Painted Faces and Primped-Up Hair

Miss Big’s Note: This post was written the same weekend I had my hair and makeup trial. My skin was breaking out because of a mixture of things, one of them being alcohol. So a tip to those brides who are like me and don’t really give two flips about their skin until the trial: don’t drink alcohol!

Because my trial was in Gosford, an hour from Sydney, on a Sunday, Mr. Big and I decided to stay up in the Hunter Valley with my MoH/sister M&Ms and her boyfriend, The Don. Saturday could be summarised as: wine tours, alcohol, board games, and an expensive but absolutely delicious dinner at the fine-dining restaurant Leaves & Fishes. (Totally recommend this place if you’re ever in the Hunter Valley for dinner!)

We then slept at an insanely early hour in the morning and woke up to a glorious Sunday.

We went to the Broke Fair. And no, it’s not because the fair was broken. The little town holding the fair is called Broke, a wee town located in the Hunter Valley. It was a nice morning of looking at all the farm animals, arts and crafts, and food and wine stands. They even had several jumping castles and a whole slew of classic cars! We bought some cookies, coffee, alcohol, delicious cooking oil, and reserved seats for our breakfast at a local boutique winery, Nightingale Wines.

When we were done with the fair, we headed off for Nightingale Wines.

The breakfast there was pricey ($22!) but delicious: fresh butter on toasted bread, eggs, bacon, sausages (that I actually enjoyed! I usually hate breakfast sausages), grilled tomato, and a golden hash brown. I had a(nother) cup of coffee and then we headed off to my hair and makeup appointment at Gosford.

Unfortunately, Mr. Big delivered the news that we would probably be late, so I’d better give the hair/makeup team a head’s up. I texted them and then the reception to my phone cut out. Countryside driving, hive!

For an hour and a half, driving through pristine countryside, I was starting to get a little bit nervous. Not only was my face a mess (red and raw skin around my eyes, pimples, blotchy skin—you name it, I had it), but I feared that my tardiness would mean I had less time to talk to the team and get a feel for what they could do, and for them to get an idea about what I wanted.

We did make it Gosford, 15 minutes later then the appointment time. After apologising profusely, I sat down in the chair and the trial was underway. I met with Kirsty and Emma of Doubletake Makeup Artistry and Extreme Hair Salon, respectively. They work together during weddings and have done over 20 weddings each.

They are two awesome, beautiful women with big personalities, so I was having a great time. They chatted to me as they did my face and hair, and I felt utterly and completely comfortable in their presence.

What’s better is that they accommodated to my skin and my hair and they were just so nice, even when I was late! They made sure to choose products which they believed would ensure that my skin remain hydrated and happy. I actually felt good under their skills. I showed them my inspiration images and explained what I wanted, and they worked their magic.

Now before I continue, I’m going to divulge a little something to you fine folk. I, naturally, have self-esteem issues, especially as my skin is the way it is. Add to that the fact that I was suffering from “that time in a girl’s month,” and you can imagine how I felt.

Essentially, my self-esteem was hair-trigger sensitive.

This is the before photo of my trial. You can probably see how bad my skin was that day. My skin was blotchy, my face was breaking out, my eyes were red and raw, and I was feeling tired and bloated.

So, I looked pretty bad.

The before photo. I am so brave to post this on a basically international scale”¦ / Personal photo

This was taken at about 12:00 PM on the ride over to Gosford where I was to meet Kirsty and Emma for the trial. When I got there, I showed them these two images:

Left: For makeup, Zhang Zi Yi in a Mercedes advertisement. GOD SHE’S PRETTY; Right: For hair, Emmaline Bride via Avdeezyk

And this is what I got:

Selfie, taken on my old iPhone. I really suck at selfies. / Personal image

Taken by Kirsty at the salon with my iPhone / Personal images

In all honesty, I thought I looked quite good. However, I went into my trial with no concept of what I wanted (I’m silly, aren’t I?), so now that I have a clearer idea of what doesn’t look good on me, I can go into the wedding day safe in the knowledge of what I don’t want.

It is a trial after all, and I, along with the help of others, found places that needed adjusting. These were:

• My eyes needed a little more pop (like Zhang Zi Yi’s above)
• My eyebrows needed some preening
• My fringe needs to be swept gently to the side instead of the wavy curls (like Zhang Zi Yi’s fringe above).
• The bun needs to be “daintier”/smaller. That bun on the back of my head was massive!

Otherwise, I loved the look! I got some crap about it from other people and I was sort of upset for a little bit (read: feeling ugly, boo). But after all that’s said and done, I’m happy with my MUA and hairstylist.

I loved the colour of my lips, I loved the fact that my skin looked absolutely flawless, and I loved the fact that when Mr. Big saw me he looked happily stunned.

What do you guys think? What kind of adjustments should I make?

BLOGGER

Mrs. Bighorn Sheep

Location:

Sydney, NSW, Australia

Occupation:

Postgraduate Student & Aspiring Writer

Wedding Date:

February 2014

Venue:

The Hunter Valley Gardens & Tamburlaine Organic Wines