A hot, sunny wedding day sounds absolutely glorious.
Until you look at the forecast, see 30°C, and start imagining your carefully applied bridal makeup sliding down your face before you’ve even made it to the ceremony.
Don’t panic.
We’ve been doing wedding hair and makeup since 2010, through British heatwaves, destination weddings and venues of varying enthusiasm for air conditioning.
Your makeup isn’t simply going to melt off.
There are things we can do with skin preparation, product choice and application to help your makeup withstand the heat — and a few things you can do throughout the day to help it along.
What actually happens to makeup in hot weather?
The biggest issue is usually sweat and the extra shine that comes with it.
Heat can cause foundation to move, eyeshadow to crease, and areas of the face to become shinier than we’d ideally like.
The solution isn’t necessarily more makeup.
In fact, quite often it’s the opposite.
For a summer wedding, we’ll generally work with lighter layers, prepare the skin carefully and put coverage where it’s actually needed rather than covering the entire face in a heavy base.
Good bridal makeup should still look like skin.
Especially when it’s 30 degrees outside.
Skin preparation matters even more in summer
How we prepare your skin depends on your skin type, but if we know it’s going to be a very hot day, we’ll be particularly careful about applying anything excessively rich or oily underneath your makeup.
We want enough hydration for the foundation to sit beautifully, without creating a slippery surface underneath it.
Primer is also incredibly useful.
We can use different primers in different areas depending on what your skin needs, helping to create a better surface for the makeup and improve its staying power.
Then it’s about building the makeup in sensible layers and setting it appropriately.
Less foundation can actually work better
Hot weather isn’t the time to create an unnecessarily heavy base.
One approach we often use is a lightweight skin tint or tinted moisturiser across the face, followed by additional coverage only where it’s actually needed.
That might mean concealing a blemish, reducing redness, or adding more coverage in a particular area without layering heavy foundation everywhere else.
This isn’t exclusively a summer technique – I generally prefer to create beautiful skin rather than cover it — but it becomes particularly useful in hot weather.
The less unnecessary product sitting on the skin, the less there is to start feeling heavy when you get warm.
How do you create glowing bridal makeup without looking sweaty?
There is quite a significant difference between glowy and clammy.
And on a hot wedding day, nature may already be providing some of the glow for us.
We’ll look at your individual skin and decide how much luminosity actually needs to be added.
Some brides naturally have more warmth and shine coming through their skin, while others need a little more help from bronzer, blusher, or highlighter.
Likewise, I love a good setting spray and often use one to give makeup a beautiful finished appearance, but on someone whose skin is already becoming very shiny in the heat, I may choose a different finish or use it more selectively.
There isn’t one summer bridal makeup formula that we apply to everybody.
Your skin tells us what it needs.
If you start sweating, don’t keep piling on powder
This is a big one.
Your instinct when you see shine may be to grab the powder and keep applying more.
Please don’t.
Layer after layer of powder can eventually become dry, cakey and flaky — particularly when you’re putting it over skin that’s already warm or damp.
Blot first.
Blotting papers are brilliant for a summer wedding because they remove excess oil and moisture without continually adding more product.
Once you’ve blotted, you can decide whether you actually need any additional powder.
Quite often, you won’t.
Is wedding makeup waterproof?
Around the eyes, waterproof products are particularly important.
We routinely use waterproof mascara for weddings anyway because tears are hardly unusual, but it becomes even more useful when you add heat and sweat into the equation.
We also make sure the eye area is properly prepared and set so products are less likely to move or drop underneath the eyes.
I’m personally not a huge fan of heavy black kohl around the eyes for most bridal looks. It can make the eyes look smaller or tired, and I often prefer the softer definition we can create using powders.
A liquid liner on the upper lash line can work beautifully if that’s part of your look.
Again, your wedding makeup doesn’t need to become heavier simply because it needs to last.
What should you carry for touch-ups?
You really don’t need to drag half of Space NK around in your handbag.
