A bold red lip makes you feel powerful. We know! There’s nothing like a good red lipstick. Dressed up or dressed down, red lipstick can be paired with almost anything, making it the go-to for many.
The only problem: finding the perfect red lipstick is no small task. Your skin tone is a major determinant in which red you should go for. That’s why the red lip that your friend wears (the one you love to death) doesn’t have the same effect on your lips.
We’re of the opinion that your handbag should always have a red lipstick inside it. So, here is a quick and easy guide to finding the perfect one for you.
For a fair complexion
Go for a blue-based or pink-based red lipstick. The cool tones will contrast well with your fair complexion because of its pink-based undertone.
Look for a brick or rust tinted red. You could also go for a coral or orange base. An olive complexion carries a yellow-green undertone. Earthy toned lipsticks will work effortlessly with your skin.
A darker complexion allows for a wider variety of reds. If you want a bold look, opt for a deep, true red. If you want a more natural look, go for blue-based reds.
Give good face with the new makeup trend sweeping the beauty industry: soft glam. Romantic yet sultry, this makeup look is perfect for the bride wanting to make a subtle statement.
Soft glam gives you the drama of a bold look that is paired down to appear more relaxed. Healthy looking and dewy skin, warm-toned eyeshadow, arched eyebrows and glossy, nude lips are key characteristics to this trend. Celebrity makeup artists Hung Vann Go, Patrick Ta and Mary Phillips are experts in this makeup trend.
The eyes are the key to this look. Think warm-toned browns, bold wined liner and a natural bushy brow. Use a matte brown in the crease and make sure to buff the shadow out towards your temples for a blown out, catlike effect. A gold-toned shimmer shade in the centre of your lid will highlight your eye to perfection.
A natural yet full set of lashes is easily obtained with a stunning set of falsies. This will give you a flirty finish without being too overwhelming on the eye.
For bold and bushy brows, use a fine-tipped brow pencil with a waxy finish to create hairlike strokes. Remember to brush your hair upwards before filling them in for even greater fullness and fluffiness.
South Africa’s very own Zozibini Tunzi has just been crowned Miss Universe for 2019. Her beauty, strength and intellect have inspired us all to be a little bit like her. Take some style tips from our reigning queen this upcoming wedding season by taking a page from her fashion diaries.
Wedding dress:
Zozibini strutted down the Miss Universe stage wearing a stunning white caped gown representing her Xhosa heritage, designed by Biji – La Maison de Couture. Modern and structured, this dress makes a powerful statement.
Bridal capes are a great option for brides that are looking for a little something extra and for those that are looking to break away from the norm. If you’re not into the super modern look, you can soften the cape by going for lighter fabrics to give an airy finish.
If you’re daring, why not go for an illusion gown wedding dress? Zozibini wore this Biji – La Maison de Couture to the Fairlady Santam Woman of the Future Awards earlier this year and gave us major #outfitgoals.
This lace applique gown is delicate yet sexy, perfect for the bride wanting to strike a balance. If you’re scared of the full illusion look you can always line certain parts.
Zozibini’s ornate crown, named ‘The Power of Unity’, celebrates the complexity, diversity, unapologetic ambition and strength of women. With more than 1,770 diamonds set in 18-karat gold, the crown features interconnected leaves and flowers. A 62.83 carat golden canary diamond is the stunning centrepiece.
While you might not have the budget to replicate this specific crown, there are so many ways to get the look. Give off regal romance with these stunning crowns.
Credit: Instagram / Minas FloralsCredit: Instagram / Elizabeths EventsCredit: Instagram / Mark Jay Photography
Applique – various fabrics sewn onto netting or other transparent fabric – creates a lovely, romantic appearance for your bridal look. It allows you to show some skin and yet still look classy and tasteful. It suits brides with a feminine style and a love for detail. Applique designs can feature anywhere, like the back, sleeves, neckline or veil. Here are some of our favourites.
Anyone with curly hair knows it can be temperamental. If you’ve decided to rock your natural texture on your big day, fear not. The joy of curly hair is that is it can be anything it wants to be.
There are a wide variety of creative curly hairstyles to choose from. Whether you’r rocking locks, braids, a ‘fro or your wash ‘n go, we’ve got styles to suit everyone.
Your make up will determine your whole look, and it’s important that it suits your personality, dress and overall theme. Here are five looks that have always been popular to give you some inspiration.
Metallic
This style is perfect for the rockstar-bride. Go for shades of purple, bronze and silver for a dramatic look.
Classic
Over the years, the classic neutral eyes with bold red lips have always been a favourite. It speaks of timeless class and sophistication.
Smokey
The smokey eye is a good option if you are looking to make a lasting impression. Pair it with nude lips to make your eyes pop!
Fresh
Depending on your skin tone, the natural, spring-inspired look will have you looking radiant.
Contoured
Keep up with the Kardashians who practically invented (and perfected) this edgy style.
