Mother of the Bride Makeup Guide: Lip Edition

As the mother of the bride, your role is essential on your daughter's big day. Not only will you be beaming with pride, but you'll also be a significant part of the celebration. With the eyes of guests and cameras on you, your makeup needs to be impeccable. While the dress and hairstyle often take center stage, the right lipstick can elevate your look, adding the finishing touch to your ensemble.

Choosing The Right Shade

Whether you choose to play up your lips with a bold color, or use a neutral shade, your lip color can really pull together a look. Using the correct shade can help you in looking effortlessly chic and polished.

To find your shade, we recommend trying on many options before deciding on just one. Test colors by applying shades to one lip and leaving the other bare, and comparing the two colors. Your lip product shade should be just a shade or two darker than your natural lip.

Light vs Dark

Remember that lips can thin over time and they may develop lines on and around them. Because of this, we suggest always sticking to lighter colors, as darker shades usually only accentuate thin lips and fine lines. To make these imperfections less visible, the solution is to plump the lips. Avoiding the surgery route, you have a couple of options that will help in temporarily achieving the appearance of plumper lips.

Lip Gloss

Lip gloss is always very effective. First, apply a bit of color with your shade of lip liner or lipstick (remember, only a shade or two darker than your natural lip color). Add a dab of lip gloss on top and voilà!

Just make sure to refrain from using copious amounts of lip gloss. It gets sticky, tacky, and can draw attention to wrinkles and thin lips if used in excess.

Lip Contour

Your alternative to lip gloss is to actually contour your lips. You should first line the lips in a color that is slightly darker than your natural shade. With this same liner, draw a line down the middle of each lip. Choose a color a shade or two lighter than this and highlight the center of each section of your lips, where the darker shade is absent. To finish, use your normal concealer to go around the lips and fix any imperfections.

Bold Lips

If your outfit calls for a bold lip, embrace it and wear red, the universal classic, with confidence and style. Try on several different shades until you find the perfect one. Make sure to go lightly on the rest of your makeup, skip the eyeliner and instead use just mascara. Dust a bit of powder and soft blush on your cheeks and do nothing more.

Keep in mind that a bold lip will require touching-up throughout the day, so come prepared with a lipstick in your bag.

Finishing Touches

Before applying the lip color, fill in the lips with a lip liner or a primer to establish a smooth surface. You may also want to match your nails to your lips. Make sure to choose the color correctly when doing this, the last thing you want is for your nails to clash with your lip color.

Top Tips

Long-Lasting Wear: Wedding days are long, and you'll want a lipstick that lasts from the ceremony to the last dance. Opt for a long-wear formula that provides hydration to keep your lips looking fresh and vibrant. A satin or semi-matte finish is ideal, as it offers a balance between moisture and longevity without the heaviness of a full matte lip.

Touch-Ups: Keep your lipstick and a small mirror in your clutch for quick touch-ups.