A real vs a fashion bride…

As a fashion make-up artist and a bridal make-up artist, what I struggle with is when I am doing make-up for a real bride, she often wants a lot of make-up. But when I am doing a bridal fashion shoot, they want to go minimal, yet traditional. For a Bengali bride, we love doing the white bindis, but the actual brides are not going for it. They don’t want a bindi. For me, the bride has to look traditionally beautiful because those images will stay with you for the rest of your life. You can always experiment for the other functions.

You can try…

If a bride has five different functions, you’ll need to have five different looks. You can build it up gradually. Mehndi is a daytime function, so keep it minimal. Sangeet can be slightly more fun and cocktails can be your glamorous look. Weddings should be traditional. If someone is wearing diamonds, the make-up has to be modern. If you are wearing kundan-polki, it has to be traditional.

Must-haves in your bridal pouch...

Kajal, Q-tip, blotting paper, the lipstick that I use on them and a small mirror. These are the essentials.

Top tip...

I love blushing brides. I like to give them cream blusher topped off with powder. It gives them a nice glow.

A beautiful traditional look is…

The Sabyasachi Mukherjee bride. She is my most favourite bride. Clean hair and make-up, just a bindi, may be in red or black, well-defined eyes. But rest is minimal. And, beautiful jewellery.

Delhi-based make-up and hair pro Anu Kaushik, who has nearly 30 years of experience, chats with t2 on the evolution of the Indian bride...

Brides, then…

When I started, bridal trends were all about going to the parlour and getting dressed. That too, not everyone used to do. Those days, make-up wasn’t elaborate — just doing your foundation, eyeliner and lipstick was enough. Other than the bride, the others weren’t bothered about their own make-up. All the attention used to be on the bride. Their style icons used to be only from Bollywood.

… and now

Now, bridal make-up is all about bringing out your best. They hire professionals. There is so much to choose from. There is so much demand for that perfect make-up.

The modern bride knows everything. She is aware of the trends, she’s globally connected. I like the fact that brides are fashion-forward now. They are breaking away from the typical reds and pinks. (For wedding looks designed by Ritu Kumar, click here) They are open to, say, a blue lehenga. And they are experimental in terms of hair and make-up. They are happy wearing their hair down and relaxed. Style icons are international. Brides pick up references from Instagram pages. The social influencers have a big impact. Huda Beauty is not a professional make-up artiste, but suddenly she has become a rage all over the world.

On the flip side, the digital world has ruined things. Brides want to look picture-perfect. They want to be filter-perfect. They don’t realise that they should enhance their natural beauty. Sometimes, the trend is still to go for too much make-up, which I don’t like. I am waiting for the more natural make-up trend to come back.

Other family members, apart from the bride, are more decked up. I have been part of weddings where each family member had a different make-up artiste! It’s a bit sad that they want to outdo each other. You should never outshine the bride.

Now, there are 10 different occasions. At destination weddings, celebrations continue over four-five days. Some of the brides keep the make-up artiste for the entire duration.

For me, the bride has to look traditionally beautiful because those images will stay with you for the rest of your life. You can always experiment for the other functions

Anu Kaushik

My fave off-screen bride… I loved how Anushka Sharma looked on her wedding day. Minimal make-up, fresh flowers... Agencies

My favourite on-screen bride... I loved how Rani Mukerji looked as a bride in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. She looked beautiful! Agencies