beauty

I haven't tried it but my MOH swears by Smashbox primer. They do a few based on skin type. I love Clinique foundation. Again they have a few different options suited to skin type and the counter lady will be able to advise you.

There are plenty of us on here who are doing their own make up on the big day, so don't worry about asking!

Primers are great for creating a smoother base for the foundation to go onto, and can have a range of effects. Personally, I prefer silicone based primers, which smooth out fine lines and fill in large pores (both of which are concerns for me). My preferred ones are Monistat Chafing Gel, which is actually a gel designed to prevent chafing, but is a fantastic dupe of Smashbox's Photo Finish Primer for about a third of the price, and Tony Moly Silky Smooth Balm, which is a thicker balm type primer from a Korean company. Both are great - the gel is much lighter and gives a beautiful almost soft focus matte finish, whereas the balm combats pores and lines in a serious way and prevents foundation from slipping. Some primers are more shimmery/light reflecting, but these aren't advisable for photography reasons.

With regards to foundation, the best thing you can do is get out to department stores and try a range from several different brands. Be firm when you go and try them though - get samples of a range, ask the assistant to write down what you have and go away and try them for about a week. Don't make a purchase until you've done this! Make sure you take photographs of your make up using the crudest flash (probably a camera phone) you can when you're wearing each one to see how it photographs.

Finally, when trying foundations, ensure they don't contain titanium dioxide or an SPF as both can make you 'ghost' when having your picture taken if the flash bounces off of your face. This shouldn't be an issue for a tog, but if friends/family are going to be snapping away as well, it will be something you want to consider.

You may also want to avoid any foundation which advertises itself as 'dewy', 'light reflecting', or 'luminating' as these are likely to contain almost shimmery particles, which whilst lovely on the skin in daylight, may make you overly shimmery or ghostly in pictures.

Out of my hunt for a wedding foundation, which has been going on for some months now, the best I've found is Clinique Perfectly Real foundation. It's lightweight and gives a medium buildable coverage, contains no SPF and is relatively matte, although it does contain some light reflecting particles.

There isn't really a "best" because what works for one may not work for another. Your best bet is to go round the make up counters and let them try stuff on you and see what looks good. I would recommend Mac as a good starting point as their foundations can go up to full coverage and I know a lot of professional bridal mua's use mac so the quality is good enough to last all day.

Jane you are not alone with this issue! :-)

I really like the L'Oreal Studio Effects primer but have also heard good things about the smashbox one.

I usually wear Estee Lauder Double Wear as I like the coverage but believe it contains Titanium Dioxide. My make up artist used Chanel on me, it had nice coverage but did not look caked.

I agree - go and ask the makeup counter ladies to help you.

But I do think that if you can possibly afford it, get in a make up artist - they are really amazing and mine gave me all the confidence I needed about my skin. :-)

Good luck :-)