Asking for natural wedding make-up on your big day is like sitting down at a restaurant and asking for food. The term encompasses so much: Do you want matte or dewy? Sculpted or blushy?
Everyone wants to look like the best version of themselves on their wedding day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dabble in a few trending beauty looks (and – dare we say it – have a little fun with your look). Whether you’re a bride with two make-up products to her name or a vixen with a speakeasy booked for your big day, natural bridal make-up can be a fit for any kind of wedding.
We combed through endless TikToks and red carpet looks and asked a team of experts to break down their favourite natural wedding make-up looks for 2024. Cheers to you on your big day!
Bronzed latte
This bronzy, neutral look is every bit as lovely and understated as a latte on a quiet morning. “The key is to keep [the eyeshadow] to one or two similar shades of brown,” says Dallas-based make-up artist Sarah Walsh. Start with a creamy, nutty brown shadow all over the lids and smudge a darker brown liner along the top and bottom lid. “Keep the rest of the face natural using nudes or browns throughout,” she adds.
Victoria Beckham Beauty EyeWear Longwear Eyeshadow Stick
£32
Victoria Beckham Beauty
“I love using cream products for this look,” says Walsh. She recommends the Victoria Beckham EyeWear Stick in Trench or Pecan for the lid because of how buildable the formula is. One layer will give you a sheer wash of colour while two or three passes of the stick will create a bolder look.
Victoria Beckham Beauty Satin Kajal Liner Longwear Waterproof Eyeliner
£30
Victoria Beckham Beauty
The Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Liner is super pigmented and comes with a sponge tip to help you smoke out the colour. It’s also waterproof, so once it’s set, you don’t have to worry about a tear or two on your wedding day.
Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Balm
£20
Sephora
Walsh suggests Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Balm because of its swipe-and-go formula, while the velvety texture vibes well with the latte colour palette.
Pearlescent skin
Not all brides want to shine bright like a diamond, some want to shimmer like a pearl. For the latter, the pearl skin TikTok trend is a great base for a wedding day look. New York City-based make-up artist Joseph Carrillo says it’s all about the finishing touches. “Once all of the make-up is done, use a Beautyblender to bounce a liquid highlighter all over the skin,” he says. He also recommends going light with the liquid on your forehead, but bouncing an extra dab on the tip of your nose and Cupid’s bow. “We want to make sure we look like a pearl, not a disco ball”.
Iconic London Illuminator Drops
£32
Cult Beauty
Carrillo loves the Iconic London Illuminator Drops because the array of shades (including a shimmering champagne, peach and terracotta) ensures brides of all skin tones can get the look.
Benefit Cosmetics High Beam Liquid Highlighter
£21.50
Sephora
Walsh likes Benefit High Beam liquid highlighter for this look. She pre-blends it into a BB cream or foundation for an even subtler pearlescent finish.
Ilia Balmy Gloss Tinted Lip Oil
£26
ILIA Beauty
A pretty pink shine is the perfect topper for this coquettish look. The Ilia Balmy Gloss Tinted Lip Oil isn’t just a cheeky touch, it’s also super hydrating, thanks to hyaluronic acid and meadowfoam seed oil, meaning you remain kissable throughout your big day.
Berry-stained
If you want to try the look, seek out shadows, blushers and lip colours in berry tones. “In the autumn or winter, try a raspberry or plum shade,” says Carrillo. For spring or summer, he recommends using a strawberry or cherry shade.
A multi-stick is a great product for this look, Carrillo adds, as it’ll help you get that effortless flushed effect.
Huda Beauty Lip Blush Cream Lip & Cheek Stain
£21
Cult Beauty
“Some stains barely show up – you really have to keep building them up,” says Carrillo, who recommends this Huda Beauty multi-use stain for pigment that is still lightweight and comfortable.
Westman Atelier Vital Skin Foundation Stick
£40.30
Cult Beauty
A foundation with a natural finish will give your skin a nice polish without making it look too done and overshadowing the berry flush. This foundation stick from Westman Atelier straddles that perfect line between matte and radiant, so it looks like your real skin, but better.
