on the special day, he revealed that how ‘easy’ it was to spend time with the royal and her mother.
He said: ‘What I do remember was how much fun it was and how easy it was just to be with your friend and her mum and get her ready on such an incredible day.
‘I don’t think she was nervous because we weren’t nervous it was very, very chilled .’