Scared of making a mess of wedding day make-up? There is no need to fear with these easy fixes to make sure your make-up looks flawless.

Not all brides hire a professional make-up artist for their wedding day. However, every bride wants to look her best in the photos as well as enjoy the celebration. Avoiding most wedding make-up problems is easy with just a little planning. Although make-up normally goes as expected, knowing how to fix common beauty mishaps means that getting ready for the ceremony will become part of the fun and calming ritual that it should be.

Sunburn and Uneven Tanning

It can be hard to ensure an even tan for weddings at the end of summer. This applies especially to anyone who participates in outdoor sports, such as running. Added to this, wedding dresses are usually cut differently when compared to regular clothes, therefore wedding dresses tend to show different areas of skin. Occasionally it is possible to catch the sun on the face, especially the nose, without even realizing until it is too late.

If you find that you have slightly burned any areas, apply a good after-sun lotion to keep the skin soothed and hydrated. Use a specific after-sun repair product for this rather than home made preparations or anything not specifically meant for this purpose. Aside from taking the colour and the sting away, a prescribed product will also prevent peeling.

It is important to avoid applying too much make-up to burned or uncomfortable areas, so use a light coverage to blend in any colour.

Dry products are usually better because they can be dusted lightly over skin. A compact powder foundation can give a little coverage as well as preventing shine.

Any areas that no longer feel burned, can be concealed with a full coverage concealer. Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage is good for this type of work.

Sunburned areas tend to shine more than regular skin, so take care to apply extra powder or dab on some anti-shine.
Blend in a patchy tan on the face by using a non-glitter, non-orange bronzing powder. Sweep this lightly over cheeks and under jaw line to make a darker nose seem part of an overall healthy glow.

Cracked, Dry and Chapped Lips

If lips are dry and flaky rather than very sore, then exfoliate with a gentle scrub, soft toothbrush or light liquid exfoliator. Continue to apply lip balm on exfoliated lips throughout the morning.

If lips still look really flaky when it comes to doing make-up, then a slick of glassy lip gloss usually gives the illusion of smoothness. If you were aiming for a natural look anyway, just use this with a little neutral pencil for definition.
If using something with more colour, make sure to blot lips and reapply product in thin layers rather than thick cover and always use a brush.

Horribly Smudged, Disastrous Eye Make-up

If you have chosen to do a slightly heavier eye make-up than you are confident applying, or did not get enough practice on the run up to the wedding, it may be best to do the eye make-up before applying foundation and concealer. This can avoid the kinds of smudging that come from a lack of confidence and practice. Simply clean the skin after applying eye make-up and then apply all the base products.

Cotton buds soaked in eye make-up remover to clean smudges easily

Use dry cotton buds to clean up powdery spills over foundation, as this will create less disturbance to the base.
Blending helps to soften a look. Use a soft blending brush to keep working over very strong or messy shadow.
Add a little translucent powder to the blending brush if trying to calm down an eye make-up.
If eye make-up is looking like a completely smudged mess, use cotton pads soaked in good quality eye make-up remover to sweep it all off and start again with a clean eye. This might set you back 10 minutes, but the finish will look so much cleaner and fresher that it will be worth it.

Essential Bridal Make-up Rescue Products

Keep these products close by on your wedding day and they will fix any make-up disasters in a trice.

A sticky roller is essential should pick up any powder or shimmer that has fallen on a white dress. For wedding purposes, look for a roller with a cartridge of tear off paper strips, rather than the permanently sticky kind, as this will ensure that the roller is completely clean and cannot mark the dress.

Buy a dry camouflage concealer palette, which contains at least a couple of colours. Try Laura Mercier or Dermacolour.
A pressed powder foundation, in a light formula, gives coverage but is less likely to irritate skin.

An easy to use exfoliator like Aveda Exfoliant has a visible smoothing effect on the skin. Unlike a mask or scrub it does not need to be rinsed off. Even more conveniently, it can be used topically on specific areas such as flaky lips or a scaly nose.

Alternatively, you could consider permanent make up in time for your big day. I recommend designerpermanentmakeup.co.uk.