Bridal beauty 101

Most Bride-to-bes will sooner or later find themselves thinking about implementing a beauty strategy, and it is natural that she would want to be the most stunning version of herself as possible when all eyes are on her walking down the aisle and seeing her husband for the first time – not to mention being captured in 100s of photos!

So you take to Pinterest, put in “Bridal Beauty ideas” and wops – a thousand or so tips of how to bleach your teeth, get killer abs, lose weight, buy this, that and the other product, impossible beauty prep timelines and generic gossip magazine makeup looks.

As women, we are constantly bombarded with ideas of how to look better, eat better, dress better, love better, run faster, perform better at work and in bed, and be an above average perfect person overall  – so feeling the need to constantly improve is almost inevitable.

Your expectations of yourself of being beautiful on your wedding day are even higher than in everyday life, especially as there are so many seemingly perfect Brides and perfect Weddings online. The pressure to be a perfect woman is felt stronger than in ordinary life as a Bride and living up to it during your engagement might turn into a race.

Having tried hard and fumbled my way through harsh chemical peels, several failed hair trials, spending a small fortune on overrated skin care and make up trials, I know precisely what it feels like to be fighting your way towards “perfection”. Today I’m sharing the beauty realities that I wish I had understood during my engagement, and that I hope all Brides will reflect on before signing up for expensive and unnecessary treatments and weight loss programs.

Nurturing yourself is key

Your body is truly a temple and you should always treat yourself with the respect and kindness you would to your best friend.

No matter how stressed you, try to not engage with criticizing thoughts, or punish yourself with too high expectations of what you can achieve.

Having a healthy attitude and sensible behavior (I e not obsessing) around food is as important as eating your vegetables.

If you care for yourself, it shows that you care ABOUT yourself – and that is very attractive in itself.

Dress to enhance

Don’t be afraid of being yourself on your wedding day. As opposed to buying a trendy dress, choose a dress that reflects your personality. This way you will represent and radiate your true beautiful you.

Choose a wedding dress colour that complements your skin and hair colour, neckline and silhouettes that amplifies the beauty of your body shape.

Accept your body and be comfortable in your skin – what you feel is externally visible so do your best to let go of minor issues -do they really matter? Focus on and enhance your best assets, and don’t worry so much about what you think is not as perfect.

Buy a dress that you love wearing, which is comfortable and fits you well.

Don’t get a dress that was recommended to you by someone else, unless you are in 100% agreement that you love it for all the right reasons.

Inner Beauty

1. As well as attending to your physical appearance in your preparations to become a bride, always include your mental well being. Be aware of  your stress levels, find ways to relax in between the running around, and at all times try to enjoy the process of getting married as much as possible, even though it will feel frantic at times.
2. It is not untrue to say that too much tension creates grey hair, wrinkles and plays tricks with your mind – staying sane throughout will really help you to embrace the wedding day calmly and gracefully.

Beauty is in your face and your happiness, so what you radiate through your smile, your facial expression and what is going on behind those beautiful eyes, is even more crucial to your beauty approach than counting carbs and stomach crunches.

Show grace and gratitude to all the people that are there to help you, and carry yourself with poise and respect for others as well as your self. You might have transformed yourself into Scarlett Johanson, but if you don’t have a beautiful attitude to  go with it, it is pretty much a wasted effort. People won’t appreciate you purely for your good looks, so work just as hard on your state of mind as you did on the treadmill.Whilst planning your wedding, don’t forget to show interest in what is going on in other peoples life. Spend time with friends and allow them to tell their stories, as opposed to only talking about planning and your wedding day diet.

Confidence

1. Research shows again and again that it is actually what men finds most attractive in women. Confidence is built in stages and can be achieved by anything from a good sweat, being good at something, such as your hobby, flossing your teeth everyday and standing naked in front of the mirror and saying “damn, I look hot”.
2. Embrace the power of a positive and peaceful mindset – it can actually be built, just like muscles. Encourage yourself with self-assuring pep talk as if you were your own personal trainer. Confidence and beauty go hand in hand, and by being your own source of self-assurance means that you never have to rely on others to feel good.
3. A positive and peaceful mindset will see you through to wedding day without arriving to the ceremony with dark circles under your eyes from all those sleepless nights, too little food and too much coffee and wineBut hey – wasn’t this a Beauty article – what does all that have to do with it?The Beauty of your personality of course!

   Beauty comes from within, and how you feel inside, project yourself, interact with others and handles situations is a vital part of the bigger Bridal Beauty picture.
   Being intellectually and emotionally attractive, is just as appealing as having a gorgeous face and body.

