Your wedding day is one of the most unforgettable days of your life, so it’s only natural that every detail helps you feel your absolute best. While makeup plays a huge role in our daily confidence, on your wedding day, it has the power to enhance not only your features but also your radiance and self-assurance as you walk down the aisle.
Whether you’re newly engaged or deep into wedding planning, one of the key decisions you’ll face on your wedding beauty timeline—alongside your wedding nails and wedding-day hair—is whether to hire a professional makeup artist or tackle your wedding makeup yourself. Both options have their pros and cons, but if you’re leaning toward a DIY approach, there’s a lot to consider—from creating your dream look to curating the perfect products for your makeup bag.
Makeup artist Lan Nguyen-Grealis offers some valuable advice: “Think about when you feel most confident, especially when you’re being photographed. Makeup isn’t just about how it looks in a picture—it’s about feeling good, smiling and looking like yourself.” She suggests trialling your look from morning to night and snapping pictures to ensure you’re happy with the results. “Invest in primers and setting sprays to keep your makeup fresh all day, and take care of your skin for a glowing complexion,” she adds.
Nguyen-Grealis recommends long-wearing formulas, a reliable setting powder and pressed powder for touch-ups throughout the day. Keep blotting tissues handy (ask a bridesmaid to carry them), along with lipstick and powder for quick fixes. And, of course, waterproof mascara is a must, especially if you’re expecting tears of joy. For a more polished look, she also suggests individual lashes to avoid makeup smudging.
With so many options out there, how do you choose the best products for a long-lasting wedding-day look? To help you make those all-important decisions, I’ve consulted top makeup artists, bridal beauty specialists, editors and the Who What Wear UK team, who have shared their expert recommendations and personal experiences from their own wedding days.
From the foundation that keeps your complexion looking airbrushed from “I do” to the last dance, to the powder that ensures your makeup stays intact through happy tears and celebrations, these tried-and-tested products have earned the stamp of approval from the pros. Ahead, the experts reveal their most highly recommended items for your wedding-day makeup bag.
The Primer: Dior Forever Glow Star Filter
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, Dior, Stocksy)
“I probably wear a full face of foundation once every couple of years, so the idea of wearing foundation on my wedding day never really sat well with me,” says Who What Wear UK Beauty Director Shannon Lawlor. “I hate the way it feels on my face. I didn’t want to stress about it transferring onto anyone’s clothes (let alone my own dress), and I don’t like the way that it disguises my freckles. Despite the fact that my makeup brief wasn’t the usual ‘fresh and glowy’ (I wore a heavy, smoky eye, notably bronzed skin and a lot of highlight), I still wanted my skin to look natural and have a soft blur to it. Enter Dior Forever Glow Star Filter (£45). It can be mixed with foundation to deliver a boosted glow or worn alone, all over the face for a blurred radiance. I went with the latter. If you’ve put loads of energy into ensuring your skin is clear and glowing for your wedding day, remember: You don’t need to wear foundation.”
“This stuff—combined with some creamy concealer—meant that my skin looked like its most radiant, glowing, best self, but still beautifully natural. Glow Star Filter is the ultimate multitasker. Mix it into foundation, wear it alone with some concealer or use it as a targeted highlighter. Trust me—my wedding day wouldn’t have been the same without it.”
Dior
Forever Glow Star Filter
The Foundation: Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, Hourglass, Stocksy)
“I don’t normally wear foundation, so I wanted my skin to look as good as possible whilst still looking as authentically ‘me’ as possible,” says Who What Wear UK Editor in Chief Hannah Almassi. “My best friend did my makeup, and I trusted her advice implicitly, so when she recommended the Hourglass Ambient Soft Glow Foundation (£57), knowing how I feel about anything full coverage, I knew it would be good. This lasted really well, felt totally weightless and didn’t look too shiny in photos despite the fact I got married on a hot day in Spain! I don’t recall even doing a touch-up of my makeup into the evening apart from with my lipstick, so this fulfilled my fuss-free brief.”
Hourglass
Ambient Soft Glow Foundation
The Concealer: Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, NARS, Stocksy)
“When I got married, this was the only concealer that I used and absolutely the thing I reached for over and over on the day,” says Who What Wear UK deputy editor Maxine Eggenberger. “I actually hid a tube in the bathroom so I didn’t have to find my handbag every time. I did my own wedding makeup, so I used the pieces that were already in my makeup bag, and the Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer (£27) was the perfect match for my skin and blended perfectly. On a day where you’re crying happy tears one minute and listening to poignant speeches and getting emotional the next, it was essential for ensuring I didn’t look like a sobbing mess that day (even though I was).”
Nars
Radiant Creamy Concealer
The Powder: MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, MAC, Stocksy)
“When I got married, I was a budding makeup artist, just beginning to explore the vast world of beauty products. Yet on my special day, one product stood out as my ultimate makeup hero: MAC Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation (£35),” says makeup artist Joy Adenuga. “Applied after my foundation, it provided the perfect finish, delivering a flawless blend of seamless coverage, long-lasting wear and a soft matte look. It kept my skin looking smooth, radiant and oil-free from morning to night, with minimal need for touch-ups—exactly what every bride dreams of! Now, 15+ years later, it remains a staple in both my personal and professional kit, proving that some beauty essentials truly stand the test of time.”