For a hot summer wedding, I’d consider having:
- blotting papers
- your lip colour or gloss
- a few cotton buds
- a small amount of powder if you know you’re prone to shine
- concealer if you genuinely think you’ll need it
Cotton buds are particularly useful for gently tidying underneath the eyes later in the day.
If you do add concealer underneath your eyes, remember that you’re adding a wet product. Set it lightly afterwards, otherwise it can attract eye makeup and create exactly the problem you were trying to fix.
Most importantly, blot before you add more product.
What about SPF on your wedding day?
Sun protection is important, particularly for an outdoor summer wedding.
If daily SPF is already part of your normal skincare routine, tell your makeup artist what you use and discuss how it fits with your wedding-day skin preparation.
Modern SPF and makeup formulations are considerably better than they used to be, but products can behave differently under makeup and in photography, so your bridal hair and makeup preview is the ideal opportunity to work out what suits your skin and your finished look.
And don’t rely solely on makeup containing SPF if you’re going to be spending significant time outside. Proper sun protection still matters.
Summer wedding hair needs planning too
Heat and humidity don’t affect everybody’s hair in the same way.
Mine, for example, tends to go flat, sticky and dead straight. Curls disappear.
Someone else’s hair may react to humidity by getting progressively bigger and frizzier.
Neither is inherently a problem — but it’s useful information when we’re choosing your wedding hairstyle.
If your hair doesn’t hold curl particularly well in hot weather, wearing it completely loose may not be your most reliable option.
Likewise, if your hair is very prone to frizz, securing more of it into the hairstyle can help us maintain the shape we’ve created rather than leaving the weather to redesign it for you.
Setting techniques, styling products and hairspray all help, but choosing a style that works with your hair type and the conditions is even better.
Think carefully about those romantic little tendrils
Those delicate pieces of hair around the face can look beautiful.
They can also become slightly less romantic after several hours of heat, sweat and a breezy outdoor drinks reception.
The area around the temples and sideburns can become particularly warm, which can cause carefully curled pieces to straighten or look bedraggled.
If you’re having an outdoor summer wedding — or know your hair reacts dramatically to humidity — keeping more of the hair away from your face can sometimes be the better option.
We’ll talk about all of this at your preview.
Keep yourself cool where you can
You don’t need to spend your wedding day hiding in a refrigerated room.
But a bit of common sense helps enormously.
If you can sit somewhere cool and shaded while you’re getting ready, do.
A little handheld fan can be fantastic — assign it to a bridesmaid if necessary.
Try not to spend an hour sitting in direct sunlight immediately after we’ve finished your makeup.
Air conditioning can be wonderful, although very strong air conditioning can also feel drying, so a comfortable, cool environment is ideal.
Once the party starts and you’re dancing and sweating?
Enjoy yourself.
Your wedding makeup exists to accompany you through your wedding, not to stop you having one.
What about a destination wedding?
The principles are essentially the same whether you’re getting married during a British heatwave or somewhere like Italy, Greece or Spain.
We adapt the products, preparation and application to the climate and to your skin.
In very hot conditions, lighter layers become particularly valuable. We can still create polished, beautiful bridal makeup without loading the skin with product.
And frankly, some British summer weddings now give Mediterranean ones a decent run for their money.
“It’s going to be 32°C. Is my makeup going to melt off?”
No. Don’t panic!
Professional bridal makeup is designed with longevity in mind, and an experienced artist knows how to prepare, prime and set the skin according to the conditions.
You have a small part to play too.
Keep yourself reasonably cool. Blot rather than repeatedly powdering. Try not to touch your face constantly. Have a few useful touch-up products nearby.
Then get on with your wedding.
Because if it’s 32°C and gloriously sunny in Britain, you’ve already achieved something rather miraculous.
Planning a summer wedding? When you book your wedding hair and makeup with CJC, we’ll consider your skin, hair type, venue, season and the look you want to create — and your bridal hair and makeup preview gives us the chance to work out the products and techniques that suit you long before the wedding day.
