The one day your makeup needs to be absolutely GORGEOUS. Obviously, every bride wants to look unreal on the day she gets married because let's face it, this is a pretty major life event. Of course, Sod's Law would dictate that when you want something really badly, it's likely to go the complete opposite way. Thankfully, there are experts that know exactly what they're doing and have the ability to deal with any beauty crisis that could potentially arise: a crater of a spot appears on your chin, your makeup melts off due to stress/heat and/or you cry buckets of happy tears before you even leave the house. Whether you have a professional MUA booked in already or you're going it alone, I spoke to two luxury makeup professionals to find out what trends and tips are key for wedding makeup this year. Light and bright If you want a defined look but don't want to go overboard, you need an eyeshadow pencil that will open up your eyes. Laura Pye, elite makeup artist for Lancôme tells me that the Hypnôse Stylo in Shade 1  (€26), "adds light to the eyes making them look brighter and wider". More importantly, it's waterproof so even if you shed a few tears on the day, it won't budge. Classic glamour Fred Letailleur, European makeup artist for YSL, says that this year wedding makeup is inspired by old-school "Hollywood techniques". According to this beauty guru, eye-contouring is big for summer 2016 and here's how you go about getting the look. Highlight the eye using an eye primer with Fred recommending YSL Eye Primer in Number 1, Fair, either as a liner or all over the lid. The next step is to choose an eyeshadow palette, muted pinks and purples are perfect for brides, and blend the tones into the eye socket to create a "romantic contrast". The Adele Fred says that Adele's winged eyeliner has majorly influenced THE shape for 2016 and it's making quite the impact with brides. He described Adele's look as "a real voluptuous wing" which is "rounded on the middle of the lid then curved upwards on the outer end of the eye". This is a look probably best left to a professional but if you insist on going it alone, Fred says an eyeliner pencil is your best bet here. This will create an "easy shape, using the flat of the applicator to draw the liner along the lid".

Los Angeles, CA / Staples Center / Aug 5

A photo posted by @adele on Aug 6, 2016 at 7:02pm PDT

Glowing effect If yours is a summer wedding, a tanned glow is always appealing. However, there is the risk of going overboard, and Laura recommends Belle de Teint (€43). She says "sweeping it from temple to cheekbones" will allow for a light, bronzed effect while the blurring effect smooths over any imperfections. Described as a "natural glow", this product is a must for any bridal touch-up beauty kit. Ombré lips The above might sound a bit extreme for bridal beauty but the great thing about ombré is you can choose to either up the ante or play it down. If you want to opt for a strong shade, then Fred recommends a matte texture and cites Rouge Pure Couture Matte 208 (€33) as the perfect bridal rose shade. However, if you'd rather a glossy effect, you can opt for a light, natural lip gloss with Fred recommending YSL Gloss Volupte in Shade 54 or 55.     So, there you have it, four expert tips that will help you perfect your own bridal look or information that you can bring along to your MUA consultation.  Drop me a line at cathy.donohue@her.ie if you have any wedding beauty tales/woes to share.