Beautician Lorraine Quinn from Beauty at the Lodge shares her year-long plan for getting wedding ready.

A wedding date gives you a deadline and forces you to start making a move. The clock is ticking and it’s time to start checking things off your wedding beauty plan leading up to the big day.

Below are some important things to consider when getting your wedding day bridal beauty routine in order!

You’ve set a date, the venue is booked, your flipping through bridal magazines and pinning pictures of bouquets and table settings.

The year leading up to the wedding can be a frenzy of decision making, planning, budgeting and of course excitement.

Everyone has different versions what their wedding will be like, but one thing every bride wants, is to look like the best version of herself on her Big Day.

One year may seem like a lifetime to a bride-to-be, but rather than attempting to cram every facial and hair appointment into the already packed month ahead of the wedding, consult experts early so they can help you plan your treatments according to your needs, here are some time guidelines you may find helpful.

One Year to Go

Skin Time to get really serious about your skin!

Not to put too fine a point on it, but flawless skin will probably be one of the top priorities for your wedding day, right up there with securing a stunning venue. Touch base with your Beauty Therapist, she will help you devise a strategy for achieving your dream-skin goals and initiate your skin regime. It is important to make sure you’re on active products for skin turnover, brightening and hydration. Something we highly recommend for brides is our brightening serum with Vitamin C.

A wedding is often the motivation a bride needs to really invest in fixing long time skin problems such as acne scarring or sun damage.

Some treatments take time up to several months, so you certainly want a game plan.

Exfoliation is key to achieving a smooth radiant complexion!

As dead cells accumulate on the skin, they interfere with light reflection giving it a dull appearance. Regular exfoliation removes dead cells to improve radiance and will enhance the absorption of skin products through the skin.

We recommend exfoliating once per week initially, then building up to twice a week. Tip: Follow up with a moisturizing mask.

Pay attention to your décolletage.

Not only is it a notorious sun-magnet, but the décolletage is also prone to wrinkling for another reason. The skin of the neck and chest has a very different structure than that of the face and body. The décolletage is an area with significantly less ‘fat padding’ and is generally more delicate than facial skin. To look banging in that plunging gown, you might need to put some extra effort in here. Start with an OTC retinol product. If you’re still seeing spots or redness, consider adding a microdermabrasion treatment. This treatment gently “sands” the skin, removing roughness.

Stick to healthy eating habits

You might think you’re ‘getting a jumpstart’ on wedding weight loss if you drastically cut calories and follow every cleanse you see on Instagram. In reality, you’re setting yourself up for trouble, the extra-pounds kind of trouble. Deprivation crash diets backfire time and time again! Your basically starving yourself, you’re going to breakdown and binge, regaining the weight you lost and feeling bad about yourself. Not to mention how cranky and miserable you’ll be in this highly social period of your life.

Teeth: Time to visit your dentist.

No one ever enjoys a visit to the dentist, but now is the time to head back in for a cleaning and x-rays. A gorgeous smile starts with healthy gums and teeth. You can also use this time to talk to your dentist about teeth whitening.

As well as looking dazzling in your photographs, a bright white smile will boost your confidence like nothing else.

Note: If you have gone to the expense of teeth whitening, use straws to drink red wine and coffee.

You might love Merlot, but Merlot doesn’t love your pearly whites. If you want white teeth for your wedding, you have to give up red wine. Because it’s a liquid, it seeps into your enamel and darkens your teeth in a way that, even if you get them cleaned, they’re not going to get lighter. You’ll have to get them whitened again. If you’re a wine addict, you need to drink it through a straw, as ridiculous as that sounds. This goes for drinking coffee too!

6 months before your wedding

Brows:

It’s time to hang up those tweezers and get your Brow Game on!

We’ve all been guilty of over-plucking, but now is the time to seriously put the tweezers down. Why? When you over-pluck, you lose all of your natural arch shape, which can change your facial expression altogether. Every bride needs a good Brow Artist to whip those brows into shape before the big day.

For a classic approach to brow shaping, you want to find brows that fit your face. Brows should be a mirror of your facial features. That’s how they start to bring balance to the entire face and eyes.

