The Modern Luxury Wedding Fair was held at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco on January 18, 2015. Preeti and I attended the multi-room display of vendors putting their very best feet (and cakes!) forward. We had the pleasure of meeting people in catering, baking, event management, photography, and destination wedding planning.
The best part about wedding shows, apart from the opportunities to meet important people who might play a big role in planning your big day, is the goodies and treats! While we enjoyed some nibbles in the form of gorgeous macaron towers and cupcake displays, we had the extra sweet benefit of getting makeovers from the team at Sak’s Fifth Avenue’s Dolce & Gabbana!
I asked my beauty stylist, Gigi, to teach me the step-by-step routine of looking glam. She had an idea in mind for my look: neutral eye makeup, bright pink lips, and major contouring. Since contouring is the latest trend a la Kardashian, I was super excited to learn the basics of the complicated art form.
Gigi started with my eye makeup – she applied D&G’s Eyeshadow Quad in Desert 123 on my eyes to create a subtle, shaded look. This palette has 4 shades that are very friendly to mix with other colors since they’re neutral and not glittery. Next, Gigi lined my eyes with D&G liquid eyeliner – she kept the line close to my lashes and didn’t add a wing or flair. She also applied a crayon liner underneath my waterline to accent my eyes. The look was supposed to brighten my eyes without going over-the-top. I was already wearing mascara, so my eyes looked big and open after her work.
The skin makeup took up a majority of our time, as expected with the art of contouring. To start, Gigi applied a primer, D&G Sheer Radiance Makeup Base. This smooth, hydrating primer ensures that foundation goes on easily and stays on all day – it even comes with SPF 30! Next came the liquid foundation – which I have to admit I immediately fell in love with.
Using a large foundation brush, Gigi swiped on Perfect Finish Creamy Foundation. Her best tip here is to match the foundation exactly to your skin tone for a flawless finish – although some women like to lighten or darken their shades. I found the perfect match to be an amazing addition to my skin – it looked natural but added an airbrushed glow.
The contouring process isn’t as complicated as YouTube videos and Pinterest pictures of tiger-striped faces makes it look – you just need a good concealer and a bronzer (blush optional for blending). Gigi started by highlighting my T-zone and creating a triangle of lighter color directly underneath my eyes. D&G has both matte and luminous concealers which would both work well. Gigi told me that concealer is a cheaper alternative to buying a lighter-colored foundation for contouring – you don’t need too much product anyway.
The bronzer, Glow Bronzing Powder in Tan 22, was a fun application: Gigi asked me to smile and she swiped the bronzer on my cheeks in a triangular shape to accent right below my cheekbones, where my smile began. She blended in the look with Luminous Cheek Colour in Provocative 40 – a fun, pink blush that matched the bright lipstick I had on.
After filling in my eyebrows a bit with The Brow Liner and sealing in the look with some Pressed Powder, my makeover was complete. You can definitely see how highlighted my cheekbones are from the contouring and how my eyes are defined, but not excessively so. I loved how fabulous I looked!
While an extensive makeover like this one isn’t practical for daily wear, my experience was a very knowledgeable one – now I can use these handy tips on contouring to look glamorous when I dress up!
Preeti also had a fun makeover – she focused hers on a smoky eye. D&G has some classy, shimmer eyeshadows that are more suitable for fancy occasions, instead of the glittery stuff you’d opt for on a night out at the club. She looked beautiful with those big, defined eyes and glowing face makeup!
Thanks to the Dolce and Gabbana team at Saks Fifth Avenue for making us feel like superstars! I highly recommend you check out their makeup products – the price tag might be more than you can find from another brand, but the airbrushed look and elegant glow is simply unbeatable quality.