The Beauty Wedding Planner

Tue, 19 June 2012 3:33PM

With exactly 24 days to go, the  countdown to my wedding is on! Although I’m the first to admit that I’ve been pretty laid back with the whole situation (we were engaged for something like seven months before I even started looking at venues) the good news is that I was on the front foot in terms of planning for my pre-wedding beauty routine.

Although as a beauty editor, I’m fortunate enough to have access to pretty much every skin and hair treatment under the sun, I’m not sure about you, but I barely have time to prepare breakfast in the morning let alone free up two hours for a facial every Thursday for seven weeks. I also have no illusions when it comes to the cost of treatments. Maintenance doesn’t come cheap and it’s for this very reason that I wanted to share with you some clever products and tips that I’ve picked up along the way to the altar.

Let’s take moment to reflect on our favourite bride, Drew Barrymore.

1. Pick your major(s). Kind of like uni, really, rather than trying to tackle everything, from hair extensions, to teeth whitening to Hypoxy all in the matter of a few months, you’re better off picking one or two areas of concern and tackling them properly.

It’s also a time thing, too. While things like lash extensions can be done a week out from the day, other concerns, like changing from platinum blonde back to brunette, or teeth straightening can take months, if not years, so it’s in your interest to prioritise the treatments to suit your time frame. For me, it was my teeth. I’d been saying I’d wanted to get them (re)-straightened for years and  knowing that a) it would be a costly exercise and b) it wouldn’t happen over night, I decided to move on it quickly.

I’ve touched on my experience with Invisalign before, and while I’m the first to admit that it doesn’t come cheap (hello, my poor credit card!), after wearing braces as a teen, it felt like the most convenient option for me. I went through Dr Fadi Yassmin at Broadway Dental and although I’ve still got a few more weeks to go, so far, I’m over the moon with the results. I also decided to go the whole hog and booked in to have my teeth professionally whitened which I’ll be kicking off next week, so stay tuned.

Word of warning: if you’re thinking of going down the teeth-straightening road, I strongly suggest you do your homework. Prior to going with Dr Yassmin, I made appointments to meet with several other providers to pick the right one. The first couple of doctors who I met with, didn’t even bother checking out my teeth, instead, they went straight into explaining the finance package options and how I could structure the payment process which immediately wiped the smile off my dial and made me want to high-tail it out of there. Orthodontic work is a huge investment and you want to feel comfortable and trust the provider, so shop around.

2. Be consistent.  In a perfect world, we all have regular facials, but the reality of the situation is that very few of us have the coin to splurge on indulgent treatments every fortnight. So, rather than blow a couple of hundred bucks on one massage, I’d suggest you spend your money where it matters and invest in a new skincare routine that you can use religiously in the months leading up to the big day. Enter Kerstin Florian At-Home Professional Peel Pads, &75, Kerstin Florian.

I have insanley tempremental skin and when it comes to AHA’s this product has literally re-invented my complexion. I’ve been using the pads three times a week (prior to this, I was using md formulations which comes in at a close second) and my skin has never looked, clearer, cleaner or brighter. My pore size has improved, problem zones, like the chin and cheeks don’t look or feel anywhere near as congested and it’s also working wonders on helping to minimise the appearance of my acne scarring. And want to know the best bit? Without giving too much away, my dress is pretty low cut so I’ve also been using them on my back and chest to get those tricky-to-reach areas in tip-top shape. Heck, I’ve even been using them on the backs of my hands and my elbows. Yep, you can call me crazy all you like, but I’ve never liked my elbows. No matter how much moisturiser I’ve whacked on them over the years, they never seem to look or feel soft, but this stuff seems to be doing the trick.

My final tip, is to keep things in perspective. Although it’s only natural that we all want to look like a million bucks on our day of days, it’s important not to get too carried away with the superficials. After all, your soon-to-be better half loves you just the way you are.

Are you recently married? 

Have you got any smart wedding tips to share? 

Have you heard of the brand Kerstin Florian? 

 

Posted by: Eliza Ashe

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Tags: bridal makeup, bridal skin, cleanser, facial cleaner, invisalign, peels, teeth straightening, wedding, wedding makeup