How to Prepare for Your Hair and Make Up Trial
Ah wedding day hair and make up, something that can either go so right or so wrong on your big day. That's why so many brides opt for hair and make up trials for peace of mind on the big day, plus it's a great way for your hair and make up artist to get to know you and your preferences. So what exactly do you need to have prepared before the trial? The lovely expert hair and make up artist Camilla J Collins is here to help - over to you Camilla!
Get prepared with Pinterest boards and Magazine Clippings
So you’ve finally booked in your hair and makeup trial - Yay! You’ve got your little folder of magazine cuttings, album of images on your phone and Pinterest board at the ready!
It can be tempting to send this all to your stylist or artist prior to the trial but there really is no need - you may be better to wait until you are actually with him or her to talk through all the images together.
Quite often the individual images that are torn out, saved or pinned to your board are not necessarily the look you want in it’s entirety. So once you are at your trial, you can sit down together and discuss which aspects of which images and styles you like and gain a better perspective on how the style will look on you.
Speak to Your Stylist Before Buying Any Hair Extensions
If you are considering hair wefts or extensions for your wedding day style you’ll definitely want to speak to your stylist beforehand. Hair wefts are far more versatile than larger hair pieces. Wefts can be added in small or large lots for extra volume and length as well as weaved in for braids or cleverly placed in other areas to provide volume. With larger hair pieces such as clusters or pony tails for instance, we are very limited as to where we can place these and they are very much a one trick pony! I always recommend that you physically go into a store to buy your hair pieces as this way you can match your hair colour perfectly. Buying online can be a little bit risky and then there is the added hassle of trying to send it back and then selecting another colour which may still not be right.
Leave your Hair Natural and Avoid Any Product
I always ask my brides to just leave their hair “as it comes” so no need to do anything special or blow dry or style it a specific way - that’s my job anyway and less hassle for you! One thing I do advise however is that it is washed the day before. Some people ask about using conditioner. It really depends on your hair type, if you hair is quite soft anyway then no conditioner would be great but if you’re going to struggle to get a brush through it once you’ve washed it then condition as normal. Ideally stay away from any finishing products such as mousse, wax, oils or hair spray.
Give Your Face a Pamper the Night Before
As for preparing for your makeup trial, we’re going to need to start from scratch so makeup removed and skin cleansed would be best, but don’t worry as again your artist would do that all for you before beginning the makeup application. An exfoliating face scrub the day before may not be a bad idea to remove the dead skin cells and allow your skin to settle over night for a lovely fresh makeup application. This will really improve the finished results of the makeup and allow the makeup to glide on and sit much better for a fresher and more flawless appearance. I’m a particular fan of Nip+Fab Glycolic Scrub Fix but there are lots of other scrubs out there, just make sure you don’t scrub too hard and aggravate your skin.
So those are my main tips for preparing for your trials. There isn’t too much to do really apart from keep an open mind and get excited to explore all the possiblities!
To book Camilla for your big day, check out her profile here.