Pre-Wedding Bridal Beauty Prep

Step 1: Actives or Treatments

If you have a specific skincare concern that you want resolved by your wedding day, actives or targeted skincare treatments are essential. These are the skincare ingredients you need to include in your regime:

- COLLAGEN: Collagen is the foundational building block of plump, radiant skin. Its role in our skin is to encourage cell renewal. When collagen levels deplete in our skin, the result is sagging, dull, ageing and uneven skin. That’s why skincare which prompts collagen production is essential to radiant, youth-defying skin. We love Charlotte Tilbury’s Collagen Superfusion Facial Oil.

- SALICYLIC ACID: A key acne-fighting ingredient, salicylic acid is the perfect choice for those with blemish-prone skin or those trying to combat a breakout. Wedding preparations can, of course, be stressful, so salicylic acid with its redness-fighting, gently exfoliating properties, should be your first line of defence against stress-induced breakouts. We love Dermalogica’s Retinol Clearing Oil.

- RETINOL: The holy grail of all skincare: by prompting skin renewal on a cellular level, retinol is your age-defying, dark spot-fighting, radiance-inducing hero. The ideal choice for any skin concern, we love Kiehl’s Micro-Dose Anti-Aging Retinol Serum for retinol-lovers and newbies alike.

- HYALURONIC ACID: Renowned for its ability to hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water, hyaluronic acid is your answer to dry or dull skin. It binds with water in the skin, resulting in visibly plumper, more radiant and youthful-looking skin. Some of our favourite skincare heroes contain hyaluronic acid, such as Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair Serums and Bobbi Brown’s Intensive Skin Serum Radiance Emulsion.

- ESSENTIAL OILS: Skin-loving oils such as jojoba oil, sweet almond oil, argan oil and rosehip seed oil often have anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties, but can also be used for their hydrating and soothing properties. We love La Mer’s The Renewal Oil for this reason.

Step 2: Exfoliation

Exfoliation is an incredibly important part of skincare, but is a step which is often neglected. Exfoliation removes the outer layer of dead skin cells or grime, allowing your other products to penetrate the skin more effectively. Gentle, regular facial exfoliation can, as such, increase the effectiveness of all your other products, while also keeping skin blemish-free and thoroughly cleansed.

There are two kinds of exfoliators: chemical exfoliants and physical exfoliants. Chemical exfoliants include AHAs (alpha-hydroxy acids such as Glycolic Acid and Lactic Acid) and BHAs (beta-hydroxy acids such as salicylic acid). They act by dissolving or peeling dead skin cells or grime. Physical exfoliants, however, often include exfoliating particles such as scrubs which manually remove debris from skin. Experts recommend exfoliating two to three times per week, but a good rule of thumb is to factor exfoliation into your routine every three days or so.

Some of our favourites include: Dermalogica’s Daily Glycolic Cleanser, Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Facial Scrub and Charlotte Tilbury’s Super Radiance Resurfacing Facial.

Step 3: Face Masks

An easy way to revamp your skincare routine can be to introduce a weekly face mask session. Skincare for brides can be overwhelming, we know, but face masks are a great way to provide your skin with an intensive boost of skin-soothing, age-defying, radiance-boosting ingredients easily. Face masks are like the green juice of the skincare world.

Our top picks include: Sisley’s Black Rose Cream Mask, Eve Lom’s Rescue Mask and Charlotte Tilbury’s Cryo-Recovery Mask.

Step 4: Hydration

Let us let you in on a little secret... hydration is the secret to glowing, plump skin. And no, we’re not just talking about getting your 10 glasses of water in a day, but hydration from the inside out. A well-chosen moisturiser will keep your skin fresh, plump, line-free and radiant. Plus, hydration is essential to keeping your skin barrier intact, otherwise known as your skin’s first line of defence against irritation, pollution and more.

For oily/combination skin, we recommend: Bobbi Brown’s Vitamin-Enriched Face Base or Clinique’s Moisture Surge range.

For dry skin, we recommend: Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream

For normal skin, we recommend: Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream

And finally, for sensitive skin we recommend: Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Omega-Rich Cloud Cream

Step 5: Bodycare

Supple, smooth skin takes time. There’s nothing more indulgent than a relaxing post-shower routine, including a scented body wash and body lotion. For honeymoon-ready legs, we recommend regular moisturising and treating your bodycare with the same attention you would treat your traditional skincare.

The perfect bodycare routine contains three steps:

- CLEANSER: A good body wash or in-shower cleanser. We love Aesop’s Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser and Le Labo’s Mandarin Shower Gel

- SCRUB: Just like with your facial skincare, a good exfoliant will help your body lotion and other products penetrate your skin. Sol de Janeiro’s Bum Bum Body Scrub is our secret to silky soft skin.

- LOTION: Moisturise your whole body post-shower or nightly for best results. We love Kiehl's Creme de Corps or Molton Brown’s Body Lotions in scents such as Lily & Magnolia Blossom.

Step 6: Self-Tanner

You may be wondering, why do I need to start self-tanning months before my wedding? Well, the answer is more complex than you may expect. This tip is for those who love a bronzed glow, or who may be partial to sunning themselves. Sun exposure without SPF can cause premature ageing, wrinkles, dark spots and overall unhappy skin. We recommend limiting your sun exposure, or making sure that you are using at least SPF 30 when going outdoors to protect your skin before your big day. But wait, that doesn’t mean you have to forgo that beautiful tan! You can still get that glow in safety, with sunless tanners and false tans which bring the colour without the sun damage. Win win!

We particularly love Amanda Harrington’s Body and Face tanners for an instant glow, and Tan Luxe’s tanning drops for a gradual base.

Step 7: Haircare

Taking care of your hair is truly essential. One aspect of this is choosing the appropriate shampoo and conditioner for your hair needs (hydrating, clarifying, colour-friendly, whatever you want), but also investing in a good hair mask or leave-in treatment and, of course, heat protectant. Care for your hair in between cuts with bond-protecting haircare to prevent split ends, frizziness and more. Honestly, these brands are our secret to making every day a good hair day. We love: Olaplex, K18, Oribe, Aveda and Gisou.

Step 8: Hair Styling

Just like it’s important to use the right products when caring for your hair, we recommend investing in the right products for styling your hair. With multiple heat settings, these hair styling tools will give you a salon-finish from home. Just make sure you use with a good heat protectant to keep hair happy and healthy.

Our favourite hairdryer: LanaiBLO’s Hairdryer.

Our favourite hair-friendly tool: the L'Oréal Professionnel Steampod uses steam to style hair, making it up to 91% less damaging to hair than traditional heat tools.

Our favourite styling tool: the Dyson Corrale Straightener.

Bonus Tip: Beauty Sleep

Our final tip is less of a beauty tip and more of an overall life lesson. Wedding planning can be an incredibly stressful time, and this added stress can wreak havoc not only on your skin, hair and body, but on your mind and your sense of wellbeing. It’s important to carve out time for yourself, and to create lasting self-care rituals that help bring you back to that state of inner peace.

And one of the most important aspects of a healthy lifestyle is good sleep hygiene.

What’s sleep hygiene? Well, sleep hygiene basically just refers to the habits you build that help you get a good, restful night’s sleep.

For us, that means carving out time away from our phones at the end of the day to relax. You might want to slip on a comfortable robe and choose a candle or essential oil diffuser that will help you unwind. Silk pillowcases have also been proven to improve skin and hair health, while also providing a sense of true relaxation and peace and improving overall sleep at night.

Now all that’s left is to wish you luck, love and laughter on your big day. We hope you enjoyed our top tips for wedding beauty prep.