The "PERFECT" Inspo Pic Wasn't Perfect For You - Now What?

You have searched the internet, scanning through all the advice, tips, etc to find the perfect glam makeup and ethereal tousled braid. There’s multiples even. Five images for each hair and makeup, all depicting more or less the same overall vision with minor details difference but the overarching theme is set. Your heart is set on this glam, a little edgy, whimsical look and you’re so stoked for the trial.

Your HMUAs nail it! The look is dang-near identical to the images and they really brought the whole look to life. You can’t complain but you don’t love it. You loved it in the inspo images but something isn’t translating on you and suddenly the stress comes crashing in… Now what?

First off, don’t stress! An image isn’t a human and it’s definitely not you. Secondly, don’t stress—there’s options.

The first aspect we as artists like to address is the possibility that you’re just not used to seeing yourself this way. It can be very different (especially with glam) compared to your daily look. Not to mention you’re not in full on wedding attire which makes everything feel a bit more proportional. This all bodes the question—do you think you’ll get used to it in general or with the wedding wardrobe? We tell individuals it is sometimes good to sit on these thoughts for the rest of the day and see how they feel.

Ok, you’ve sat and you’re still not feeling it. Let’s break down EXACTLY what you do and don’t like about the inspo pics and what your do and don’t like about your look. Is it the sparkly gold tones you like but the outer corners are too dark on your face? Great let’s tone down the intensity of the outer corners. How much? That’s up to you, while keeping in mind the less and less dark it is the further we are from the inspo—which IS ok! Do you like the vibes but not the colors? Maybe the image has charcoals, blacks and silvers but you like warm tones. Awesome—lets shift it! These changes could be done at the trial if you know getting used to it isn’t the problem. If that time has passed then either the artists can make notes and changes for day of or we can have a second trial.

What if it’s not little changes? What if it’s just not you. You really wanted to be that sexy, edgy vixen but turns out your more a mysterious, romantic fairy. That’s ok! We don’t know until we know and there is absolutely nothing wrong with going outside your typical box to try a look. There’s also nothing wrong with deciding, nope that look is not for you. Just like the time my little red head bob got a perm and I decided Orphan Annie was not my vibe. So what do you do? Pause, breath and do some honest aesthetic soul searching to determine what you actually like. How do you normally wear your hair/makeup? What’s the vibe of the day? Take your normal look + vibe. So search “natural ethereal wedding makeup” or “romantic down wedding hair”. This is be a starting point and then you can add in more specifics if you like, such as “with a wing” or “with a braid”. Then we likely would have a second trial so you can test out this option.

Is your heart rate back to normal? Has the panic subsided? I hope so because EVERYTHING IS ADJUSTABLE. It might not seem like it in the moment but everything can be modified and changed.