How to get your skin in great shape for the big day

Every bride wants to be the most beautiful, radiant version of herself.

Here at Gemma Nichols Hair and Makeup we know a thing or two about how to achieve beautiful, luminous skin so let us share with you our trade secrets for fresh, glowing skin. After all great skin leads to great makeup!

Your Daily Skincare Regime

Every evening

Every morning

CLEANSE

To wipe away the dirt, oil and sweat accumulated whilst you sleep.

Avoid harsh foaming cleansers and choose something gentle such as a creme based cleanser.

Our favourite cleanser is Ikou Recovery Face Cleansing Cream.

It is hydrating, gentle and smells simply divine as it is made of natural plant extracts.

SERUM

Many people don't use serums as they don't understand their purpose but they really are the most effective products as they get deeper than your moisturiser. So think of your serum as your skins treatment product. It's an active treatment that targets your main skin concern. So choose a serum to target your skin concern (breakouts, redness, dehydration etc).

For your makeup to sit it's best all day long we highly recommend you start with a hydrating serum as hydrated skin is the secret to beautiful skin and beautiful makeup.

On many beauty editors lists right now and also recommended by dermatologists for even sensitive skin is La Roche Posay B5 Hyaluronic Serum.

Our founder Gem swears by Dr Natasha Cook Illuminating and Clarifying serums for those wanting more active anti ageing (one in the morning and one in the evening).

MOISTURISER

Your skins moisture and protection for the day time (along with your sunscreen).

Oily skin gets dehydrated too so everyone should be moisturising. Simply choose a light weight oil free version if you are particularly oily.

So many people worry their makeup will look cakes but that happens when you skip the moisturiser as your skin is so dehydrated that it tried to drink the moisture from your foundation instead.

Our favourite moisturiser as it suits most skin types is Dr Natasha Cook Moisturiser

SUNSCREEN

If you will be in the sun then please apply sunscreen, it is the most anti ageing part of our regime as the sun causes the most damage.

Our favourite sunscreens for the face include Mecca's To Save Face and La Roche Posay's range (love their anti shine one for oily skin).

REMOVE YOUR MAKEUP

Get yourself a Face Halo to ensure all of your makeup is removed. It's a bit like a flannel but designed to remove the makeup so it saves you money on wipes and is better for the environment than those cotton wool pads. You can just pop it in the washing machine when you are done and have a few on rotation. Mine are over a year old and still going strong so I have saved so much money and am helping the environment.

If you do wear a generous amount of makeup then we recommend using an oil cleanser to remove your makeup along with the face halo pads.

CLEANSE

Apply a creme cleanser and use the face halo again to remove the cleanser as the physical act of wiping your face with a muslin cloth or face halo helps to clean away any residue on the skin,

Tip avoid a foaming cleanser as they can often strip the skin and cause dehydration.

MOISTURISE

Apply your eye cream and night time moisturiser or oil.

Night time moisturisers are typically richer than your day time moisturiser as they don't have to be worn under makeup.

We love:

Dr Natasha Cook Concentrated Hydration

Ikou Night Cream

Ikou Calming Oil

Exfoliate once to twice a week

Now it’s time to talk about that all important instant gratification product that you use once or twice a week, your exfoliator.

It really is a product that if you don’t use regularly it has the most instantaneous results when you do bust it out. So much so that if you sit in our makeup chair and you haven’t exfoliated in a while we can tell instantly and ask you to give your face a quick scrub before we begin so the makeup looks better.

So once a week buff away your dead skin cells with a gentle scrub, mask or wipe. This will get rid of flaky and dull patches and help you achieve smoother, softer skin. In the long run regular use will help to minimise blackhead congestion.

There are lots of great exfoliators on the market but here are three of our favourites linked below:

Dr Natasha Cook Concentrated Micropeel for those wanting a strong at home option

Glycolic daily pads

great for sensitive skin

Korra Tumeric brightening mask & scrub in one for normal skin types

FACIALS

how to get your skin in great shape for your wedding

Monthly facials are a great way to eliminate toxins and to achieve a glowing, dewy complexion. If time and your budget permits specialised treatments can do wonders for our skin as well as give you some relaxation time.

Eliminate breakouts and blackheads by booking in for a peel and then two weeks later a dermabrasion. If you repeat this cycle for at least 4 months your congestion should reduce. Remember it is normal to break out at first as the peel brings everything up to the surface, that’s why you want to start these treatments a few months before your wedding. Gem, our founder suffers from congestion and she swears by the Mills and the Laser Clinic for affordable peels and dermabrasion.

If you are after active anti ageing skin needling is known to deliver the results. It is not for the faint hearted though but the end results are smoother, brighter skin.

If a more traditional facial is what you are after Ella Bache do beautiful hydrating treatments. Pair these with light therapy after and your skin will be hydrated and glowing.

However, avoid new facials the week of the wedding, we try not to introduce any new products the week of the wedding just incase you have a reaction. Ideally you should start your course of facials treatments six months before your wedding.

BROWS

To get your brows into their best shape can take a few months.

Try to schedule your first brow appointment at least 6 months before the big day to allow enough time to correct the shape if needed.

Ilona Sophie is who we highly recommend, conveniently located in the city.

Kristen Fisher is a celebrity favourite in Double Bay

We aren’t huge fans of brow tattooing here but if it’s your thing Sharon Blaine creates beautiful semi permanent natural brows.

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