Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Make me up

As someone that grew up in a household with a mother that didn't ever go anywhere without her "face" on, I developed an early fascination with cosmetics. I started rocking some colourful eyeliner in public school and my mom always allowed me to explore and find my own look and style.

My brother and I in high school - Bright eye shadow, lots of black eyeliner and no eyebrows / Personal Photo 

In my early 20s (and late teens for that matter) I too wouldn't be seen in public without my "face" on. Girls wore make-up and that's how it was in my world. Advancing from the drug store aisle to an expensive affair with Sephora, I loved spending my money on a new palette or the latest mascara. 

Then I met Mr. Narwhal. 

When we first started dating, I asked him what kind of look he preferred on girls and he told me it didn't matter to him, and I continued to wear my routine face and never thought anything of it. As time progressed, it became known that the "it didn't matter to him" actually was a preference for a more natural look. Mr. Narwhal grew up in a home with a mother that didn't wear any make-up and he appreciates natural beauty. 

So with time, I would wear less and less make-up and became more confident in a natural look than my more made-up look. It's funny how things change, but I started to feel better about myself and more confident in my own skin with this transition. 

Since I work from home, I slowly transitioned from wearing make-up every day, to make-up some days. If I wasn't leaving the house for anything other than the gym or grocery store, there wasn't a sense in getting myself all made-up. 

While I still have my love for Sephora, Youtube tutorials and the occasional eyeliner, my everyday look has become overly simplified in comparison to before. And, I like it better that way. I just feel more like myself. Insert cheesy line about how finding the one brings out the best version of ourselves.  

So where does this little back story leave me? Sort of lost on where to go with my bridal make-up.

Unless you're a celebrity, your wedding day is most likely the one day of your life when you will have the most photos ever taken of you. Being the centre of attention for an entire day is the part of the wedding that doesn't sit well with me. As an extrovert, you would think I wouldn't have any issue with this, but thinking about everyone starring at me and commenting on how I look for an entire day makes me want to reach for a paper bag to breathe into. So, naturally I want to feel confident in my bridal look, and part of that confidence will come from my make-up.

On the other hand, I also care about what Mr. Narwhal thinks about my bridal look more than anyone else. While I know he'll love what I choose regardless, I want him to really love my choices, and this includes make-up. 

So what's a girl to do? I know that when the camera is on I need more make-up than usual, but I also want Mr. Narwhal to love what he sees in person

Colour me confused.

You may recall that for our engagement photos I got eyelash extensions and did my own make-up. I was really happy with how it turned out and while I plan to do eyelash extensions again for the wedding, I think I want a little more oomph, a little more summer and a little more bridal for the wedding day. 


Engagement photo look / Photo by Isos Photography

And so, while I don't think I'll be figure it out until after my trial in June, my inspiration has come from a major love and admiration for the make-up artist Ania Milczarczyk. I love how her make-up pulls together a natural, dewy and fresh feeling, while still putting emphasis on the eyes and brows. 









How did you decide what your bridal make-up look would be?

After note: I showed Mr. Narwhal this post after drafting it and for the first time ever he loved a make-up inspiration photo (the first of Ania's photos). Every other Ania or make-up inspiration photo I had shown him in the past had been deemed "too much make-up" in his books. So I think we finally have a make-up inspiration winner! 

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