Hannah Hillyer spoke to celebrity stylist Clémentine MacNeice about her big day, and her MUA and close friend Aimee Connolly about creating Clem’s timeless look.
When it comes to wedding make-up everyone is different as we all have our own signature quirks and preferences in our style of brows, base and liner, but there are some things that are universal. All of us want skin that looks flawless and a finish that lasts all day, make-up that will photograph well, and of course to look like the very best version of ourselves when we walk up the aisle.
One bride who ticks all these boxes and more is Irish stylist and influencer, Clémentine MacNeice, who tied the knot last November to her long term love, Jamie Lynch in the stunning surrounds of Kilshane House. If you follow Clémentine on social media you’ll already know she’s a fan of a glowy, radiant look which is exactly what she went for on the day.
Luckily, Clémentine’s close friend is MUA Aimee Connolly, founder of Irish beauty brand Sculpted, who was on hand to do her make-up on the special day. We caught up with both Clémentine and Aimee for their top tips and tricks on how to achieve the perfect glowy base, that won’t budge all day.
Clémentine MacNeice
Clémentine, did you trust your MUA to choose all your products for you or did you have some input?
My very talented friend Aimee Connolly has done my makeup many times through the years and I had full trust in her to choose all my products on the day. The only product I had an input in was my lipstick (of course I made sure Aimee agreed with my choice!!) I use and love Sculpted By Aimee in my everyday makeup routine and I was so proud to wear Aimee’s products on the day too.
How important was it to you to have a trial before your big day?
As Aimee has done my makeup so many times before I wasn’t too worried about having a trial. In saying that, I think trials are important as you get a true look at how your makeup will be on the day and how it lasts throughout the day. You can also see what you would like to change, if anything. It’s so important to go with your gut!
Was it important to you that it wasn’t too different from your day to day look?
You want to look like the best version of yourself on your wedding day, but still yourself. Day to day I love natural, glowy makeup and I love going more glam for special occasions, I knew a happy medium of the two would be perfect for my wedding look.
What was your favourite part about the look?
My skin! Aimee is the queen of glow and has a magic touch. There were a few tears throughout the day and my makeup did not budge at all. She is the best!
Aimee Connolly
What is your number one tip for a bride to be happy with their make-up look on their big day?
As an artist I think the most important thing is that the bride feels comfortable in herself, although they may want a certain look on the day, they need to still feel like themselves because otherwise they’ll look back on the photos in years to come and probably not recognise themselves or perhaps be put off by their choices. Honesty between a bride and her artist is super important too, no bride should ever feel concerned about saying what she wants to change with her makeup to her artist.
Do you have any tips when it comes to make-up that photographs well?
Getting the balance between ‘in person’ and photography makeup is really important when it comes to bridal. A lot of the time it might mean ever so slightly more blush or a little more powder than what you might usually. Small changes that just tweak the look to suit both styles and then we as artists feel comfortable that you’re good for the day.
Do you think it’s important to have a trial before the big day?
I think it can be really helpful to put both at ease. I’ve had many an occasion where the bride didn’t have a trial and it’s a massive compliment to me as an artist in their trust in me but I think where possible it can be really valuable. At a trial an artist and their bride can discuss various skin concerns, tones for the day and trial a few combinations that takes the stress out of the decision making on the morning of. It’s also a great way to road test the products too and the bride can feed back to the artist if any changes are necessary.
What are your biggest do’s and don’ts for wedding make-up?
The big ‘do’ for me is to wear a look that you feel comfortable in, I know it sounds very basic but I just wouldn’t feel pressured to do something wildly different because it’s your wedding day. Don’t wear a strong lip colour that you’re not familiar with. I’m all for a statement lip bridal look but I think it’s really important that the statement lip is one the bride is used to wearing or has worn a few times in advance of the day. Another big ‘don’t’ for me is not to go messing with anything strong or new in terms of your skincare or facials too close to the wedding, no one wants a nasty reaction before the big day.
What was the brief for Clem’s look?
Clem is such an easy customer and I knew she would be, she basically floated into her wedding day! I think we were very aligned in that we wanted gorgeous, dewy skin with a soft smokey eye. I as an artist am obsessed with making sure the look looks tonal so we made sure that the chosen lip matched the tone of blush and shadow to bring it all together.
How did you achieve such a stunning glowy base and ensure it lasted all day?
With anything in makeup and particularly a long lasting but dewy base it’s about layering your products little by little and setting where necessary rather than dousing the whole face in powder because it needs to last all day.
Get The Look : Aimee’s top five products used on Clementine
Sculpted’s Second Skin Matte was our chosen base, this is such a lightweight foundation that you can barely feel it on but it gives all the coverage necessary.
Liquid Lights Rosy Glow Blush; €14
Liquid Lights Rosy Glow is the secret behind the glow in Clem’s cheeks, I layered this lightly over my Peach pop cream blush – again another of Clem’s favourites – and it was the perfect finish of blush with a radiance and it was the dream in pictures too.
Hot Lips 2 Dancefloor Princess; €36.00
Charlotte Tilbury Dancefloor Princess was our lip of choice and when it had the definition of a lip liner around it, it was the most perfect bridal nude without being too neutral.
Sultry Stories Eyeshadow Palette; €39
Sculpted’s Sultry Stories palette was used on the eyes and the metallic shimmer shade ‘Gleam’ was the star of the show to add light to the lid.
Benefit Precisely My Brow Pencil; €26.00
And last but not least Benefit Precisely My Brow was scattered through Clem’s brows lightly as she didn’t need much given they were freshly done but I wanted to add a little more to frame the face.
