Is DIY wedding makeup the way to go?

It is for me. But let me preface this by saying that I've never been particularly good at hair or makeup. 

Throughout my life, I've sported two consistent hairstyles: down and ponytail. However, over the past year or so, YouTube taught me how to create soft wavy curls that look vaguely like what a person who's good at hair's hair would look like. (Hint: you keep the bottom 2-3 inches straight.) I managed to create a relatively chic hairstyle using this method for my friend's wedding in August (shown here in the yellow dress), and it turned out good enough that I think I may try to recreate it on my wedding day. But what about DIY wedding makeup?

My History with DIY Makeup

I started wearing makeup as soon as I was allowed to, which was the beginning of 7th grade. Earlier deprivation from grownup beauty products led me to overdo it on the first day of school, kind of like how people who grew up really religious sometimes blow their load with partying and sex when they finally move out of their parents' house. After school, one of my best friends called my crush on the phone to ask him if he liked me (as friends do) and I'm pretty sure the answer was something like, "Kind of, but she wore way too much makeup today."

Ooof. Lesson learned. 

How I dress and what I put on my face isn't for the male gaze, but he did make a good point. Ever since then, I've gone for a more natural look, except I probably still wear too much blush.

DIY Wedding Makeup vs Professional Wedding Makeup

Anyway, back to why we're here: DIY wedding makeup. You may be wondering why someone who's not good at hair and makeup wouldn't just hire a professional to take care of these things for her on her wedding day. This is a very good question. Well, here's why:

1. Since I use prescription Retin-A, my skin is super duper sensitive to certain lotions, primers, foundations, etc. Because of this, I only want to use products on my wedding day that I've tried out, as opposed to whatever a makeup artist may carry in her tote. 
2. To that note, I know professional makeup people are probably legally supposed to use new (or at least sanitized) brushes for every client, but my paranoia wants to know how can I be totally sure of this, you know?
3. I would maybe be more inclined to let a professional make me up if the service came with a practice round. That way, I could see if I like it first instead of risking looking like a contour clown with way too much eyeliner in the 11th hour. And even if they did offer a practice round, our wedding is on Maui, so there's no time for that anyway. Needless to say, I plan to do a handful of practice rounds myself. 
4. If you go to Sephora and tell them you have an event coming up and want to try out foundations, they will give you free samples of all the best brands. I got samples of Nars Sheer Glow, Makeup Forever Ultra HD, and Urban Decay Naked Skin to try. Makeup Forever is the winner for me. I tried it out for our engagement photo shoot as well as a couple long work days, and it held up like a buttery smooth champ! Also, the samples from Sephora are enough for like 5 uses, so I don't even think I'm gonna buy the full-size product; I'll just get another sample right before our wedding!
5. I'm definitely no expert, but I have gotten kinda sorta decent at doing formal makeup over the last couple of years. I'm a student at the YouTube School of Beauty (not a real thing, guys) where I've taken Beginner's Contouring and Boss Lady Eyebrows (not real classes, but they should be). After lots of practice, I feel okay about contouring and real good about my eyebrows. 
6. DIY wedding makeup expert or not, I'm kind of an OCD perfectionist in a few areas of my life. I mean, I'm an easy-breezy bride in most columns, but I just need to know that my makeup is gonna hold up, look flawless, and not make my skin freak the fuck out, you feel me?
7. I did my own makeup as a bridesmaid for my sister's wedding last year and my friend's wedding this year, and I think it turned out pretty decent. See below. 

It's not even necessarily cheaper to do my own makeup because I'll have to acquire all the products myself. But it will allow me to practice, practice, practice, and embrace my autonomous, control freak ways. 

I'm feeling somewhat confident about the whole ordeal, but I still need to figure out how to get fake eyelashes on, though, 'cause I don't think I wanna go the extensions route. 

Here are a few DIY wedding makeup do's and don'ts I've learned from the Internet:

• Don't use lotion or foundation that contains any SPF for bridal makeup because the white/zinc properties will reflect in photos
• Do your eye makeup first so that if you need to redo it or have any smudges or mascara flecks, you can easily clean your face without messing up the rest of your work
• Practice, fool! Do your makeup like you would for the big day a few times beforehand and see how it holds up over a long day 
• Do see how long it takes you to create the whole look so that you give yourself plenty of time on the day-of
• Do watch hella Jaclyn Hill tutorial videos because she's the Queen of Contour and really owns her love for artificial beauty

If ya'll have any DIY bridal makeup tips or horror stories, send them my way! 

Oh, and by the way.....do any of you out there sell LipSense or know where I can order some online without being offered a multi-level marketing opportunity? Get at me.