Easy South Asian Bridal/Bollywood Makeup Tutorial

What do you do to celebrate a big wedding anniversary? Well – if you’re EXTRA like me – you take your wedding clothes out of storage and book a couples’ photoshoot!

To be fair, we’d never done a couples’ photoshoot before – they didn’t seem that popular when we got married. We did have a professional photographer at our wedding – but all those photos were taken indoors and at night. I always wished we had pretty wedding photos – and then I thought – instead of regretting the past – we should just take some now!

We’re obviously not newlyweds anymore – but I think that’s what makes
these photos more special. It’s amazing to celebrate the beginning of
marriage – but it’s also equally important to honour the middle of
marriage too – when you’ve dealt with challenges together and come out
stronger on the other side.

Another reason for booking a wedding photoshoot is that I wanted a bridal makeup redo! I didn’t know a lot about makeup application when I got married ( I didn’t even own foundation – I just used to spot conceal where necessary!) I trusted the bridal makeup “experts” for my wedding makeup – they did an amazing job with my eye makeup and my hair – but they used a foundation about 3 shades too light for me!

For this photoshoot – I did my own makeup using products from Quo Cosmetics. While I definitely know a lot more about makeup than when I first got married – I’m still no expert when it comes to eye shadow application! I put together a simple bridal/wedding makeup look which is easy to recreate.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Start with a clean, moisturized face. Apply foundation.
2. CONCEALING & BROWS. Take a peach colour corrector and apply it under your eyes in an inverted triangle shape. Make sure to cover any dark areas, including along the sides of your nose. Apply a light coloured concealer to the center of your forehead, down your nose and on your chin, to act as a highlighter. Also dab some concealer on your eyelid to provide a base for your eyeshadow. Use an eyebrow pencil to lightly fill in your brows. Draw a line under your eyebrows using a pink brow highlighting pencil – blend it down along your browbone. Take a natural coloured lipliner and fill in your lips.
3. BLEND & EYESHADOW. Take a soft brush and gently blend all the concealer into your skin. Wet an eyeshadow brush, dip it in gold eyeshadow and apply it all over your eyelid. Once you’ve packed on a layer of colour, use a fluffy brush to keep adding more colour for a highly saturated shade.
4. LINING & LASHES. Use a black liquid eyeliner and line your upper lash line. Begin with a fine line, start 1/2 an inch away from the inner corner of your eye, and increase the thickness as you get close to the outer corner. Wing out the end of the liner. Take false eyelashes and measure the length against your eyelid – trimming the strip if necessary. Apply lash glue on the strip, wait 30 seconds and then drop the false lashes on top of your lash line.
5. CONTOURING. Take the contouring shade and draw a line down either side of your nose to add definition. Brush contour along your cheekbones, on your forehead (near your hairline), along your jawline and under your chin. Carefully blend it all in.
6. BLUSH & LIPCOLOUR. Take a red liquid lipstick and paint on 2 coats. Then take a light pinkish nude lipstick and dab it on the center of your lips for a more dimensional look. Take a pigmented peach blush, and use a fluffy brush to apply a generous layer to your cheek. Mist on some some makeup setting spray, and you’re done!

Hubby was impressed that I did my own makeup for this photoshoot – he
said I should have done my makeup at our wedding (he remembers the
super light foundation incident LOL!) It’s made me realize how much I’ve learned from watching YouTube videos and reading blogs –
including how to contour, how to apply false lashes and how to draw on
winged eyeliner. I’m far from an expert – but the more I practice, the easier it gets.

Since doing the photoshoot – I’ve incorporated a lot of QUO products into my everyday makeup routine. Here are my favourites:

• QUO Color Corrector Camouflage – I play around with the peach and yellow shades in this palette. It erases any darkness and leaves you with a hydrated and bright undereye. 
• QUO Art Of Lining Micro Black – I love how fine the brush is on this liner – it applies such a precise line. The formula is very pigmented and dries to a satin finish. I always struggle with liquid liner applying too thickly and then transferring to my lower lash line – this liner is budge-proof and stays exactly where you put it!
• QUO Lip Velour Angelic – This liquid lipstick/gloss applies like a dream. The applicator is an actual lip brush rather than a wand – so it’s easy to paint a neat line. The formula is very hydrating, even when it dries down – and the colour stays in place a long time.
• QUO Blush Duo Peach Perfect + QUO Bronzing Powder Brush – I’m loving this combo! The blush is so pigmented and provides a pretty and natural-looking flush. The powder brush is so soft and applies a diffused wash of colour.

I’d love to hear about your experience with couples’ photoshoots! Have you taken part in any? It took hubby a while to get comfortable posing, whereas I think my experience with blog photoshoots made me a bit more used to the process! Also – how did you like your wedding makeup? I think maybe doing some makeup trials or bringing in some example photos would have helped me on my wedding day – where was Pinterest when I needed it? Oh well – I honestly loved my wedding, despite the makeup mishap – it was such a special time – and I’m also so grateful that we got to celebrate our anniversary with these pics!

PHOTO CREDIT: All couples photos were taken by SR PHOTOS.

DISCLAIMER: Thank you to Quo Cosmetics for partnering with me for this sponsored post!