MoodRoomBride's beauty checklist
In wedding beauty preparation, timing matters more than the treatments themselves. A new treatment a week before the wedding is a risk rather than preparation — skin needs time to react, and that time has to be planned for rather than hoped through.
MoodRoom founder — Makeup artist and instructor ·
Three months out
This is when you start anything that needs time to show a result. If you are changing your skincare routine, this is the point to do it — not one month out.
It is also when hair and makeup get booked. Autumn dates, particularly in September and October, fill during this window.
One month out
This is the trial window — two to four weeks before. At this point there is still time to change something you did not like.
It is also the last safe point for any treatment that provokes a skin reaction. If a treatment is new to you and you have never had it before, it should not happen inside the final month.
The final week
Nothing new starts this week. Only things you already know, and whose effect on you is predictable.
- Brow shaping — five to seven days before, not later
- Manicure — in the last two days, if ring photographs are planned
- Hair colour — at least two weeks before, not in this week
- Skincare — unchanged, if it was already tested at the trial
The day before
Two things matter the day before: sleep and water. Both show directly on the skin the next morning, and both are the first things to be sacrificed.
It is also worth setting up the room where makeup will happen: a clear surface, a source of natural light and a chair with a back. Those three things make the morning considerably calmer for everybody in it.
The morning itself
Eat something. This sounds trivial and is not: a proportion of brides eat nothing all morning and are already tired by the ceremony.
Wear something that opens at the front — buttons or a zip. Anything that goes over the head damages finished hair and makeup, and it happens at least once at most weddings.
Frequently asked questions
- When should I book a makeup artist?
- For autumn dates, at least three months ahead. September and October are the busiest period and those dates fill early.
- When should I have my brows shaped?
- Five to seven days before the wedding. Later than that and any irritation may not have settled; earlier and the shape has already grown out.
- Can I try a new treatment before the wedding?
- Only if it is more than a month out. A new treatment in the final weeks is a risk, because your skin's reaction to it is unknown.
- What should I wear while getting ready?
- Something that opens at the front, with buttons or a zip. Anything pulled over the head damages finished hair and makeup.