I am so excited to introduce you to one of my sweet friends and beauty gurus, Ashlan TaraAnn! She is so beautiful and so knowledgable about makeup so I asked her to share some of her wedding day makeup tips and tricks as well as what we did to get that bridal glow on my wedding day!

We are also giving away 2 $100 gift cards to Sephora! Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see how to enter! Xx

About Ashlan TaraAnn

I’m a Texas girl living in Oxford, Mississippi with my husband, Chris and our sweet Cockapoo, Jones with a passion for beauty, adventure, Jesus, and friendships. I recently launched my beauty and lifestyle blog, Ashlan TaraAnn. My hopes for my blog is to share my love for beauty and create a space that inspires you to live boldly. I’m a big believer in following your dreams, even if that means reinventing yourself in your mid 20’s.

How long have you been in the beauty business?

I’ve been doing makeup professionally for about two years but have always loved makeup. Growing up, I was always digging through my mom and grandmothers makeup drawers. In college, my passion grew as I started doing makeup for friends and family. My first wedding I did makeup for was for my best friend and college roommate, Emily. This grew my passion even more and I continued to educate myself on products and different techniques until I started doing it professionally.

What is your favorite part about doing bridal makeup?

My favorite part about doing bridal makeup is the happiness behind the day. It’s such a fun day and you get to be a part of bringing the bride’s vision to life. I get to be a part of their fairy tale and that is a priceless feeling.

 My Wedding Day Makeup

Airbrush: Aeroblend

Bronzer: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Bronzer in Milk Chocolate

Blush: I mixed two shades Ulta’s Velvet Blush in Princess and this NARS Blush (I hate the name!)

Creamy Contour: Maybelline FaceStudio Master Contour in Medium and Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit in Light to Medium

Highlighter: Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter in Opal and Champagne Pop

Lips: Lipliner – NYX Lip Liner in Peekaboo Lipstick – Mixed NYX in Thalia 529 and 565

Eyeshadow: I used Lorac Behind the Scenes Eye Primer to prime her eyelids. Then I set her primer with a translucent powder, this helps your shadow go on smooth and keep from looking patchy. To start the look I took a cream color shadow and swept it all over the lid. Then I took a taupe shade and used that to start defining her crease. I used Tease from Urban Decay Naked2 Palette to deepen the crease. I mixed the shade Verve and Bootycall and placed them on her lid. Then, I lined her eyes with Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner and buffed it out with the shade Busted from theUrban Decay Naked2 Palette. For the bottom lash line, I took the shades Taupe and Tease and and smoked out the bottom lash line.

My number one tip for applying eye shadow is to always apply a small amount and then go back and build the color. You can always add more but it is harder to take away.

Best way to achieve that bridal glow?

First step to the bridal glow is making sure your prep your skin well. I typically go in with a lotion (that doesn’t contain SPF – this can lead to flash back in photography) and two hydrating primers. My favorites are the Too Faced Hangover Replenishing Face Primer and the Urban Decay Quick fix Hydracharged Complexion Prep Priming Spray. When I airbrush my brides, I use a highlighter shade. Lastly, after I apply their makeup I go in with a highlighter.

What is your favorite highlighter?

My go to highlighter at the moment is the Make Up For Ever Highlighter in H104 Eggshell and Becca Cosmetics Shimmering Skin Perfector Pressed Highlighter in Opal. To make it appear natural, I take a beauty blender and gently blend it out.

Best beauty blender?

I love the beauty blender brand, but I really love the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge. I find myself reaching for it more than any other brand. It’s great quality, blends out product extremely well, and I don’t find it soaking up a ton of product.

Tips for covering blemishes?

Number one tip is to not pick at your blemishes. As hard as it can be, your skin will thank you in the long run. When covering up a blemish I use Make Up For Ever HD Concealer. I like this because it’s long wearing and it’s not super heavy. I take the smallest amount and spot conceal any blemish. Then I will use a small amount of setting powder to go over the blemish. It’s important to use dabbing or patting motions when covering up the blemish.

How do you set your makeup to last for your wedding day?

First rule of hand: Make sure whatever powder you use, does not cause flashback in pictures. Test out any powder you use prior to your big day. I use Laura Mercier Translucent Setting Powder to set my brides under eye and t-zone area. I’ve tried other brands, but I always run back to this one.

At the end of every makeup application, I go in with Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray. It helps with keeping your makeup in place all day and also keeps your makeup from setting into fine lines.

What are the best lashes to wear?

The lashes by Ardell are by far my favorite. The Ardell Demi Wispies are my go to for brides. These lashes are light weight, natural looking, but make your eyes pop in all the right ways.

Favorite lipsticks that stay on all day?

I really love Make Up For Ever Artist Rouge Lipstick. They’re comfortable on your lips, have a wide variety of shades and come in both matte and satin finishes.

Do you recommend airbrush makeup?

Yes, of course! I use airbrush on all of my clients and brides because it gives the best coverage and flawless finish without feeling heavy. It’s important to make sure whoever you use is educated in the technique and application. This will help guarantee getting the results you envision.

The brand I use is Aeroblend. It’s light weight and leaves a natural finish!

Do you have any favorite drug store products you recommend?

I love the brand NYX, it’s affordable and the quality for the price is amazing. I love NYX Extra Creamy lipstick and lip liners. Also, the HD Concealer is a great dupe for the NARS Creamy Concealer.

Maybelline is another great brand. I really love the Instant Age Rewind Concealer. An affordable cream contour option is Maybelline FIT ME Concealer in a darker shade. It’s creamy and blends out nice to give you an even glow.

Milani is my go to for blush. Their baked blushes are beautiful and go on smooth.

L’Oreal True Match is a great foundation option from the drug store as well.

What are your favorite makeup brushes?

There are a couple brush companies I have in my collection.

Affordable: Real Technique, ELF, and Morphe

Splurge: Sigma and Mikasa Beauty. The Mikasa beauty brushes are really great quality and make blending very easy. You can receive 25% off your purchase when you use the code “ASHLANTA25”

Best Eye Shadow Palette for a Natural Look?

I’m really loving the Jaclyn Hill Palette by Morphe. It has 36 eyeshadow shades which makes it perfect to create anything from a natural look to a smokey night time look. It’s a very versatile, high quality palette.

G I V E A W A Y !

In celebration of Ashlan’s recent launch of her blog we are giving away 2 $100 gift cards to Sephora! (Where you can find almost all of the products listed above!)

How to enter:

1. Like this photo on Instagram
2. Follow @madelinemittel + @ashlantaraann on Instagram
3. Tag a friend in the comments on Instagram (this photo)

For a bonus entry, leave a comment at the bottom of this post with your go to beauty product and #MMRgiveaway. Winners will be announced here next Friday and have 24 hours to claim their prize by emailing missmadelinemittel@gmail.com. Goodluck! Xx

bloom & grow forever,

Madeline Rose

Images by: Cottonwood Road Photography