Planning a wedding should be one of the most exciting times of your life. But more often than not, the process can get lengthy, stressful, and downright expensive. If the sight of a makeup artist's quote is enough to make you want to sell your car for a little extra cash (we know those florals were pricey), we have a comprehensive guide to wedding makeup from one of the pros—celebrity makeup artist Kirin Bhatty, who just celebrated her own wedding and glammed herself for the occasion.
Bhatty's beauty portfolio is large and impressive, including Lorde, Auliʻi Cravalho, and Jenny Slate in her cohort of celebrity clientele. While her profession certainly makes DIY wedding makeup an easier feat, her step-by-step guide—including skincare prep, hair, and makeup—is here to make the process possible for you too.
"I had a courthouse wedding, and in the spirit of keeping it simple and intimate, I wanted the morning to myself," Bhatty tells Who What Wear of her recent nuptials. "I know how hectic a glam-filled morning can be, and I really just wanted to keep it simple and peaceful. … I have always loved the ritual of getting ready, and the morning of my wedding felt so serene."
Read on to get the full breakdown of Bhatty's rainproof wedding-day look that you can re-create at home or in the makeup chair. (Yes, it rained on her big day—no, her glam didn't budge.)
The Breakdown
1. Plan the Look
First things first: Planning your makeup look to complement your dress and hair is paramount. "The best way to start is to have an idea of how you want to feel and the amount of touch-ups you want to do," Bhatty explains. "For me, I really wanted it to be easy and effortless, but I still wanted a little color on the lips and cheeks. I opted for a blurred lip look with a flowing blowout, and I felt at ease all day."
2. Proper Prep
It's common knowledge that brides do quite a lot of prep work to be the most radiant versions of themselves on their wedding days, but Bhatty is pulling back the curtains on exactly what a professional with *all* the industry connections leaned on before her big day.
A nonnegotiable? The Triple Crown Royale facial from renowned celebrity esthetician Joanna Vargas the day before Bhatty's courthouse wedding. A storied pre–red carpet staple, this experience includes a mixture of microcurrent, microdermabrasion, and oxygen treatments to tighten and lift the skin while offering your complexion a lit-from-within radiance. "There's zero downtime, and since many of my clients prep [with this] before red carpets, I knew I would be in good hands," Bhatty explains.
The MUA also relied on lymphatic-drainage treatments and an LED light bed to further firm and rejuvenate her skin, doing so "for months" with regular trips to Vargas's spa. She intensified her skincare routine by using the celebrity-loved Lyma Laser to "quell some hyperpigmentation" and started taking Nutrafol supplements months prior to bring her hair to its shiniest, fullest state for the courtroom ceremony. "I knew by doing this [that] my blowout would have the bounce I wanted," she explains. Bhatty also suggests getting into the hair salon close to the big day to shape your cut into something that best suits your wedding hairstyle. (She trusted celebrity hairstylist Derek Yuen for this step.)
In accordance with South Asian bridal traditions, Bhatty had her henna done with New York–based henna artist Sabeen while simultaneously having her hair oiled with a serum from the Ayurvedic beauty brand Ranavat. "I tapped into my cultural know-how with my beauty rituals, and that felt very sacred," she muses.
Shop Bridal Prep
3. Start With Hair
Congratulations, the big day is here! With this step starts your day-of glam, and Bhatty recommends beginning with hair. "I always go hair first, especially with a blowout, because I like to clip it up after it's dry for maximum volume," she states.
Her perfect wedding blowout was achieved with Roz's Foundation line, which hydrates, cleanses, and balances the pH of your scalp and strands, before styling with the Shark FlexStyle and adding a touch of Sisley hair oil for extra shine.
Shop Bridal Haircare
4. Do Your Skincare
Any good makeup artist will tell you that skincare prep is the key to flawless makeup application, and Bhatty started strong with the Joanna Vargas Eden Instant Lift Mask. Designed to deliver optimal, all-day hydration to your skin within just 15 to 20 minutes, this serum-soaked mask plumps and moisturizes the skin to diminish the appearance of wrinkles and revitalize the complexion. (For added glow, extract the leftover serum from the pouch and apply it to your neck and décolleté.)
Another tip MUAs swear by? Starting with a hydrating lip product early enough that the formula can fully absorb by the last makeup step—typically lips. Bhatty trusted the $5 EOS Super Balm with this task. "Since I was planning on doing a blurred lip, this step was crucial in keeping my lips hydrated and chap-free," she explains. One light, hydrating smear of the iconic La Mer Moisturizing Cream was enough to seal in her simple skincare routine and have her complexion properly prepped for the most important part—makeup.
