If you’re currently planning a wedding, you’ll know the algorithmic pummelling that comes with matters of matrimony.
Within minutes of getting engaged, I was bombarded by ‘WedTok’.
For the uninitiated, that’s content telling nearlyweds the products you absolutely must buy, the prep you should have started yesterday, and the seemingly hundreds of rules to adhere to in the lead-up to The Big Day.
And I got sucked in, hook, line and sinker.
While I’m (almost) certain I could have walked down the aisle with a bird’s nest in my hair (complete with actual bird) and my now-husband would have still said he does, I wanted to feel my best.
When it came to my bridal beauty regime I was ready and willing to try every treatment, product, prod and pull I could in the quest for that wedding day glow.
Of course, if you’d rather skip this madness (because, I recognise it is, undoubtedly, madness) and go au naturel on your big day, more power to you.
But, now a newlywed, I can confidently say I’ve sniffed out the fab from the fad, so you don’t have to.
And trust me when I say, they’re definitely not all worth it.
Brow Lamination
If I had a penny for every time I was asked whether I got my eyebrows microbladed after a lamination, I’d have about four pennies, which is still quite a few given the subject matter, don’t you think?
WTF is lamination? It’s essentially a perm for your eyebrows, lifting and smoothing each hair for neater, fuller, ‘fluffier’ brows.
After my appointment at Browfique in London’s Victoria, I came out with two queens for brows: strong, defiant, powerful.
It’s not cheap, with threading on top taking it up to £80 a pop, but I found it was worth it (and will continue to have them done). My brows were full, fluffy and the treatment managed to pick up strands I didn’t know existed. ‘Feathery’ was one word used to describe them by a pal. In a positive way, I promise
Teeth Whitening
Perhaps the holy grail of pre-wedding treatments (even my husband gave this a crack): teeth whitening.
Boy, it’s expensive, isn’t it?
I opted for Enlighten’s system, which came with three syringes of gel of varying strengths, trays for my upper and lower teeth, a tin to store the trays in and toothpaste to prep my teeth and gums from sensitivity, as well as another toothpaste to maintain the whiteness once I was done.
This was not cheap. It set me back around £600, with the trays being the most expensive bit, and while I think I’ll be paying it off for years to come, it was worth it.
After a couple of weeks of splodging transparent gel into the trays and sleeping with them each night, and steering clear of curries and Coca-Cola, I had gnashers several shades whiter.
Banishing any stains or discoloration also seemed to give my grin a little more uniformity. So think of it as cheaper than Invisalign, at least…
The only downside (apart from having to be quite strict with my food) was the sensitivity I felt when using the strongest percentage gel in week two. However, when comparing this with my partner, who was using a cheaper teeth whitening programme, he felt painful sensitivity the whole way through.
I put my lesser level of discomfort down to the trays being a more snug fit to my teeth, with nothing touching my gums and therefore pushing the gel off my teeth and into sensitive areas. His trays resembled something you’d wear on the football field.
Hydrafacial
I’d been wanting to try a Hydrafacial for a really (really) long time, so why not get one right before one of the most photographed days of your life, eh?
A Hydrafacial is a three-step process where a handheld tool exfoliates the skin on your face, removing dead skin cells and debris. Then, the technician applies moisturisers for hydration, and finally vitamins and peptides are infused into the skin. It’s then topped off with a little chill under the LED light for 20 minutes.
Hydrafacials are designed to smooth and refine skin texture and hydrating it to appear plump and moisturised; it removes dead skin cells and debris, (hopefully) revealing a brighter complexion and helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and brown spots. Additionally, it can even out skin tone, manage acne, and eliminate blackheads by cleansing pores and removing those dead cells.
And the offering from Dr Tatiana and Dr Rishi on Harley Street really put the hydra into my complexion.
In all seriousness, I’m jumping at the chance to get one again. Not only was the process itself hypnotically relaxing, with just a bit of a ‘scratching’ felt, the glow was immediate and lasted for weeks.
My Hydrafacial, which will set you back £250, was teamed with a chemical peel and treatment with an erbium glass laser, which, according to the clinic, gently delivers powerful beams to the skin in microcolumns, creating bulk heating. This, in turn, ‘works to effectively target common signs of ageing in any skin type, with almost no downtime and an instant glass-like glow to the skin’. I can absolutely say it added to the wow effect on my skin, that I was noticing still a month after.
