Beauty and the Bride Part II

CEBU, Philippines - Ever since Adam first saw Eve in a different way after she covered herself in fig leaves, women learned how to attract men's attention. And men - grooms-to-be most especially - clueless as they are in the (bridal) beauty department, just simply said 'I do' to the "stranger" standing beside him in front of the altar. Why stranger? Let me share with you one true bridal anecdote.

There he was, waiting for the girl of her dreams, as she sashayed in her princess-like bridal ensemble, complete with a bejeweled tiara and a bouquet of Swarovski encrusted flower bouquet. Then, the strangest thing happened. When he opened the veil covering her soon-to-be-partner for the rest of his life, he slightly gasped as he hardly recognized his lovely bride. Staring back at him was a doll painted in technicolor, it resembled a bit like her - but it was not her! 

The culprit, it turned out, was an overzealous makeup artist who made his own fantasy come true via the bride, like he made her a guinea pig to experiment on. Oh well, a lesson well learned.

So brides-to-be, unless your wedding theme is Bal Masque from the Phantom of the Opera, it is important that your groom (and the rest of the family and the guests) will still recognize you in your wedding makeup, and not see some masked or heavily painted porcelain doll worthy to be in the museum of horrors.

Here are four simple looks for the beaming bride -

1 Hollywood glam. Picture Audrey Hepburn with her up-do coiffed to perfection and you are on your way to a dream wedding. For those lovely peepers, dark magenta smudged lightly with a bit of extension in the outer corners for added drama. Cheeks are highlighted slightly with a brush of coral hues. To achieve the luscious lips, opt for a bright shade of red, like scarlet, with a bountiful amount of lip gloss.

2 Legends of the Fall. Think autumn leaves and a beautiful themed wedding a la Twilight comes to mind. The eyes and lips are in sync with a generous amount of pumpkin (bright orange) shades on those assets. Though, in the eyes, the pumpkin shade is smudged smoothly with bronze and purple hues to achieve a definition. The base of skin is slight dewy by way of applying a liquid foundation and finished off with saffron hue on the cheeks.

3  The Eyes have it. As couturier-to-the-stars Cary Santiago decreed, a strong, smoothly smudged eye is perfect for Asians, whether one is the bride or just the guest. Here, teal blue eye shadow mixed with gunmetal gray smudged evenly. For equilibrium, nude colored lips with light gloss matched on the cheeks so as to highlight those lovely windows of the soul.

 4 Pretty in pink. Yes, for those who are old enough to remember Molly Ringwald in that movie of the same name, or her modern day equivalent Lily Collins in Mirror, Mirror, pink is indeed pretty. On the eyes, dark brown pencil lined on the base of the lashes shadowed with a bit of bright pink that trickles on the cheeks and down to the lips with a sheen to finish.

 Credits: Models:  Megan Heeger and Nina Diehl of M.A.C. > Models , Association of     Cebu (0917 6302400) Clothes:  All clothes by Edwin Alba Bridals, Photography:  Rj Laurente, Maquillage:  Jayvert Cabahug Actub