Dreamy cloud skin
A trip to cloud nine is a big lift, but dreamy cloud skin is a pretty good compromise. This soft-focus, matte, marshmallowy look is an angelic wedding day look that isn’t very hard to achieve. “It’s basically just healthy, fresh-looking skin without a reflective highlighter shine,” says make-up artist Jenny Patinkin. Stick to matte or satin-finish foundations and bronzers, then top it off with a mattifying setting powder to keep shine at bay.
Nars Light Reflecting Advanced Skincare Foundation
£39
Boots
Patinkin recommends bouncing a satin-finish foundation like this onto the skin with a damp make-up sponge to help set it in place.
Westman Atelier Baby Cheeks Blush Stick
£44
Cult Beauty
Buffing this demi-matte Westman Atelier cream blush onto your cheeks gives your skin a healthy glow. Patinkin also likes how long-lasting this formula is.
RMS Beauty UnPowder
£37
Space NK
As a finishing touch, Patinkin suggests setting your soft-focus look with this mattifying powder, paying particular attention to your T-zone (no shine allowed on cloud nine).
Gently sculpted
There are two types of people, those who paint brown and white stripes on their face and buff it all out for a perfectly sculpted look (see TikTok) and those who prefer something a little more subtle. Subtle is your friend when it comes to natural wedding make-up, so underpainting your contour – applying your contour and highlighter before your foundation, not on top of it – can help soften things up a bit. “It also allows more room for error,” says make-up artist Kate Mellinger.
Tower 28 Sculptino Soft Matte Cream Contour
£19
Revolve
Mellinger recommends this blendable matte contour as a first step. Apply to the sides of the nose, under the cheekbones, under the jawline and around the temples, then blend it out so there are no hard edges.
Saie Glowy Super Gel Lightweight Dewy Highlighter
£22
Cult Beauty
Apply a cream or liquid highlighter on the bridge of the nose, tops of the cheekbones, Cupid’s bow and brow bone. This gel formula dries down nicely and enables you to apply foundation on top without losing the shape altogether, says Mellinger.
Sweet and blushy
Whether you call it dolly makeup or sunburn blush, a little extra colour on your cheeks isn’t just trendy, it’s also good practice for a bride. “I always advise my bridal clients to wear about 20 per cent more blush on their wedding day than they would otherwise, to help ensure that they don't look washed out,” says Patinkin.
Saie Dew Blush
£20
Cult Beauty
Patinkin recommends this liquid formula because of how long it lasts. Use a brush to apply it on the apples of your cheeks, then buff it out across cheekbones up to your temples.
Statement lips
Your lips literally do all the talking anyway, so why not let them be your bridal beauty statement too? We don’t necessarily believe that a bold lip should always be paired with otherwise minimal make-up, but if you want to let your natural beauty shine, stick to hydrated skin and a touch of mascara. A red (or purple or pink) lip will be enough to elevate your no-make-up-make-up to special-occasion make-up.
Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Icon Matte Revolution Lipstick
£28
Charlotte Tilbury
Make-up artist Rachel Hill-Cherry used this cushiony matte red on Gugu Mbatha-Raw, but a satin formula will look just as rich if you want a little more shine.
Dior Dior Addict Lip Tint
£32
Dior
Worried about colour transfer while smooching your beloved? A pigmented lip tint should stay in place. We like a hydrating formula like Dior Addict Lip Tint (because nothing ruins a statement pout like chapped lips).
Otherworldly glow
They say that wedding day make-up should be you, but enhanced. Glowy, holographic cheeks are you, but dropped from the night sky by a UFO. This dimensional look adds a blink-and-you-miss-it dash of whimsy to your wedding day look. Start with a highlighter in your hue of choice (sky’s the limit, pun intended). “Add a wash of shimmer over where you will apply blush,” says Carrillo, then follow with your contour and blush. “This helps to give layers and dimension to the holographic cheeks.”
Dior Backstage Glow Face Palette
£40
Dior
Any colourway of this powder highlighter quad will do, but Carrillo loves Glitz, which gives you shimmery peach, bronze, gold and pearl to choose from.
Fresh and angelic
Fresh-faced and angelic means super soft, plump and radiant skin, so you’ll want to lay off any deeply saturated colours or ultra-defined features. Instead, stick to non-touring, just hitting the high points of your face with highlighter and avoiding any contour products. “Then apply a light-to-medium coverage foundation using a light hand with either a dual-fibre brush, kabuki brush or a damp sponge,” says Mellinger.
