Achieve your best wedding skin with these world-class products, recommended by skincare and makeup professionals at Salt Spell Beauty and Victoria Roggio Beauty.
As makeup artists and estheticians, we love that bridal beauty trends have embraced glowy, radiant skin. Everyone wants that coveted “dolphin skin” on a regular Tuesday, so it’s especially important for our brides to radiate on wedding day from the altar to the furthest seat in the house.
Do you want to know the real secret to gorgeous, natural wedding makeup? Start your wedding skin prep months in advance. Great wedding skin is the ultimate foundation for bridal beauty.
We scoured the market to craft the ultimate pre-wedding skin care routine for brides (and grooms!), recommended by your favorite makeup artists and estheticians: Mariana and Andrea of Salt Spell Beauty and our east coast sister-in-glam, Victoria of Victoria Roggio Beauty. With over 30 years of bridal beauty experience combined, we know that great wedding skin is *the* most important element to looking radiant for your nuptials.
But first! There are two habits you must embody to ensure this process actually works: hydration, hydration; and commitment to your skincare ritual day and night. Remember, this is a self-care practice that will yeild amazing results—your dream wedding skin awaits! And now, the esthetician-approved pre-wedding skin care routine we wish every groom and bride-to-be would start using, like, yesterday:
1) Oil Cleanse, using Kos Paris Huile Démaquillante Cleansing Oil
Oil cleanser is the ultimate way to break down makeup, SPF, and any dirt and oils on the face—a perfect step one in your skincare regimen after a full day. Suitable for face and eyes (bye, waterproof mascara!), the Kos Paris Cleansing Oil combines camellia oil with sesame and jojoba oils to gently cleanse and hydrate. Massage the oil cleanser into the face, eyes and neck, and remove with a warm, wet washcloth to reveal supple and radiant skin.
Pro Skin Tip: Skip this step in the morning and go straight to step two.
2) Exfoliate Gently Day and Night with Reflekt 1 Exfoliating Cleanser
Exfoliation is essential to remove dull, dead surface skin cells and reveal new, radiant skin beneath. Enter Reflekt 1—this female-owned clean beauty brand has formulated the gentle-yet-effective exfoliating cleanser we have been searching for! Reflekt I evens skin tone, using jojoba ester beads to gently buff away dead skin cells. Hyaluronic acid and vegetable collagen deeply moisturize and boost elasticity in the skin, smoothing fine lines and blurring the appearance of wrinkles. Massage into skin, and remove with a damp washcloth.
3) Balance the Skin’s pH with Lotion P50 from Biologique Recherche
Not to pick favorites, but Lotion P50 just might be the most transformative step in your pre-wedding skin care routine. Hailed as a “facial in a bottle”, this powerful balancing toner comes with an international cult following. Lotion P50 speeds up natural exfoliating process of the epidermis, reconstructing the protective epidermal shield and enhancing the skin’s self-regeneration potential. Due to the strength of this product, Biologique Recherche recommends for the first few weeks to saturate a moistened cotton round with Lotion P50 and apply in upward strokes to décolletage, neck and face. Wetting your cotton round before the P50 will dilute the formula, giving your skin some time to acclimate to the potent product. After a few weeks, saturate a dry cotton round with P50 for the full-strength effect.
Pro Skin Tip: P50 comes in multiple formulations for different skin types, so be sure to schedule a free phone consultation with the Victoria Roggio Beauty experts to determine which is best suited for your skin!
Clean Beauty Alternative: Furtuna Skin Acqua Serena Micellar Cleansing Essence
4) Mask to Infuse Hydration Deep Into the Skin with The Tri-Biobotanical Revival Masque from Environ
Boost your skin’s glow with this dynamic 20-minute mask, filled with gentle acids that work overtime to reveal your most radiant skin. Got sun damage or acne scars? Lactic Acid and Mandelic Acid in this formula rejuvenate and lighten the appearance of pigmented areas. The best part? This mask doubles as an overnight treatment—apply 20 minutes after your moisturizer and rinse off in the AM for an extra-dewy effect.
Pro Skin Tip: If you have oily, acne-prone skin, try the purifying Masque Vivant by Biologique Recherche all over the face and décolletage, or spot-treat pimples overnight with this miracle mask.
5) Double Up on Organic Botanicals using Furtuna Skin Porte Per La Vitalità Face & Eye Serum
If serums are the heavy hitters of your skincare lineup, Furtuna Skin serums are the real clean beauty MVPs. Suitable for face and eyes, this supercharged serum visibly lifts, de-puffs, and evens skin tone. Wild Sicilian botanicals in an ultra-nourishing olive oil base pack this powerhouse with nutrition and moisture to rejuvenate the face and eyes. This foundational serum absorbs quickly and can be seamlessly layered with other products. Morning and night, apply 1-3 pumps of serum in a thin veil over skin, blending in small circles with a gentle tapping motion until the product disappears into skin of the face, neck and décolletage.
6) Deeply Nourish with Furtuna Skin Due Alberi Biphase Moisturizing Oil
This two-part serum contains botanically infused organic olive oil fresh from the Furtuna farm in Sicily, nourishing the skin with Vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids. The other half of this serum is made with organic olive leaf water infused with wild-foraged botanicals. It protects the skin with powerful antioxidants and contains nutrients that keep the skin rejuvenated and refreshed. To use, shake to mix the oil and water. Warm several drops of serum in your palms, and press into the skin of the face, neck and décolletage, both morning and night.
7) Quench the Eye Area with iS Clinical Youth Eye Complex
The skin around your eyes is the most delicate on your body, so show the eyes some love in your wedding skin care regimen! This eye complex boosts firmness and elasticity, while minimizing wrinkles. The essential acids and growth factors aid in hydration that sinks deep into your skin. Bonus: this eye cream is paraben-free! Apply a small amount with the ring finger by gently tapping around the eye.
8) Lock in Hydration with Moisturizer
Every step in your pre-wedding skin care routine has built up to your moisturizer, the final frontier of sealing in long-lasting hydration. Both day and night, apply to the décolletage, neck and face in upward strokes, patting and massaging the skin gently. Each person’s ideal moisturizer depends on the skin’s individual needs, so here are our favorites, depending on skin type:
For congested, combination to oily skin: Creme Dermopurifiante from Biologique Recherche
For dry skin: Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream (This cream was inspired by Kim Kardashian’s MUA, Mario Dedivanovic!)
For acneic skin: Environ Vita-Antioxidant AVST 1, 2 , and 3 with a small dosage of retinol
Pro Skin Tip: Retinol is no joke, so start with AVST 1, and eventually work your way up to 3. Use this moisturizer at night, and be sure to wear SPF in the morning!
9) Protect Your Skin with Supergoop Glow Stick Sunscreen SPF 50
Working SPF into your wedding skin prep every morning is a non-negotiable if you’re going outside at any point—sun damage is the quickest way to age your skin! The Supergoop Glow Stick is hands-down our favorite sunscreen at the moment. This clear SPF stick (no white cast!) is perfect for on-the-go application. The formula leaves a gorgeous, glowy dew to the skin without being oily, making it an amazing primer for makeup. Apply this clean beauty product directly to the face, blending in with fingertips. This SPF is formulated without oxybenzone, and is reef-safe, cruelty-free, and encased in environmentally-friendly packaging.
Pro Skin Tip: Skip this step at night :)