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Make sure you are the star of the day and not the makeup artist. This is your wedding.

With Spring in the air, planning is reaching its height for summer weddings. With all of the stress surrounding the arrangements, the decisions, the last thing you want to worry about is having your makeup look beautiful and keeping it on for the entire affair.

Here are 10 tips for making sure that you look your best:

1Be sure you do not book the following services too close to your wedding date; facials, tanning, waxing, haircut or hair color should be arranged two to three weeks before your wedding so you have some time to change or grow out what you may not like.

2In hiring a professional makeup artist for your wedding there are several things to consider. Much depends on how many people are in your wedding party and will need this service. If you have five or more, it would be in your best interests to book at a salon or day spa so all the services would be done in one location. You must make sure that the salon will open early enough if you are having an early wedding.

3If you have three or four people in your party, including yourself, you may consider hiring a makeup artist who will come to you, whether at your home or at the site of the wedding. Make sure that this is a professional, and not your cousin or girlfriend who does her own makeup well. Remember, these people are not experienced in doing makeup on others, only on themselves. If a problem were to arise, they might not know how to correct it.

Most artists who work in department stores deal with so many people and situations that they are usually the most experienced. Remember that the makeup issues are very different from those for models on a runway or for performers under lights.

In an ideal world, you start searching for your makeup artist five months before the wedding. Make sure you click with the artist and that you feel comfortable and relaxed with the person. This goes for any professional you deal with - some artists can be so full of themselves!

Make sure you are the star of the day and not the makeup artist. This is your wedding.

4Where do you find a makeup artist?
You can find one in a hair salon, by word of mouth, written referrals, and on the Internet, but I feel that the best places to find a good makeup artist for your wedding is in department stores. Most artists who work in department stores deal with so many people and situations that they are usually the most experienced. Remember that the makeup issues are very different from those for models on a runway or for performers under lights.

In terms of products, try different cosmetic companies to see which one best suits your needs, but if you have sensitive skin and use a certain brand, stay with the brand that agrees with you. You do not want to try a new brand too close to your wedding; your skin might react badly.

5When you are ready to try out your wedding look with your makeup artist and hair stylist, bring pictures. It will help them achieve the look you want and tweak it to suit you. When you are trying out the look, always wear the color of your wedding outfit. Some hair stylists working with clients who are wearing white or off-white wedding dresses will use an old T-shirt and cut the neckline to match the dress to see how the hair will look in context.

Bring a digital camera. Get pictures taken three feet away from your face. One picture should be outside the store or salon, one inside and one in low lighting.

6Exfoliate your skin three days before the wedding and use moisturizer and eye cream often. Don't forget to drink water for hydration. An acting teacher told me that by the time you are thirsty you have been dehydrated for two hours. She recommends three liters to a gallon of water a day. Don't worry; your bladder gets used to it and you will see great results in your skin.

7If you choose to do your own makeup on your wedding day, these next tips are for you:

First, when choosing a liquid makeup, be sure that the SPF is not higher than 10 and that the makeup has low titanium dioxide. These factors affect the flash from the camera. Make sure your makeup is the same color as your skin or lighter; you can always darken it with powder. Powder is the most important aspect of wedding makeup. Use a lot and bring it with you for touch-ups. You don't want to shine; it affects the photos radically.
If you don't want to use conventional makeup, just use some concealer around the eyes and whatever else you may need. Don't forget to powder.

8Waterproof everything. That means your mascara, eyeliner and lip liner. This will help the makeup last as long as possible.

9Makeup artist Janice Geise in Miami offers a list of what you should bring with you on your wedding day:

A. Visine for your eyes to get the red out .
B. Clear nail polish to stop runs in your hosiery, or you may need to touch up your nails.
C. Pressed powder for touchups and to refresh the makeup.
D. Small bottle of hair spray, great for touchups and it keeps brows in place and takes static cling out of veils and helps to take out stains.
E. Breath mints or strips. (No one wants to see a bride smacking or cracking her gum it looks awful on video.)
F. Lipstick, lip gloss and lip liner for necessary for touchups.
G. Medications that might aid you; for example, aspirin, antacids, etc.
H. Blush for touchups.
I. Comb and hair pins
J. Handkerchief

10This is a French technique:

Wear a completely different fragrance from your normal scent. This day is one of the most special days of your life and should be different from any other day, so choose a perfume that is different. You might like to pick a fragrance that contains a flower that is in bloom during that season, your mother's favorite or just something different, because two things that powerfully evoke memories are music and scents. Years from now when you smell that scent it will bring you back to your wedding day.

For more information or a free consultation with Nick Caridi in the New York or South Florida areas, call (516) 330-2666.