Sarah Butler’s and Mel Elias’s Wedding Day: Jeffrey Paul on Flawless Makeup and Hair
Understanding Your Bridal Style
Creating the magical wedding look can be overwhelming. Many factors dictate what the ideal bride should look like. As you gather inspiration from Facebook, Instagram, wedding blogs and Google, you may be overwhelmed by all of the different sources telling you how you should look and what is perfect. All of these outside influences may be confusing, leaving you to wonder how to express yourself and making it difficult to view yourself objectively. As someone who has been doing weddings, red carpet events and celebrity makeup/hair for over two decades, I can say that the most important factor is to understand your personal style. A makeup artist and hair stylist can help you find the perfect expression of your personality, spirit and emotions. When you find the right expression of the totality of you, beauty expresses itself as wellness. You look and feel confident, whole and complete, and those will make your wedding magical!
How do you create your personal wedding style?
Find Your Inspiration
If there is one thing every bride wants on her wedding day, it is a relaxed, joyous, fun-filled morning without hiccups. No one wants to feel stressed or that this day isn’t special. To alleviate some of the anxiety, I schedule a Consultation Day. Here the bride shares her vision, and we customize the hair and makeup for the wedding.
Scheduling a consultation day with your makeup/hair person is an opportunity to create your dream look, putting together inspiring images of what you like and consulting your stylist on how these will best suit you. Together, you will create a mood, or feeling, for your wedding. You could choose a simple theme that you can return to, such as “radiant and flawless” or “glowing and beautiful.” The theme will support your vision and be the core for everything else you do.
Now, the Wedding…
Sarah Butler and Mel Elias were married in a small ceremony on June 10 2021. As COVID protocols were just being lifted, they didn’t want a large ceremony or reception. Sarah had chosen to wear her mother’s wedding dress: a beautiful, pleated dress from the 70’s. It had a carefree elegance and a lighthearted spirit, just like Sarah! Our theme for hair makeup and style was realistic and gorgeous, with freedom and joy.
Sarah and I have known each other for over ten years. We met for the PR and premiere for her starring role in I Spit On Your Grave, the remake of the cult classic released in 1978. This red carpet photo was taken at the release in 2010, where we created an elegant, sparkling, ingenue style. We have both obtained lots of experience in our fields since. While she is still an ingenue who loves fashion and beauty, for her wedding we wanted to create something different than your typical “celebrity red carpet glow.”
Create Your LOOK
MAKEUP
I love makeup that enhances the best features of the client and can be wearable throughout the day and Sarah wanted to feel realistic and gorgeous. I love makeup to express all the attributes of person: physical, emotional, and spiritual. This is an expression of beauty that looks and feels like wellbeing. Because Sarah was wearing her mother’s wedding dress from the 70’s, we wanted to bring in elements of that decade, with the makeup and hair having a feeling of freedom and joy while also being radiant and gorgeous.
Makeup Products:
Yves St. Laurent Touche Éclat Le Teint Radiant Liquid Foundation
Yves Saint Laurent Eye Shadows
Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat All-Over Brightening Concealer Pen
NARS Eye Paint Liner
Kevyn Aucoin The Sensual Skin Enhancer
Estée Lauder Sculpting Blush and Highlighter
Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip Color
Who doesn’t love a radiant glow that looks natural and healthy? Here are my ideas for a beautiful wedding makeup:
1. YSL Eye Shadow Palettes in naturals and browns. Each color in this palette has a sparkle and shine, but on the skin, it adds shimmer and radiance. The brown is used on the lash line and in the crease for definition. While the peach is used on the lid for warmth, and the ivory swept under the brow bone for highlighting. Do the eyes first, because this ensures a clean face for the makeup.
2. Lancôme Definicils Mascara. Apply two layers of mascara for the most luxurious effect, allowing a few seconds between coats to let the application dry.
3. Nars Eye Paint used as eyeliner. The deep black color with flecks of shimmering green. This will define the eye by strengthening the lash line and sculpting the eye.
4. Kevyn Aucoin skin enhancing concealer and foundation, also known as The Sensual Skin Enhancer. This ultra-concentrated concealer can be used all over as a complete cover foundation or a no-budge concealer. I used a bit under the eyes to create longevity with the makeup.
5. YSL Foundation Touche Éclat Radiant Foundation is used sparingly all over the face, blending with a foundation brush to create a flawless, seamless look. We chose a color that has a warm golden glow to compliment Sarah’s sun-kissed look. This foundation can last a long time and will reveal a radiant glow to the skin.
6. YSL Touche Éclat Brightening Concealer Pen. Use this magic pen on the cheekbones, under the eyes and around the jaw to add luminosity.
7. Estée Lauder Sculpting Blush and Highlighter. This fantastic two in one combo of rich coral and a gold shimmer highlighter. The coral blush is used on the apple of the cheek for warmth, while the shimmer is used on top of the cheekbone for shine.
8. Bobbi Brown Crushed Lip in Italian Rose was applied and blotted to add a bit of color without looking overdone. Also, we don’t want lipstick smudges on the groom.
HAIR
Wedding day hair needs just as must attention as your makeup. We selected a hairstyle that fit Sarah’s dress style and elegance. The right hair can tie a look together and create memorable moments in pictures. Our first idea was to choose something Sarah would normally wear, instead of something that wasn’t suited to her image. The dress had a huge influence on our choice of hair style. With the gathered pleats and flowing fabric, we wanted the hair to be as simple and carefree as the dress made us feel. We decided on her hair down and wavy, and part of the hair needed to be up and hold the veil. So, we created a small bun on top of her head with long flowing curls. The look resembled a 70’s carefree style, with a hint of Grecian goddess.
Hair Products:
Kérastase Volume Active Mousse and Spray
Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray
Oribe Gold Lust Dry Shampoo
ghd hair straighteners
Who wouldn’t want carefree, free flowing hair on your wedding? Here are some ideas and tips from Sarah’s wedding:
1. Kérastase Volume Active Mousse. A hydrating light hold mousse used on wet hair then blow-dried will help keep a soft wave throughout the day. Blow dry with a small round brush to lightly curl the hair as it dries.
2. Kérastase Volume Active Hair Spray. Lightly mist each section as you finish to keep the hold of the curl. We lightly curled the hair with curling wand, to make a uniform curl.
3. Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray to add volume and hold. Fluffs up the hair and helps enforce extra styling if needed.
4. ghd flatiron for fringe and crown of the head.
5. Hair Bling pins with a shimmering stone to add sparkle under the veil and keep the hair secure.
One of the most important things to know is that there is no “perfect” bride or “perfect” wedding day. Finding your unique style is possible when you blend your physical attributes with your inherent beauty. This is an example of Beauty as Wellness. For Sarah and me, working together on her wedding day was an easy, wonderful collaboration. The style we chose, coupled with the right products and techniques, provided a radiant glow that expressed the joy and love Sarah felt on her wedding day. I wish the best for Sarah and Mel. Weddings like theirs are an example of how, in the words of Hafiz, “Love is simply creation’s greatest joy.”
