Un-Bridaled

When I woke up on January 1, 2008, my first thought was more along the lines of "Wow, my head hurts" as opposed to "This is the year I'm getting married!"

But both are true.

While in the past months of planning I have been called "the most laid back bride EVER" by a friend (sweet of her, but LIAR!), the impending reality of my upcoming wedding has finally set in (nightmares and all) and so, as an outlet for my mania, I'm starting a section of my blog devoted to bridal beauty.

My shrink says it's a good idea. Just kidding. But maybe not.

For those of you for whom weddings and cupids and tieback chairs induce dry heaving, I promise to keep this light and not let it take over the whole blog. In other words, I won't be Blogzilla.

Man, I just crack myself up!

A recent comment on my holiday party post sparked my interest:

I just got engaged and want to know what beauty and maintenance routines I need to pick up. I am fairly low maintenance, but don't mind splurging a bit to make sure I look good for the big day. Any advice?

Hmm, when I got engaged, all these people wanted to take us out for dinner, and I promptly gained 5 pounds. This is NOT a routine I suggest picking up. Yeah, still trying to work that off by the way...

Anyways, if you are pretty low maintenance, I would definitely stay that way. It's a good way to be. At the risk of sounding like Queer Eye or something, I would suggest the one thing to be high maintenance about is your skin. It's a cliche for a reason, if your skin looks great, everything else is pretty easy.

If you are anything like me, stress can induce massive breakouts. Seriously, finals week in law school, it was like a bomb went off on my face. And I've been told you will be stressed. Unless you happen to have easy access to a years supply of Xanax....yummy.

So, I say, start a routine now. If you are not troubled by skin issues, just find a cleansing/lotion routine that works for you. Most dermatologists swear by Cetaphil, and hell, it's like six bucks in the drugstore so it can't hurt to try.

Lots of folks (especially on TV, and I always believe what I hear on TV) swear by ProActiv. I can't vouch for it myself though.

If you have more issues, this could be an opportune time to schedule a visit with a derm in your area and get started on a more intense routine. An MD can get you started on retinols, oral contraceptives, or just tell you that your skin would be great if you just stopped falling asleep with your makeup on every night and you are insane and a little bit of a hypochondriac. Not that this ever happened to me or anything. Your health insurance may even pick up the tab...

(Also! Schedule a full body mole check while you are going there! I have heard WAY to many stories recently about women with melanomas and basal cells. Ok, I'll stop with the preachy 'tude.)

For me, I've been using the Kiehl's Washable Cleansing Milk for my dry skin at morning and night, then an application of their Ultra Facial Cream in the morning.

This is what my bathroom counter looks like, but with dried up toothpaste nearby.

At night, I've been plowing through samples of their brand new Over-Night Biological Peel. It makes my skin feel like an infant's ass, without the harsh scrubbies of an exfoliant. It also, despite not actually being a moisturizer, doesn't leave my skin dry in the least.



I don't know what's in it, but I dig it.



So, in summation, I would recommend that you head to your drugstore, your local internets, or dermatologist and get cracking on making your face look great for the day of.



More to come on my thoughts about fondant, matching your eyeshadow to the groomsmens' vests, and shellacked updos! Here's a sneak peek..."Yuck!"



So, any bridal topics anyone else wants covered?



photos courtesy of kiehls.com