Merit Day Glow Dewy Highlighting Balm
£34
Merit
For an ethereal glow, Mellinger likes this lightweight cream highlighter used on the Cupid’s bow, brow bones, cheekbones and the bridge of the nose.
Femme fatale
Some brides are a glass of rosé, some are a dirty gin martini. For the latter, soft and subtle will not do. The perfect cherry (or olive) on top of a natural, sculpted look? Spiky lashes that cut like a knife every time you bat your eyes. Says make-up artist Karina Morales, “You can either buy a full strip of spiky lashes or you can use individual spikes on top of your natural lashes.”
Eylure Pro-Lash Individuals Combo
£7
Sephora
Morales recommends individual ball-tip lashes so you have a little more control over just how spiky your spiky lashes get.
Velour Vegan Luxe Lashes PokerFace
£22.50
Sephora
For an easier, one-and-done application, Morales likes flared faux-mink lashes.
Ilia Limitless Lash Mascara
£28
ILIA Beauty
If faux lashes make your eyes twitch, a lengthening mascara and a lash separator can achieve the same effect in a subtler way.
Fun and freckled
Freckles are the equivalent of a splash of seltzer in your lemonade. They add a bit of bubbly fun to an already refreshing look. Of course, not all of us are naturally blessed with freckles, but it’s easy to fake them with a few strategically placed spots of brown eyeliner. “The reason this works for brides is because the faux freckles give the illusion that you’re not wearing too much make-up,” says Morales. So if you want a full-coverage base but also want to look natural, this is a great trick.
Lottie London Freckle Tint
£4.50
Sephora
A nice sharp eyeliner will do, Morales notes, but this fine-tipped applicator creates even more realistic freckles because of the lightweight formula and flexible brush.
Bare skin
Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise: if you don’t wear makeup now, you don’t have to start on your wedding day. “Bare skin is totally and authentically you,” says Mellinger. “It works with everything, and you know your significant other won’t think you look like someone else as you walk down the aisle.” All you need is a good skincare routine, a glowy moisturiser and maybe a few dabs of concealer.
Pai Skincare Resurrection Girl Hydrating Mask
£44
Cult Beauty
A soothing, hydrating treatment the night before your wedding, like this gel mask, will start you off right for barely-there bridal skin.
Bioderma Sébium Mat Control Moisturiser
£14
Look Fantastic
Mellinger recommends this mattifying moisturiser to “tame down the shiny high points of the face, or anywhere you don’t want to look too dewy.”
Glossier Stretch Balm Concealer
£22
Glossier
“If you have any redness or imperfections to cover, use a cream concealer and a small, fluffy eyeshadow brush to lightly buff over those areas,” says Mellinger. She likes this buildable formula from Glossier.
Hydrated goddess
We know you don’t drink enough water, but that doesn’t mean you can't look like a picture of dewy, hydrated perfection on your wedding day. “[Dewy skin] is great for brides, so long as you keep the dewiness in the right places,” says make-up artist Cassandra Garcia. “Keep the T-zone lightly powdered, and use the appropriate skincare and highlighting powder on the high points of the cheeks.”
Iconic London Underglow Blurring Primer
£25
Cult Beauty
To start, Carrillo recommends this glowy primer to give your dewy finish a little extra oomph.
Maybelline Fit Me Dewy + Smooth Foundation
£9.99
Superdrug
Carrillo also likes the hydrating finish of this medium-coverage foundation, which will make your skin look refreshed, not buried under caked-on base.
Refy Gloss Highlighter
£18
Refy
To give the high points of your face that extra-moisturised sheen, a creamy highlighter like this high-gloss formula can be tapped on with your fingers.
Pretty and pouty
Most of the time, a wedding ceremony is sealed with a kiss, and a pouty, cherub lip will be even more kissable. “The trick is all in the lip liner,” says Carrillo. Instead of defining the points of your Cupid’s bow, connect the two points with your liner, then fill in the gap. “Then line the rest of the lip as usual, and clean up the edges.”
Make Up For Ever Artist Colour Pencil Brow, Eye & Lip Liner
£18.50
Sephora
Carrillo likes this blendable lip pencil to define a cherub lip, especially in Wherever Walnut, which he says is a great universal colour for a neutral pink lip.
