New York Bridal Week is well known for being a fantastic place to scope out all the most amazing wedding dress trends, but it’s also the perfect spot to discover bridal beauty as well. If you’re planning your upcoming nuptials and want a fresh bridal look, be sure to save this list to share with your makeup artist!
Watercolors
We all have that image of the blushing bride in a long white dress on their wedding day. Gowns made in shades of ecru and ivory lace, makeup soft and romantic … the only real pop of color might be a hidden blue garter as the traditional “something blue.”
While we adore a classic, if you’re a bride that’s not afraid to mix things up, there are so many ways to incorporate a little color into your wedding look. This season, designers including Badgley Mischka, Ines di Santo, and Anne Barge showed off gorgeous dresses in hues of blue, violet, and lilac for spring 2024, featuring both fabric and hand-painted florals, tiers of tulle, and ruffles, which provided subtle touches of spring hues, as well as full-on pastel-colored gowns.
If you love a touch of color but a baby blue or purple dress is a bit too modern for you, add the colors to your makeup. Cassandra Garcia, Global Pro Artist for Bobbi Brown at Ines di Santo’s, took inspiration from the gorgeous colors of the collection; however, you could recreate this stunning eye and wear it with any bridal ensemble. Garcia created a “watercolor eye” for a monochromatic romantic style using Bobbi Brown’s eyeshadow in Heather. “This is perfect for the bride who wants to dip their toe in color. It’s soft and subtle,” explains Cassandra Garcia.
Add a little Shine
Beads and sequins are a great way to incorporate a little glitz, whether it be on the dress’ bodice, part of an amazing scalloped, crop top, 2-piece set, such as the amazing one Sachin & Babi designed or on a fun accessory, such as a stunning hood like at Cinq.
However, even if your dress is lacking in sparkle, a good highlighter is the perfect way to add that subtle reflection to your complexion for a lit-from-within glow. At Sachin & Babi, Rhona Samuels and Rafael German with Valentino Beauty, focused on giving each model a little extra radiance with Valentino’s V-Lighter. According to German, V-Lighter is a must have on your wedding day as it’s a primer and highlighter in one. “It literally reflects light without being shiny. So, it will mattify, but will also blur all the pores, blur all imperfections, and correct redness.”
Samuels stresses that it also contains hyaluronic acid for continuous hydration “… you can put a little bit into your moisturizer … You can use it on the décolletage, and legs. You can mix the two together [for the perfect hint of shimmer.]”
While you can tone down the glow, a very strong highlighter also looks amazing for any bride. The models at Badgley Mischka wore a very iridescent highlighter for maximum radiance. However, for an extra shimmery touch, metallic shadows were swiped across their lids for a beautiful modern and high-shine bridal look.
Keep it Casual
Gone are the days of runways filled with French twists and stiff, complicated up-dos. Now it’s true that brides have been trending towards relaxed hair for a while, but this season the simpler the better. The spring bride is all about casual elegance, whether it’s wearing their hair down in loose waves or in the perfect stunning messy bun style.
Want to add a little something extra? Use strands of hair (real or extensions) to create braided headbands for additional interest in the hair like they did at Anne Barge. Another idea is to add flowers, Fashion Reverie loves the gorgeous Cherry Blossoms tucked into the models’ buns at Reem Acra. Flowers are an easy way to bring feminine touches and update a basic style.
Pretty in Pink
While pink wasn’t reflected much in the wedding gowns or accessories for the spring 2024 bridal season, shades of pink were unsurprisingly incorporated into almost every beauty look.
From the most traditional pink blushes for that flushed look to simple, demure pink manicures. However, this season to add a soft elegance, many designers opted for pink eyeshadows to complete their bridal looks. According to Samuels, pink is the go-to shade for eyeshadow for brides right now. At Sachin & Babi, Samuels used Valentino’s color flip in the pink shade, but stresses the fluidity of a perfect blush into that perfect pink shadow. “You can use the primer on the eyelid and put a little bit of the blush on top, which is eye to cheek. And you can create that soft but very feminine look on the eye without looking so harsh,” Samuels suggests. And for the perfect pink blush, German recommends mixing Valentino blushes in Numbers 1 Born in Rome and 3 for the perfect wedding day flush.
Classic or modern, it’s important that you wear whatever makes you feel beautiful! After all, it’s your day!
Janine Silver
It’s nice to see the fresh, stunning bridal look and the many beautiful wedding dresses. Styles have come a long way since I got married.
I’ve always loved the use of color in weddings! It wasn’t a real option when I got married, but seeing a wedding dress in a fresh hue really allows the bride’s spirit to show through. I’m excited to see the blue colors next year, and glad that blush is still being incorporated in the theme!
Loving these gorgeous dresses!
I always wanted to wear white on my wedding day but ended up on wearing pink. Nice to see these gorgeous collection