I can’t be sure if it was the Hydrafacial, the laser or the peel, or all of the above, but my acne scarring was also less noticeable after just one session too.
However, it’s important to note here that it is prohibitively expensive for most people to be able to afford these treatments. The facial plus the extra peels and treatment would cost non-reviewing-journalists £685, so it’s not something I’ll be doing again.
If you have that type of money? I say go for it, it certainly made a difference to my skin. If you don’t, you can get Hydrafacials at more accessible price points. If you are a bride keen on some facials before your big day, I’d recommend a Hydrafacial at least. The peels and lasers are bougie extras – you’ll still get a glow from just the facial.
Microcurrent Devices
There’s a lot of talk about gua sha – a traditional Chinese technique that uses a smooth-edged tool swiped over the skin, said to result in a snatched jawline and chiselled cheekbones.
To be honest, I’ve never bought into it, but when the Geske MicroCurrent 6-in-1 Face-Lifter landed on my desk I thought this might be the way to achieve some angles.
Supposedly, as you glide the little device across your face, it uses microcurrents to firm and lift your skin, making you look more youthful.
While you’re meant to apply the Geske microcurrent gel first, I found it dried on my face almost immediately and resulted in the device dragging across my skin. Instead, I used a thick moisturiser and then let the tool do its vibrating business for a few minutes a day.
My cheekbones were immediately more prominent after using the tool, but I didn’t find it made any lasting difference to my face, which for £49.99, was a little disappointing.
So I’d say it’s use it if you’re prepping for an event, or when you want to immediately look more defined, but don’t expect miracles. I probably wouldn’t bother with one next time around (not that there will be a next time, should my husband be reading this…but, you know…).
Sculpting Facials
As you can see, I was on a hunt to find the perfect facial to bring that snatched, bridal glow. Was that in the form of 001 Clinic and its bespoke facial?
I feel like this wasn’t trying to achieve anything different than what the microcurrent device was setting out to do, but at the very least the very skilled therapist probably knew what she was doing with the gua sha more than I would have.
The clinic is known for its celebrity clientele, from Emma Mackey to Rooney Mara, so red carpet ready has to be comparable to wedding aisle ready, surely.
I was treated to a bespoke sculpting facial for £195.00, which involved cleansing, steaming and a right working with a gua sha that went to town on my TMJ knots.
I left feeling brighter and the products smelled amazing, not to mention it was a gorgeously relaxing process.
But, it didn’t present any sort of lasting effect, which given for the price tag, didn’t feel completely worth it.
Of all the facials and products, I’d say the Hydrafacial gave me the most noticeable effect.
Anti-wrinkle injections
Apart from teeth whitening, this has to be one of the most sought-after pre-wedding beauty treatments, and something I was wanting to explore anyway (because that 30-something skin be 30-something’ing).
I did a lot of research into it, and eventually went with Dr Alexandra Day, who also looked after my teeth whitening.
Again, we know anti-wrinkle injections (or, Botox, if that’s the brand used) can be wildly expensive, but I believe it’s not worth paying for cheap injections, so my anti-wrinkle injections set me back around £250 for some poking around my frown lines and forehead.
It was virtually painless and while I couldn’t do any strenuous exercise or wear a hat for a few days, the downtime was low.
I got my injections two months before my wedding, so they were nice and settled for the day. They started noticeably wearing off after about four months, made my makeup sit better on my skin and seriously dulled my lines (which was the point).
Hair
Hair is probably another of the big ones brides will also have on their list, with preparation key to maintaining the health of hair before it’s pulled, twisted and sprayed into place on the big day.
I kept up my usual balyage appointments with my usual stylist Alasdair at Live True in Brixton.
Twice a year I get a half-head of highlights, with more emphasis ahead of my wedding around on the hair that frames my face, as I knew I’d be having my hair out for the day. For anyone who dyes their hair blonde, they know it’s already expensive, and when you add in a cut, toner and compulsory blow-dry (honestly, send me on my way with dry but not styled hair, I do not care) we’re talking well over £250 in London salons. This is what they mean when they say wedding are expensive, I suppose…
In the year leading up, I only trimmed my hair every few months because I wanted length, so I kept it healthy by limiting heat tools and doing a regular hair mask. For this, I shelled out for the Kérastase Blond Absolu Masque Cicaextreme (£47) and used that twice a week. This was 100% worth it, and I still use it now to keep my colour-treated hair soft.
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