Indian Bride Makeover Review 

A few weeks ago, I posted a teaser picture from this shoot on my personal Facebook page and various Bride Club ME social media platforms, and was immediately faced with various questions as well as lovely compliments: “What’s this in aid of?”, “ WOW, you look like a Bollywood princess,” and so on. I kept shtum as I wanted it to be a surprise. 

Above: Before & After my makeover

My clients, Make-Up by Dee & Dal, were looking to build on their portfolio with some diverse makeup styles, so I suggested I conduct a review of their Indian bridal makeup technique. Of course, being me, my ideas went into overdrive and, within a week, I’d secured a location, outfit, photographer and henna artist. The end result was a beautifully styled fashion shoot (of sorts), with assistance from Anjali K Couture, henna artist Vandana Makar and the incredibly talented Liz at JvR Photography.

I decided not to use a model, because I am a normal girl; I’m not a size zero, I don’t have perfect skin and I have insecurities (notice how I kept covering my tummy!?). The average bride is not a model either so I decided to show how some clever makeup tricks and beautiful photography can be used to good effect.

The shoot itself was great fun, but tiring. I was sweating like a builder in a PVC jumpsuit, and found it very hard to pull off the ‘coy’ look that many Indian brides are famous for. But the results were amazing! I truly felt like a Bollywood bridal princess, and while swanning around the Madinat Jumeirah, I actually got stopped several times by tourists wanting to take pictures with me. It was a surreal experience and I have a new-found respect for professional models – it’s NOT easy!

Photographer Liz of JvR Photography is an amazing director; she knows which poses are the most flattering and got the best out of me – a girl with no modelling experience. Her photography speaks for itself.

Anjali, fashion designer at Anjali K Couture, did a fantastic job altering the chosen outfit (Anarkali Lengha) within a day; it fit like a glove and she was a delight to work with. Her little boutique in Jumeirah is gorgeous too, and full of color; I felt like a child in a candy shop when I went to try on the outfit.

And, lastly, henna artist Vandana Makar is one of my favourite ladies; she is such a beautiful spirit and a generally lovely person. She applied my henna a few days before to allow the colour to develop properly and treated me to some delicious Indian delicacies while I sat patiently having my henna applied. Patience is not a virtue I possess, hence one of my hands was missing one side of henna! Yes, I know, bad Rio.

 The Review

Dee and Dal welcomed me into their studio with a nice cup of tea and some funky tunes to get us all in the mood. Laid out in front of them were the pots of paint, powder, brushes and sponges that were about to transform my tired skin.

I’m not used to wearing heavy makeup, but both Arabic and Indian brides are famous for their extravagant wedding makeup, so I was prepared to be a little shocked when I looked in the mirror. I am actually mixed-race myself; my mum is Sri Lankan (Burgher) and my father is English. I think I look like a half-Arabic, half-Indian bride in the pictures, but you can decide for yourself.

Dee and Dal used the following products to achieve my Indian bridal look:

• Nurturing Force HD Oil Control Primer to prep the skin
• The Body Shop makeup (Extra Virgin Minerals foundation, a combination of the Jumbo Pencil and Cream concealers, Colour Crush eye shadows, Liquid Eyeliner, Shimmer Waves Bronzer Palette, Colour Crush Lipstick in 101 and Super Volume mascara)
•  i-envy by Kiss false lashes
• Loose gold glitter to enhance the golden eye shadow
• The whole look was set in place with Faces Atelier setting spray

Some of the special techniques used by Dee and Dal to create my dramatic Indian bridal make-over look were as follows:

• The eyes were the first to be made up, to reduce the clean-up of fall-out on an already finished base
• Light contouring was applied to my face, creating shadows under my cheekbones and sharper nose definition

For my hair, which is extremely thick and hard to style at times, the girls first straightened and smoothed out my locks with products. The hair was then separated into sections and fastened at the back into a large bun using a ‘donut’ hair sponge. The crown and sides of the hair were teased to create volume and then smoothed and pinned into place. The beautiful Indian hair accessories were secured with hairpins.

It’s not the first time I’ve had the pleasure of being made over by Dee and Dal. I hired them for my own wedding day, so I instinctively knew I was in safe hands. One thing I’ve said before and will repeat is that Dee and Dal are extremely careful when applying makeup and doing hair. A big bugbear of mine is being handled roughly by stylists or makeup artists; it really irks me and I never have this feeling with these twin sisters.

I was taken aback but extremely impressed with the final look. I was transformed from a tired, disheveled-looking frump (I’d had little sleep the night before) into a striking Indian princess.

The Results

All in all, the experience was brilliant and working with all those involved was a pleasure, as always!

To learn more about Make-Up by Dee & Dal, visit their website here.

The Starring Cast

Organised & conceptualised by: Rio at Bride Club ME // Location: The Madinat, Jumeirah // Photographer: JvR Photography // Make-up and hair: Make-Up by Dee & Dal // Henna art: Heena by Vandana Makar // Outfit (Anarkali Lengha) and jewelry: Anjali K Couture

Above (left to right): Liz at JvR, Dee & Dal and myself

Looking for more reviews? Click here.