Be the bridesmaid with everything in her bag
On Sept. 29, one of my oldest friends is getting married in Tagaytay, and I will be standing at the front of the ceremony with women I have known since we were 12. Before the wedding, I hosted a luncheon for all of us, part celebration and part makeup class. They love makeup, I am constantly testing it, and everyone wanted to know what was new, what was worth buying, and what would still be on our faces by the last dance.
A wedding day starts when the bride wakes up and ends when the music does. Bridesmaids are on for every hour of it, from holding it together while she cries to screaming for her on the dance floor. Somewhere in between, she will need something nobody thought to bring. I intend to bring it. These women have known me too long for me to recommend something terrible and expect them to forget.
Tagaytay adds its own conditions. The air is cooler, but late September is still the rainy season. We will sweat less than we would at a Manila wedding, but we will still deal with damp air and possible rain. Making makeup last rarely means putting more of it on. Thin layers and formulas that behave well together get me much further. I built the kit in the order I do my face. Everything went on my face first. Much of it then went on theirs, and some of it has already made it into their own bags.
Skin first
TiZO3 Tinted Primer/Sunscreen gives me sunscreen and primer in one step. On a day that starts at dawn, one less layer under foundation means one less thing that can pill before lunch. I like the slightly matte finish because it gives my makeup a smoother starting point without adding another product underneath.
For concealer, I rotate between Clé de Peau Beauté, Issy, Lucky Beauty, and Vice Cosmetics. I trust all four after wearing them through full days. They stay put on me and brighten my undereyes. That matters more than usual this week. Someone will cry. I know my friends and myself.
For structure, Clocheflame’s Bask Balm in Coco gives my face definition without looking like a stripe parked under my cheekbone. I wore Coco through full days in many different climates and did not find it halfway down my face by dinner. At a wedding, where every hello lands on your cheek, staying where I put it is the test.
Color for cheeks, eyes, and lips
Vice Cosmetics brought back its One and Done Sticks with new shades and a creamier formula. Dawnish, a muted pink, and Peony, a baby blush, were the two I started using immediately. One stick works across cheeks, eyes, and lips, which is exactly what a small bag needs. The format also makes retouching easy. I tap a little onto my cheeks with my fingers instead of taking out a brush and moving the makeup underneath.
On top, I add Glam Hour’s Artiste Rouge in Monet, a weightless velvet-to-powder blush, and bring it up toward the under eye. This is new for me. I noticed how much brighter it made my eyes look, and I have not gone back. Layered over the stick, it also gives the color more to wear through.
For lips, I start with Nyx’s Lip I.V. Hydrating Lip Gloss Stain. I put it on bare lips, let the color develop, then wipe off the excess. Whatever I layer on top eventually wears away, and the stain leaves color underneath.
The top layer is Vice’s Perfect Kizz line: Showgloss in Glossified and Magic, Lock Liner in One More Kizz, and Velvet Blur in Petal Kiss. The Lock Liner matters most to me because it stays exactly where I draw it. I bring some of the liner farther into the lip, too, so the color wears down evenly instead of leaving an obvious outline after dinner.
The gloss will need another coat. No gloss survives pancit. With the stain underneath and the liner still in place, though, I am restoring shine rather than rebuilding my mouth.
The part everyone was scared of
Eyes were where the luncheon became an actual class. Eyeliner and false lashes were the two steps my friends were most nervous about, which is fair. Nobody feels casual holding something sharp near her eye.
Faboulash has collaborated with Manila makeup artists for a while. I used its earlier Bespoke collections by Mark Qua and Anthea Bueno, and Anthea’s is my favorite. The new Coffee Collection by Jelly Eugenio has four upper cluster styles, two lower styles, and four gel pencils in Rose Latte, Cold Brew, Cocoa Smoke, and Velvet Black.
My favorite style is JEL04, airy volume with a soft wing toward the outer corner. The clusters are easy to place, and once mine are on, I forget about them. More volume at the outer corner elongates the eye without weighing down the whole lash line.
The gel pencils surprised me even more. They glide without tugging, give dense color on the first pass, and do not smudge on me. They also make the clusters look like they belong to me by filling the small gaps between my natural lash line and the falsies. Without liner, there are days I look in the mirror and think, yes, there are clearly additional eyelashes attached to this woman.
One honest note from some earlier Bespoke cards. The adhesive on a few clusters did not hold. Switching to another card fixed it every time. It is not enough to stop me from wearing them, but it is enough for backup lash glue from Faboulash or Paulash to live in my wedding bag, along with the Faboulash tweezers.
For brows, I have used Benefit since I was a teenager, and I still go back to it. Silky Girl is my budget alternative, while The Face Shop’s Fmgt Ink Brow Palette adds matte dimension when the rest of my face gets dewier.
For mascara, I chose Dazzle Me’s Lock and Pop 3D Curl-ing Iron for its half-millimeter wand. The small brush reaches the roots and the shorter inner lashes, which is how I get the flared shape I like. The box says waterproof and smudge-proof. I have not cried in it yet, so I refuse to certify it for emotions. I have run in it several times, and it stayed on. The vows will complete the experiment.
Setting without flattening everything
Y.O.U’s Cloud Touch Airy Blur Setting Powder is a baked lavender powder with two percent niacinamide, ceramides, and SPF35 PA+++. Lavender visually counteracts yellow tones, which helps the complexion look brighter. The brand positions it for fair to light-medium skin. I am medium, like the other bridesmaids, and it looked good and held on me. I still want everyone to try complexion products on their own face before the wedding. One face is not a study.
I carry the compact instead of blotting papers. Blotting removes surface oil. Powder takes the shine down and puts some finish back over the makeup at the same time, so I touch up only where I get shiny.
My last step is Dazzle Me’s Get a Grip in Barbie Oil Control + Set. Yes, the Barbie packaging influenced me. Fortunately, I like what is inside, too. My skin leans dewy, and I do not want a spray that strips all of it away. This one brings the shine down to where I want it and helps my makeup last longer on me.
It is also an aerosol, so the mist comes out fine and even instead of leaving one large wet spot from an enthusiastic pump. The scent is sweet and floral. If you dislike fragrance near your face, keep this in mind before buying.
The least glamorous thing in the kit
Before deodorant, I spray hypochlorous acid. This needs more explaining than lipstick. Fresh sweat barely smells. Odor comes from skin bacteria breaking it down, and hypochlorous acid, which our own white blood cells make to fight bacteria, cuts some of them down first. It does not stop sweating, so it replaces nothing. Most research on it covers wound care, not underarms, so I call it a habit that works for me.
The luncheon is done. We ate, passed products around, and everyone left with a new favorite or a trick she learned from someone else. I realized makeup had felt more intimidating to some of them than it ever did to me, and trying it together took the pressure away. By the end of the afternoon, everyone was more confident than when she sat down.
Today, when the bride asks if anyone has powder, lash glue, or something none of us predicted, she will not have to find the right bridesmaid. We will all be annoyingly prepared. We love her, and it is an honor to stand beside her. Today, she gets to be the bride. The rest of us will handle the rest.