MAC
Studio Fix Powder Plus Foundation
The Blusher: Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, Westman Atelier, Stocksy)
Westman Atelier
Baby Cheeks Blush Stick
“I am a huge blusher fan, and even though my wedding isn’t until 2026, I’ve already pinpointed what product I’ll use on the big day,” says Who What Wear UK managing editor Poppy Nash. “My absolute ride-or-die is the Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Stick (£44) in the shade Petal, which I use alongside the Liquid Super Loaded Tinted Highlight (£53). It’s the perfect peachy pink, blends seamlessly and has serious staying power, all of which are essential for my wedding-day makeup look. It’s also really easy to top up throughout the day, as you can just swipe the stick across your cheeks and dab it in. Easy!”
The Highlighter: Chanel Baume Essentiel Multi-Use Glow Stick
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, Chanel, Stocksy)
“My dream wedding-day beauty look was all about the glow. Not too much on the eyes, a softer lip, but really fresh, bright skin that would photograph well and make me feel most like the best version of myself,” says Who What Wear UK fashion editor Remy Farrell. “My makeup artist started with a great hydrating base and toyed around with concealers and tiny amounts of powder to set, but my favourite beauty product of all time when it comes to capturing the perfect glow in an instant is Chanel’s Baume Essentiel (£38). I’ve relied on this glossy, highlighting stick for years, so much so that it has become an everyday essential, and no matter how dull my skin feels, a swipe across my cheekbones and down my nose creates the illusion of dewy, glass skin without the need for a pre-ceremony facial.”
Chanel
Baume Essentiel Multi-Use Glow Stick
The Eye Shadow: MAC Small Eye Shadow
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, MAC, Stocksy)
“I got married 21 years ago and had a traditional Indian wedding, wearing a beautifully embroidered Indian lengha,” says makeup artist and South Asian Beauty Collective Founder Aarti Pal. “My hero eye makeup products were MAC Eye Shadows (£20) in Woodwinked and Amber Lights, both warm, golden tones that complemented the intricate gold and bronze work on my outfit and worked beautifully with my South Asian skin tone. I paired them with MAC Fluidline (£20) in Blacktrack for a defined, long-lasting liner that stayed put throughout the celebrations. I also used a MAC Paint Pot (£22) as a base to lock everything in place, ensuring my eye makeup looked flawless from the ceremony to the dance floor.”
The Mascara: L’Oréal Paris Telescopic Mascara
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, L’Oréal Paris, Stocksy)
“My go-to mascara product for my wedding day was the Telescopic Mascara by L’Oréal Paris,” says makeup artist Mira Parmar. “The mascara coats the lashes brilliantly with its flexible wand, it stayed put all day, lengthened my lashes like nothing else and didn’t cost the world. It was so good we gave all the girls one as wedding favours, too!” It also comes in a waterproof version if you want extra protection against smudging, flaking or running on your wedding day.
L’Oréal Paris
Telescopic Mascara
The Lipstick: Charlotte Tilbury K.i.s.s.i.n.g Lipstick
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, Charlotte Tilbury, Stocksy)
“I’m very lucky that my dear friend and all-time favourite makeup artist Mary Greenwell did my makeup as my wedding present. I’ll treasure the memory always,” says beauty journalist Sali Hughes. “I wore two custom-made The Vampire’s Wife dresses (one for day and one for evening), and so I had a different makeup look for each. In the daytime, I wore Charlotte Tilbury’s K.i.s.s.i.n.g. Satin Lipstick (£29) in Stoned Rose, a rose pink with a slightly peach undertone, and Pillow Talk Original Lip Cheat (£22) pencil. For the evening, I wore a glittery lamé dress and a shimmery Tom Ford eye shadow palette, so we switched out the lips for a matte to balance out all the shine and last through hours of dancing. Mary kept the Pillow Talk liner, but filled it with a past Chanel shade that was identical to their newer Rouge Allure Velvet in 62 Libre (£42), a mauvey beige.”
Charlotte Tilbury
K.i.s.s.i.n.g Lipstick
The Lip Gloss: Refy Lip Gloss
(Image credit: Who What Wear UK, Refy, Stocksy)
“My wedding-day moodboard consists of glassy and glowy looks, and for me, a huge part of that will be having plump, glossy lips all day,” says Who What Wear UK affiliate manager Jerrylyn Saguiped. “My holy-grail product might not make its way to the top of everyone’s lists and is something I already use in my day-to-day routine, but I’ll be wearing Refy’s Lip Gloss (£16) in clear. It’s the perfect product to sit on top of any lip liner or lipstick, and has the moisturising benefits of a lip balm without being sticky. While it may not be 100% smooch-proof, I know I’ll be reaching for this throughout the day!”
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