Microblading at Beauty at the Lodge

Microblading Eyebrows: Achieving the Perfect brow!

When it comes to your face, it’s all about the details. Beautiful eyebrows can be as dramatic as beautiful lashes and I love that the bold brow is really having a moment right now. However, soft, natural, subtle brows are equally beautiful.

Brides want their entire look to be flawless, from their shoes all the way up to their hair and makeup, and because eyebrows frame the eye, having the perfect arch is a necessity to really sparkle on your wedding day. Unfortunately, most of us aren’t blessed with beautiful natural brows that are shaped the way we would like.

Microblading makes it possible to give our clients the brows they always wished for, whether it’s simply improving good brows or completely making over sad ones.

They will need a week to heal initially after treatment and then back in for a touch up 4 to 6 weeks after, so the whole process calls for (you guessed it) planning!

Schedule in a consultation to see how this procedure might benefit you and to discuss timing before your big day.

Start drinking plenty of water

We know you’ve heard it a thousand times before, but keeping hydrated really is the secret to looking your best. As well as flushing out toxins, improving your digestion and in some cases helping weight loss, knocking back plenty of H2O can work wonders for your skin. Trust us, it really works.

5 Months to go

 

Get into dry brushing

Clocking in at under €5, a body brush might be one of the best beauty investments you make.

 

Dry-brushing yields major skin benefits, including exfoliation and increased blood circulation (i.e. a healthy glow). From an overall wellness standpoint, it also revs up the flow of lymph, the all-important fluid that whisks toxins out of our systems. Lymph relies on muscle movement to pass through the body, so if you’re not an active person, dry-brushing is a wonderful tool to rid the body of waste. There’s real science behind it and it really works when you commit to it. Begin now, and you’ll wonder why you ever waited this long to start…

Start with three dry-brushing sessions per week building up to daily.

Tip: When body brushing, brush towards the heart.

 

 

Nourish your skin starting in the shower.

Most women don’t realize that your skincare routine truly starts in the shower and that using a gentle cleanser is key. We recommend Dove Body Wash which is sulfate-free, made with 100% gentle cleansers and provides softer, smoother skin after just one shower.  

We recommend gently patting skin dry instead of rubbing and apply lotion/body oil within minutes of getting out of the shower, to lock in moisture before it evaporates. Get in the habit of doing this for beautiful skin from head to toe come your wedding day.

Skip the wine and get to juicing

Because vino is such a world-class dehydrator, capillary-breaker and radiance-robber, downing endless glasses is one of the biggest crimes against complexion brides-to-be commit. If it’s too hard to part ways with your wine, at least cut back and substitute that Bordeaux with liquefied leafy greens, especially during the few months leading up to your wedding.

Green juice is great for skin, because it’s oxygenating and contains vital minerals to help stimulate the lymphatic system and drain out puffiness.

Limit your sugar intake

Is that going to be easy? Mmmm possibly not, especially if you’ve got a major sweet tooth. But the list of benefits, not to mention the positive mental state from kicking it to the curb is virtually endless. For brides-to-be, removing sugar will help them lose weight and keep skin clear, plump and fresh-looking, two things they’re looking for when prepping for this big event. By limiting your sugar intake can help control stress levels and keep you more even-keeled and clear-minded.

 

3 Months before the Wedding

It’s crunch time now and the beauty regime is in full force.

Tanning Trial: Glow up skin with a spray tan.

A sunless spray tan will even out skin tone, camouflaging any imperfections like stretch marks, scars, redness and cellulite, it can also be used to contour by defining muscles and sculpting curves. We recommend you get a trial spray tan 2 days before your dress fitting to see exactly what it will look like before the big day.

Note A spray tan is only as good as the skin it is applied to. If your skin hasn’t been properly prepared (I.e exfoliated & moisturized leading up to application), don’t expect your tan to be flawless. Tan will attach itself to dry areas!

Eyelash Extensions Trial

There are numerous reasons to get eyelash extensions for your wedding day, not least the promise of a perfect, smudge-free flutter in your photographs.

There are some many styles of lashes out there, but choosing the right lash extensions that compliments your eye shape is extremely important.