Shop Bridal Skincare
5. Finish With Makeup
With your skin properly prepped, you'll likely have all the radiance you need for a glowing wedding look. However, Bhatty kicked things up a notch by applying the Dior Forever Glow Star Filter before her foundation to "create a luminous veil" over her skin. "I wanted to glow today, and this always does the trick," she quips. To create a poreless, even base, Bhatty blended in the Ilia Skin Rewind Complexion Stick to offer a realistic, skin-finish look that enhanced her natural beauty while making her skin photo ready. "I love how flawless yet natural my skin looks this way," she comments.
If you want to keep things as natural looking as possible on your wedding day, take a page out of Bhatty's book and forgo contour for a cool-toned blush instead. "I wanted to achieve a soft sculpt with just enough blush for a sweet, sun-kissed look," she muses. She started by sculpting her cheekbones with Violette_FR's Bisou Blush in a deep shade called Marnie and later stippled the poppy-pink Aïssa onto her cheeks—the dictionary definition of a blushing bride.
Since this wedding look leans more natural than full glam, Bhatty completed her skin before moving onto eyes—starting with her brows. She perfected them with Bobbi Brown's Precise Waterproof Brow Pencil. "It's a perfect pencil for fine, hair-like strokes," she says. For a light wash of color on the eyelids, Bhatty swept on Clinique's High Impact Shadow Play in Rum + Cola, a caramel- and chocolate-toned pairing, using the cream shadow as a base and the deep-brown powder shadow "to create definition at the lash line." Creamy eye shadow sticks can offer longer-lasting wear than powder, which makes them great options for long wedding days.
To intensify the eyes, Bhatty tight-lined with the Monika Blunder Eye Deal Brown Eyeliner Pencil before curling her lashes with the artist-loved Surratt eyelash curler, which "always ensures wide, opened eyes." She then darkened her lashes with two generous coats of the Victoria Beckham Beauty Vast Lash Mascara, a tubing formula that the brand labels as Miami-proof for its resistance to smudging and flaking and ability to hold curled lashes for up to 12 hours. "[It's] a must for this rainy day," Bhatty describes. "Through tears of joy and lots of drizzle, my mascara didn't move."
Her lips now fully moisturized, Bhatty completed her look with the following bride-approved lip combo. She lined her lips with Refy's Transfer-Proof Lip Sculpt in Rosewood, a romantic, warm pink, before delicately tapping the lip liner with her finger to prevent any harsh edges. "I was going for blurred, 'just been kissed' lips, so this liner was essential," she says.
Her last piece of advice: Use the lipstick you reach for on most days—it's what looks best on you. This happened to be Amour Fou, a bright, sheer pink, from Violette_FR's Bisou Balm collection. "This is one of my signature lips I wear all the time; it always makes me feel bright without feeling like I have too much on," says Bhatty. "It is also so comfortable, so it was a natural choice for my wedding day."
Shop Bridal Makeup
Tips and Tricks
For a bride who's been through it or the fiancée reading this, is there anything you wish you did differently and anything you're glad you did?
I wish I had grabbed an anti-humidity spray because it rained on my wedding day! They say it's good luck, so I'll take a little bit of frizz for that. I also made sure I had a signature fragrance—I wore Tocca Brigitte, which they don't make anymore but I wish they would bring back! It's a bottle I held onto for years just for this special time in my life. I also had a really great playlist prepared to get ready!
What would you recommend to anyone doing their own wedding makeup before the big day?
I would highly recommend test-driving your day-of products before the actual day. Knowing how your lip, cheek, mascara, hair, etc. will perform is ideal to have a foolproof day where you're only worried about you and your spouse on that day.
Are there any wedding beauty trends on the horizon that 2025 brides should know about?
For 2025 brides, I think you'll be seeing lots of luminous, highlighted skin; pouty, drawn-on lips that are a more natural shape with nude-toned liners; and lots of beautiful pops of blush. I think beauty trends for brides will involve investing in skin treatments, body treatments, hair… lots of prep to make sure you shine on your big day and that you feel confident.
For brides, I think the biggest trend is not following them! You want to be classic [for your wedding day] and the best version of yourself. You want your photos to be timeless. I think the most beautiful bridal trends focus on beautiful skin and a makeup application that will withstand the test of time. You never want to look back and wish you had looked more like yourself on such an important day.