There’s nothing more frustrating than getting a new perfume, only to find the scent will last a whole of five seconds before it fades into the wind. We give you a few simple ways to help make your fragrance last longer and stronger, especially for your big day.
A clean slate
Timing is everything, so spraying on your perfume after a hot shower and a layer of moisturiser is the best way to lock in that scent. After a shower, your pores are clean and skin is moist, making it more susceptible to hold onto the fragrance.
Layered levels
To achieve the maximum scent profile of your favourite perfume, try layering the same scent with its matching body wash and body cream. The products work in harmony to last as long as possible and also reach areas you wouldn’t normally spray your perfume on. For that added punch, lightly mist your hair at the nape of your neck with the scent as well.
Pulse points
These points on our bodies are where blood flows closest to the surface, i.e. behind the ears, along your neck, your inner wrists and behind the elbows and knees. It is always preferred to target these areas with the scent as the skin is thinnest here and they emit natural heat from your body. This heat helps the perfume scent to evolve as the day progresses and works with your natural body scent.
Dab, don’t rub
When spraying perfume onto your skin, always dab instead of rubbing it into your skin, or better yet, just leave it. While the pulse points release heat, rubbing those points together (like your wrists) has the potential to break the perfume’s molecular structure.
The perfect distance
As obvious as it sounds to spray more perfume if you want a stronger scent pay-off, try to not overspray your perfume in one particular area. However, in that same breath, don’t spray into the air and completely miss it landing where it should. The ideal should be the perfume bottle at an angle, half an arm’s length away from your body so that it can settle evenly onto your skin.
Store away from light & heat
Lastly, always keep your perfumes away from direct sunlight and intense heat or humidity. The light and heat break down the perfume itself which causes it to fade faster than usual. One would hate to spend thousands of rands on a beautiful perfume that won’t even last you the month if it’s already broken down.
One of the most important aspects of a wedding is the bride’s dress. The marriage too, but let’s be honest, all eyes will be on the woman of the moment when she makes her triumphant walk down the aisle. With all this attention, you’ll definitely want your look to be picture perfect.
Wedding dress shopping is an experience. Making a dress or even just having one altered takes time. To make sure you stay on schedule, follow our wedding dress timeline.
12 months before the wedding:
– Research: Before you begin wedding dress shopping, you have to know what you want. Having a general idea of how you want to look will make the shopping experience that much easier. Scour Instagram and Pinterest for inspiration. It also helps to make a Pinterest board so that your bridal party and shopping assistants at bridal stores can greater understand your vision.
– Budget: Before you enter a store, you need to have a budget. If you don’t have a budget, you risk spending way beyond your means. When setting up your budget, make sure to include all the extra expenses such as alterations, shipping and accessories so that you have a ballpark figure that you cannot go over.
10 months before the wedding:
– Start wedding dress shopping: If you thought finding the One was tough, you haven’t gone wedding dress shopping yet. With so many silhouettes and styles available, it is easy to become overwhelmed.
Take your time and visit a few wedding dress stores to see what they have to offer. During this time, you can also start to get a feel of the the styles that look best on you, which will make your final decision much easier.
– Say yes to the dress: After months of visiting bridal stores, now is the time to make your choice. By 8 months, you should have your wedding dress locked down and ordered. It may seem early, but choosing your dress this early leaves enough time for alterations and fittings which can often take months to complete.
– Accessorise: remember the saying, “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue”? Now is the time to incorporate it into your wedding attire.
Whether it be an extravagant veil or a bridal hair piece, there are so many ways to top off your bridal look. The 5-month mark is the perfect time to go shopping for shoes, jewellery and other other accessories to compliment your dress.
– First fitting: Chances are, you’ll have two to three fittings to make sure your dress is the perfect. At your first fitting, you will cover all the alterations that need to be made, whether it be a shorter hemline or extra beading.
It is crucial to have this fitting months ahead of the wedding to allow your seamstress enough time to make all the necessary changes. Make sure to bring your shoes and accessories along so that you can see the final look a little more clearly and make the necessary adjustments.
6-8 weeks before the wedding:
– Second fitting: The second dress fitting is for minor revisions. You will be fitting on your dress to see how the alterations at your first fitting came out and if any other changes need to be made. Once again, make sure to bring along your shoes and accessories. If possible, have your hair styled and your bridal makeup done so that you can see every component of your look together.
2-3 weeks before the wedding:
– Final fitting: All the alterations should be complete at this point, so the final fitting is simply to ensure that everything is perfect. This is the time when your entire look will come together. It is advised that you come prepared with your shoes and accessories, and have your hair and makeup done to get the big picture of your bridal attire.
the week before the wedding:
– pick up your wedding dress: it’s finally done! Your next task is to pick up your wedding dress and leave it somewhere safe. If you are following tradition, you’ll want to keep your dress out of your partner’s sight, so you will need to be strategic about where you will store it.
the day of:
Enjoy your wedding day: this one is pretty self-explanatory. The day has finally arrived, and now is the time to bask in your happiness while wearing your dream dress.