You want your eyelash extensions to look as full and uniform as possible on the day, so wait until very near the time. I recommend having them done two-three days before the wedding. This will also give you the perfect opportunity to lie down with your eyes closed for an hour or two, which can only be a good thing so close to the occasion.

A good time to trail lashes would be for your hen party.

Nails: Oil up your nails every day

The best thing you can do for your nails is to keep them hydrated. When they dry out they become brittle, leading to chips and cracks. Keep nails flexible and strong by using an oil on your cuticles, nightly before bed. We recommend Solar Cuticle Oil, the brush applicator and it’s small size makes it easy to use and small enough for any bag. Get into the habit of applying oil on each nail-bed daily to ensure beautiful, ring-selfie hands year-round.

 

Hands

Don’t forget your hands.

Nails are important, but so are your hands. We recommend using a gentle scrub weekly and following it up with a generous amount of lotion and cuticle oil. Apply sunscreen to the back of each hand to protect skin.

Invest in regular manicures

Treat yourself to a professional manicure every few weeks leading up to your wedding, to ensure hands and nails are in tip-top shape. Getting a regular manicure is a good way to care for cuticles, nourish nails and relax your mind. Gorgeous, glowing hands and a little bit of me time!

Sleep is everything.

Sleep is now considered the third pillar of health along with a sound diet and lots of exercise. Sleep is important for so many reasons. We produce the highest amounts of natural HGH (human growth hormone) while we sleep, which is responsible for regenerating and creating new cells of all our body tissues (skin, muscle, hair).

When we sleep, it’s the only time our brain can repair and reorganize and the relaxed breathing state during sleep, reduces stress by calming our central nervous system. Less stress means lowered production of cortisol, the ‘fight or flight’ hormone that tells our bodies to hang onto every ounce of fat it can for survival.

To stay sane — and svelte — Aim to have a healthy (sugar-free!) meal or snack every three to four hours.

 

2 Months to go

Lay off the booze (until your big day, that is)

Hopefully, you’re already slashing your sugar intake to virtually nil. By banning alcohol, you’ll de-bloat and look even more fab in that gown. But more important than how much you’re losing, is where you’ll be losing it from, your midsection. The top areas for sugar and alcohol storage on our bodies, is in right around our hips and lower belly. Alcohol raises estrogen levels and estrogen loves making a home for itself in our lower abdominal area.

1 Month to go

Choose your perfume

It might not make an appearance in your photographs, but research has shown that 10% of our attractiveness is down to how we smell. Warm vanilla notes, musky hues and sandalwood scents are scientifically proven to make the most seductively smelling perfumes.

Those that know me, know I’m a ‘Jo Malone’ girl. I’m just loving their new arrival English Oak & Redcurrant cologne, perfect scent for a bride on her wedding day.  Or you can unleash your natural inner sultress with Molecule 01, the scent that adapts to your own unique pheromones,  perfect for driving your groom a little wild.

3 weeks to go

Drink EVEN MORE water

Yes, that’s right – it’s time to drink even more water. Up your H2O intake to 3 litres a day to plump up your skin for a money-can’t-buy glow.

 

1 week to go

Final Facial

Leave a week between your final facial and the day itself for optimal skin radiance.

 

Final Brow tidy

Leaving them perfectly groomed and any strays removed

Final wax

Going for a final wax one week before the big day is the perfect amount of time to allow any red blotchiness to calm down.

3 days to go

Manicure and Pedicure

Avoid the trauma of a chipped nail right before you walk down the aisle and opt for a gel manicure and pedicure.  

 

The night before

Try to get at least 9 hours sleep

When it’s just 12 hours to your big aisle moment, the best thing you can do is get some beauty sleep. If your nerves make it tricky to drift off, try a cup of herbal tea and a sleep-inducing lavender room spray.

Now there’s just one thing left to do… go and enjoy your big day!

Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, myself and the team will be happy to help and give you the best advice on the run up to your big day

You can get in touch via Facebook by following these links:

https://www.facebook.com/microblading.by.lorraine
https://www.facebook.com/beauty.at.the.lodge.ballybofey

You can also get in touch by calling 074 91 30446.

Lorraine x