Ritva Westenius has been making stunning couture wedding gowns since 1977 and has many celebrity clients – I have visited the Ritva Westenius Boutique in Connaught Street, London and have had the privilege to work alongside Ritva Westenius and her daughter Chenca Williams who is also a very talented dress designer.
Her designs are absolutely stunning and I was incredibly excited when I opened Brides Magazine and saw the latest advertising campaign, which was shot in LA by photographer Guiliano Bekor.
Not only does it showcase the latest fabulous dress designs, the hair and makeup was amazing and was a breath of fresh air – the elaborate hair design was stunning, but was I was most excited about the dramatic makeup look!
More and more brides are requesting a stronger makeup look on their wedding day – gone are the days when every bride walked down the aisle in the same ‘peachy’ makeup tones! There are some brides who wear more makeup on a daily basis, so the groom is used to seeing them ‘made up’ and for these brides, they would feel ‘naked’ without a stronger makeup look. Then I have brides who do not wear a lot of makeup on a daily basis, but want to achieve the ‘wow’ factor on this special day and ask me to create something dramatic for them.
If you love this makeup design, here are some top tips to re-create it for your wedding day:
Make sure that you select a matte foundation for this look, with at least medium coverage – this look requires the most flawless finish to the skin. Ensure that any imperfections are covered and set your base with loose powder.
Blusher should be subtle – with this much drama on the eyes, along with a strong tone to the lips, stick to a taupe/ nude shade and use only a small amount (think more about subtle contour than lots of blusher).
The eyes are such a key part of this look – and I recommend using matte shadows – use a cream coloured shadow as a base, from the upper lashline to the brow. Apply a dark brown shadow (choose one with an ash tone to it, rather than a warm brown) and apply this to the contour. Using a charcoal grey, apply this to the eyelid and finish with a matte black shadow used as an eyeliner to define the upper and lower lashline and ‘wing’ the shadow out slightly at the outer corner for more drama. It is important to use the correct eyeshadow brushes – this look will require a little more skill than a natural look and using the correct tools will help you.
The lips in this photograph are of a plum tone and complete the look – if the strong eyes and lips are too much for you, then go for a more natural shade on the lips, which will look slightly less dramatic.
Line your lips first (all over the lip area), apply your lipstick with a brush and if you wish, apply a small amount of gloss on top.
www.ritvawestenius.co.uk (Images kindly provided by Ritva Westenius)