Yes, Bieber fever is still a thing, and the wedding of Hailey & Justin Bieber hasn’t made it go down whatsoever. To say Hailey looked perfect on her wedding day is an absolute understatement. Her glam team pulled out all the stops and we are totally here for it. We break down how to achieve the Hailey Bieber bridal beauty look with a few simple steps.
Overall, Hailey had a make-up look that just added to her features instead of overpowering one another, and we are obsessed. Make-up artist to the stars, Denika Bedrossian, opted for subtle and natural glam to bring out her best features.
Before you can start with foundation and all the added extras, your skin needs to be well cleansed and moisturised. This means cleansing with a gentle cleanser and following it up with a moisturiser with an added hit of hydration. Also, try to go for monthly facials leading up to the wedding to deeply cleanse and promote blood circulation for a healthy, believable glow.
Precisely defined brows are no longer top of the list as natural and fluffy are now the way to go. Hailey’s well-groomed brows were full, yet still subtly defined. Try using a brow setting gel with just a hint of colour to hold the hairs in place.
Lengthy, fluttery lashes are enviably romantic and utterly flirtatious. Make-up artist Denika used a defining and lengthening mascara to achieve this. Make sure it’s waterproof to ensure those inevitable waterworks don’t ruin your make-up.
Neutral was the name of the game with this entire make-up look and using subtle pink shades with brown and warmer undertones most certainly created a softness to the eye and added that romantic glam. There was also no dramatic cat eye, with Denika opting for a non-winged eyeliner to just define the eye less harshly.
The modern wedding is one of fun, and unique-ness. Couples of today are eschewing tradition to create a personal story for their big day, one that will stay with them forever. As such, we have seen a number of new and different trends flare up in the wedding industry over the years. From neon signs and dried botanicals, to bridal jackets and artful cakes, couples are making statements with their wedding elements.
While there is no one-size-fits-all for weddings, wedding trends often help to guide couples when planning their Big Day. These are the biggest wedding trends predicted for 2020.
Individuality:
The main trend of the 2020 wedding season is individuality. People are embracing what makes them unique and incorporating that into their weddings. With so many options, engaged couples are no longer pigeon-holed into particular styles that may not suit them. It truly has become a free-for-all for the upcoming 2020 wedding season.
Bridal Fashion:
Bridal designers of today has moved away from the traditional bridal look. Bridal fashion has become less of a focus on the ‘bridal’, but more on the ‘fashion’. The millennial bride is ready to take risks and be bold, and designers are loving it. With more brides opting for separate ceremony and reception looks, there is more opportunity to have fun.
Vera Wang, Victor and Rolf and Monique Lhullier all featured puffy sleeves in their Bridal 2020 lines.
Credit: Instagram / Vera Wang gang
Victorian romance was featured in shows of Mira Zwillinger and Costarellos.
Credit: Costarellos Bridal
Reem Acra and Galia Lahav are putting the leg on display with side split wedding dresses.
Credit: Instagram / Reem Acra Bridal
The bridal jumpsuit is having a huge moment, and featured in collections by Cushnie, Pronovias and Viktor & Rolf.
Credit: Instagram / Cushnie Bridal
Statement veils are having a moment in 2019, and will extend to 2020. We most recently saw Hailey Bieber feature this accessory in her wedding to Justin Bieber.
Veils are traditional and timeless, but with small finishes, they can be given a modernised look.
Unique, vintage inspired rings will be the big trend for 2020. Mia Moross, founder of The One I Love NYC, says she has seen a rise in cushion-cut, hand-mined diamond rings being purchased, and predicts that there will be a rise in yellow-gold rather than platinum bands, as well as Art Deco pieces. She believes that modern couples want their rings to tell a story, and are looking for pieces that reflect history and soul.
She also notes that couples are choosing the rings together, rather than the one proposing doing it themselves.
Informal Venues:
Informal and relaxed venues have been trending for years, and do not seem to be going anywhere. Forests, barns, backyards and beaches have been popular wedding venues for a good reason. It’s less stuffy, more inviting and often times more affordable than renting out halls and wine farms.
Today’s couples are much more environmentally conscious, and are actively looking for eco-friendly alternatives to many wedding staples. Many venues and suppliers are starting to incorporate sustainability into their services. One such South African venue, Cederkloof Botanical Retreat, provides various elements of sustainability in their wedding offerings, covering aspects of social, environmental and financial health.
Seasonal Flowers:
Dried botanicals have been featuring in many bridal bouquets, and are as popular as ever. Engaged couples are also leaning towards local, seasonal and sustainable flowers to feature in their weddings.
2020 wedding decor will focus on statement pieces. Think balloons, neon signs, elaborate wedding arches and massive floral centerpieces. Over sized decor makes for a wonderful talking point, and gives weddings a personal, unique touch.
Mood lighting is still all the rage. Exposed bulbs dangling from the ceiling, floating candles and twinkling fairy lights create a beautifully romantic setting perfect for weddings.
