Your Devon and Cornwall Wedding - July/August 2024 (Issue 50)

www.charlotteathertonphotography.com GET THE LOOK Meet the expert: Devon-based creative director and stylist Willow De La Roche created the big-day look for bride Mel Jenkins at her wedding to Tom featured on page 33. Here, Willow reveals how to get the look. Willow says: Styling a bride with strawberry blond hair is a treat for any stylist. Mel’s fair colouring needed subtle colours not to overpower her features. With this in mind, I chose a warm peachy pallet with pops of champagne gold to enhance the natural warmth in her colouring. This works wonders for blue eyes making them stand out more because peach, orange and pink contrast with blue, enhancing the vibrancy of the iris in the eyes. Mel doesn’t usually wear much make-up so I was careful to apply light and minimal coverage. My signature skill is to create natural-looking skin. The first step is good nutrition, consuming fresh fruit and vegetables, with plenty of vitamins and minerals. A good skincare routine is vital. You must cleanse, tone and moisturise every day and apply sun protection, plus use detox facials when you can. Well-considered make-up preparation of the skin is key and can make all the difference to achieving a youthful and flawless look. I ask brides to visit me with a fresh clean face armed with whatever products they usually use, omitting the moisturiser. If they haven’t had a facial to prepare for the big day (which is often a little risky as the skin can react) then I check for any grooming that might be needed, for example buffing a little dry skin. I recommend brides-to-be massage in Charlotte’s Magic Cream (www.charlottetilbury.com/uk) over their face and neck (although this isn’t recommended for particularly oily completions). This, along with a pore-refining primer as a base does wonders for skin texture for a longer-lasting hold. For Mel, I opted for an oil-based concealer and blended a sheer fine layer over her skin using lighter on the cheeks, brow bone, middle of her forehead and the chin bridge of her nose to start contouring. I was especially light with this application to avoid covering her beautiful freckles. I used Benetint on her cheeks and lips (www.benefitcosmetics.com) followed by Translucent Loose Setting Powder by Laura Mercier (www.lauramercier.co.uk). On the eyes, we opted for a subtle smoky feline look extending the upper outer corner. Starting with brown eyeliner from the middle into little flicks on the outer corner of the eye, a neutral warm brown shade was applied on the upper outer lid before a peach shade was added over the rest of the lids, finishing with Pixi by Petra Illumination Complex on the inner corner and apex of the lids (https://pixibeauty.co.uk). Then, some water-resistant mascara was put on curled lashes and a little white eyeliner was added to open the eyes. Her brows were lightly brushed with a light warm brown shade to build a little more shape. For more contouring, I used an illumination complex on the apex of Mel’s cheeks, brow bone and cupid’s bow plus on the bridge of her nose. I also used a touch of bronzer to further carve out the desirable balance in her wonderful bone structure. A nice touch to bring everything together is applying the illumination complex on the neck, chest, shoulders and arms. I finished Mel’s look with MAC’s Prep and Prime Fixer for skin dewiness (www.maccosmetics.co.uk). Mel wanted a defined and structured look for her hair to avoid any fly-away frizzy locks that she mentioned could happen. Going for a pretty half-up, half-down do, I used curling tong to create tight ringlets closest to her natural hair movement, making a feature of her long curls cut into pretty layers. It cascaded down from the crown pulling off a very flattering raised crown, bohemian-inspired up-do. We pinned the beautiful wreath of flowers created by the very talented Miller Wood florist, singer and co-owner of the venue. www.willowdelaroche.co.uk; www.instagram.com/ willowdelarochestyle; www.facebook.com/willowstylemakeup 75 EXPERT ADVICE

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