   

   style me pretty 

1. Dont over-exercise or starve yourself. You may look svelte on your wedding day, but you might not appear healthy if you are underweight and drained.
2. Develop rational and sustainable life style changes that you can keep after the wedding. If you pushed yourself over the limit in Bridal preparations, you might just find that you will collapse (and balloon) in the first few months of being a Wife. That is not going to serve your confidence or married life very well.
3. Commit to regular and gentle skincare habits, that will slowly but steadily improve your glow. Avoid radical treatments that  you have never tried before in order to reduce the risk of surprise reactions.
4. The basics are usually the most trustworthy, and you don’t necessarily have to spend that much money either.
5. Never underestimate the power of hydration. Hydration from within means your skin will stay plump and glowing and is your strongest protection against outbreaks, dry skin and wrinkles.
   Avoiding dehydrating foods and drinks such as alcohol, coffee and salt. Drinking the right amount of water for your exercise levels (you won’t ever need to drink more than 2 liters) and including food with good fats is a really good place to start.
6. The right skin care is a part of hydration of course. It is not about finding the most expensive brand you can afford, but finding the right product for your skins composition.
7. Regular deep cleaning and face masks at home means you have to go to the facialist less often.
8. Everyday skin care strategies that are often forgotten about are – as well as scrubbing, toning and moisturizing – avoid touching your face. Never squeeze – every little eruption could become infected and scarred if interfered with. It will go away naturally by itself. Use a separate towel to dry your face and clean it often. Swap your pillow case every week. And stay protected from the sun!

   

Your wedding day look

1. Looking “Bridal” is not a concept that you necessarily have to subscribe to. Does getting married really have to mean you need to conform to a look that has been used millions of times before? No!
   Being the Bride doesn’t mean you need the curls, the updo, the strapless A-line and the eye lash extensions – decide for yourself how you wan’t to appear, and don’t be afraid to put your own spin on the Bridal conventions.
2. The classic and timeless look is always worth considering, but not if it compromises your own vision of Bridal.

Choose makeup and hairstyle that enhances your facial features as opposed to  disguising or masking them. Again, don’t be afraid to go for compatibility with your personal style, as opposed to the expected “Wedding Day” style.

Always consider the passing of time when choosing your makeup – a heavy makeup and teased hair worthy of a Beverly Hills housewife may look fantastic on you when you are 24, but remember that you will look back on your wedding day photos for years to come, and quite possibly show your grandkids one day. Go for a look with a low risk of second guessing later.

Your wedding shoes should be amazing of course, but also have comfort in  mind. By choosing shoes that you can comfortably walk down the aisle in and mingle with your guests and spend time with loved ones all night, without constantly being aware of your feet, you’ll actually feel much more happy and relaxed.

If your shoe dreams are a high fashion pair of Christian Loubotains, have a more dance friendly pair on standby. It is not great to say “I do” trying to balance on sky high heels on grass at the same time, or spending your honeymoon with blisters.

Pick a nail design with your own personal twist. Nails are a low-risk high-impact  beauty statement and is the final cherry on top of your Bridal appearance. Explore your options and don’t be afraid to pick a nail design that is more creative or bold than the usual French polish.

Gelish as well as acrylic are fun options because they are strong and durable, but also consider the fact that these methods can be damaging to the surface of your nail, making it challenging to  grow them out again naturally.

So dear Brides-to-be…

If this article came across as “just another beauty article” I have made a big mistake. I didn’t recommend any work out regimens or magic facial wash products, because there is enough of those kinds of recommendations already…
The philosophy of Sheer is that those things only matter to a small extent.

As Brides are susceptible to insecurity about our looks, we easily become prey to the wedding and beauty industry that wants to make a buck out of our vulnerability.
But being the most beautiful version of yourself doesn’t have to mean you need to stock up on more toiletries.

Our point is that by coming back to fundamental basics, such as boosting your Self-esteem, attending to Inner wellbeing and de-bunking Common beauty musts is the most solid, genuine and long-lasting method of finding true beauty, in the least complicated, expensive and soul destroying manner.

Honestly, being beautiful in the way that media projects, is a bit like climbing a mountain with no summit. When you think you got there, there is always somewhere else you need to go, and it will feel like an endless struggle to be on top of it.

So the very best thing for Beauty are the fundamental corner stones: to accepting yourself, let go of external pressure, grow your confidence, and letting the Naturally beautiful you that you were born to be take center stage.
If you can find and develop a sensible and holistic attitude towards Beauty, take it in your stride, and carry it with you through to your wedding day, you will truly be an outrageously stunning and adorable Bride.

Did you find this article uplifting, and how would you implement it yourself as a Bride? Let us know by sharing your thoughts in the comments field below.

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