Full and fluffy brows
“Brows are instrumental to your wedding make-up look,” says make-up artist Dani Kimiko Vincent. “They frame and define eyes and add structure to the entire face.” Those of us who lived through the ’90s may no longer have much to work with here, but filling brows in with a pencil and brushing them up with a strong-hold gel will give them that soft, touchable, fluffy look that everyone is coveting in 2024.
Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil
£23.40
Look Fantastic
Vincent recommends a clear brow gel for “the perfect amount of lift and hold without being flaky or feeling stiff.”
NYX Professional Make-up Thick it Stick it! Thickening Brow Gel Mascara
£11
Boots
If you need a little extra coverage for sparse hair, a tinted gel can help you fake big, luscious brows. “Begin at the front of your brows and brush upwards, working your way along the brow, and tapering the lift slightly at the ends,” says Vincent.
Modern monochrome
If you don’t have time for five, 10 or 15 products, just a few multi-taskers will do the trick. All you need to do is match the big three: eyes, lips, cheeks. “The key is finding the perfect tone that brings out your eyes, lips and cheeks in a way that still feels natural,” says Vincent. These deep mauve tones look great on Rachel Zegler’s olive skin, but peach and rose are equally suitable for a bride.
Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipstick
£28
Cult Beauty
Charlotte Tilbury Cheek to Chic Blush
£35
Cult Beauty
Charlotte Tilbury Luxury Eyeshadow Palette
£46
Cult Beauty
Vincent suggests a trio of Charlotte Tilbury blush, lipstick and eyeshadow in the Pillow Talk collection for a flattering (and very cohesive) berry-hued look.
Coquettish and flirty
Coquette eyes are the spiritual soulmate of cherub lips and they’re sweet and flirty too. Vincent recommends drawing a slim line of gel liner from the centre of the eyelid outward and ending in a slight flick to create a doe-eyed look. Then focus mascara on the outer corners, she says, to “draw the eye shape up and outwards.”
Inglot AMC Eyeliner Gel
£10.50
Look Fantastic
Morphe M250-0 Detail Gel and Cream Liner Brush
£5
Morphe
Vincent recommends using this long-wearing gel eyeliner and a fine-tipped brush to create your coquette look.
Huda Beauty Jade Lashes
£20
Cult Beauty
“To amp it up further, consider adding winged false lashes,” says Vincent. These falsies are more dramatic on the outer corners, which adds to the fluttery-ingenue vibe.
Pop of colour
If you want to punch up your natural wedding make-up with a pop of fun, a colour wash eye shadow is effortless. But there is actually a bit of effort involved to make sure it doesn’t read totally flat. “If you don’t have naturally deep-set eyes, first contour your eyes in the tone you would use for your face, similar to underpainting,” says Vincent. “This way,” she adds, “the sheer colour placed on top will allow that contour to show through and still have the colour wash effect.”
Rare Beauty Stay Vulnerable Liquid Eyeshadow
£21
Sephora
We love this blendable satin-finish eyeshadow in Nearly Apricot.
Subtle shimmer
If this – the blessed year of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour – has taught us anything, it’s that glitter never goes out of style. A subtle touch of shimmer can give a natural bridal look a little extra magic. And we do mean subtle: “Pay attention to placement, as sparkle in the wrong places can read as shine in photos,” says Vincent. Reserve application to the centre of the eyelids to give a twinkle to your look without overpowering it.”
Urban Decay 24/7 Moondust Eyeshadow
£20
Look Fantastic
This sparkly shadow comes in a few bridal-friendly colours, such as a pearly white and a bronze gold, but Vincent likes the elegant champagne-hued Space Cowboy to add just a little interest to the eyelids.
Kitten eye
A kitten eye is a great fit for a natural bridal beauty look. Just a casual flick at the outer corners of the eyes can be sexy without feeling painted on. Use a precision-tipped liquid liner along the upper lash line, then when you get to the end, give it the tiniest flick up. Clean it up with a cotton bud for a low-maintenance but sexy look that practically purrs.
Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner
£21 £16
Look Fantastic
The staying power of this felt-tip liner makes it perfect for a long day of vows, toasts, a few tears and dancing.