How to get a royal flush fit for a princess.
Royal weddings are known for their fairytale settings, spectacular celebrations, and extravagant gowns. To balance this out, many royal brides overwhelmingly gravitate towards a soft, natural makeup look, as opposed to something dark and dramatic. After all, when you’re wearing actual royal jewels and gemstones, shimmery and glittery makeup could be a bit over-the-top, and not in a good way.
If your wedding style is more timeless than trendy, royal weddings are a great place to look for inspiration. From Grace Kelly to Princess Diana, royal bridal beauty is distinctly understated yet glamorous, and luckily, for those looking to emulate this look, you don’t have to be of royal heritage to look like one on your wedding day.
Here, we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite royal wedding beauty moments you can look to for inspiration, in order to help you feel like a princess on your big day.
Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle has previously said that she wanted to be “radiant, glowy, and polished” on her big day, which her makeup artist Daniel Martin definitely achieved with this super soft and natural beauty look. To no surprise, he only used a few products to get the job done: “Waterproof mascara, lash accents on her outer corners, and filled-in brows,” Martin told Brides. On her lips, he skipped traditional lipstick and instead went with tinted lip balm with the goal of achieving “a healthy moisturized lip look.”
Kate Middleton
Kate Middleton opted to do her own makeup after taking several private lessons with Hannah Martin, a London-based makeup artist. The Princess of Wales wore her signature grey smoky eye and added flushed cheeks and pale pink lips to complete the look.
“Her bridal look is simple, chic, and elegant, with a slight smoke (with liner) on the eye that really pops against the classic white dress—and is actually easy to achieve at home,” says celebrity makeup artist Kirin Bhatty. Middleton used all Bobbi Brown products for her bridal beauty, but the look can be achieved using any of your favorite brands. Bhatty suggests using soft neutral shades on the eyes and layering black and grey eye pencils against the lash line. “Use black to tightline on the bottom lash line, take [a] grey pencil and add it on to the top lash line. Smudge the liner and add a little smokey shadow to create a delicate smoke by the lash line,” she adds.
To balance out the dramatic smokey eye and pop of color on the cheeks, Middleton wore a soft neutral pink lip color with an added swipe of lip gloss. “For Kate’s look, I would apply a balm and then define and fill in with a nude lip liner, like the Catrice Lip Foundation Pencil in Caramel Blonde, all over the lip,” says Bhatty.
Camilla, Queen Consort of the United Kingdom
“This look was all about elegance,” says Bhatty. “For mature skin, choosing nourishing products and enhancing glow is what really works best here.” Make-up artist Julia Biddlecombe executed the Queen Consort’s bridal makeup, and she believes that creating a flawless base is the key to a stunning wedding day look. Her favorite foundations include Lancôme Teint Miracle foundation, MAC Studio Sculpt SPF 15 Foundation, and Bobbi Brown Foundation Sticks for medium to full coverage, although it’s unclear which foundation she used on the Queen Consort.
Princess Eugenie
“I love a blushing bride! To achieve this look it’s all about layering blushes, highlighter, and contour with a light touch to create this bridal glow,” says Bhatty.
Princess Eugenie’s bold flush is super chic when paired with pronounced brows and soft pink lipstick. Makeup artist Hannah Martin used all Bobbi Brown products to create this elevated natural makeup look, including Bobbi Brown’s Skin Foundation Stick and Bronzing Powder, topped with the brand’s blush in Pale Pink for that bright pop of color on the cheeks.
Princess Beatrice
“I really love the tonal look of Princess Beatrice’s wedding makeup,” says Bhatty. “It’s nontraditional in a way, pulling away from bright-toned pinks and moving towards dusty earthy tones. For this look, it’s all about being monochromatic in your color choices.”
The princess is a fan of Bobbi Brown and Charlotte Tilbury, so we can safely assume that she used some of their products for her fresh, natural bridal look. For an overall bronzed glow, try Bobbi Brown’s Bronzing Powder to warm up the complexion. To get the princess’s perfectly pink pout, we suggest Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk lipstick, an iconic color beloved by brides.
Grace Kelly
The American actress exuded Old-Hollywood glamour when she wed Prince Rainier of Monaco in a spectacular ceremony on April 18, 1956. Her iconic and timeless bridal beauty look includes a fuller brow, flawless base, a dark precise lash, and a classic red lip that was the perfect finishing touch. For a similar look, try defining your brows with the LAWLESS Shape Up Soft Fill Eyebrow Pencil and layering on a few coats of the Dior Diorshow Waterproof Mascara. Finish with an even application of Rare Beauty’s Lip Soufflé Matte Cream Lipstick in the shade Inspire.
Princess Diana
Princess Diana was only 20 years old when she wed Prince Charles in 1981. Her makeup look has a similar youthful quality to it, with bright rosy cheeks, defined eyes, and a slight wash of pink on the lips. While we don’t know the exact products Diana’s makeup artist used on this unforgettable day, we do know that she was a fan of the beauty brand Clarins. The brand’s foundation was apparently one of her favorites, and although the exact style has long been discontinued, she might have enjoyed the Clarins Skin Illusion Foundation, which is a hydrating serum foundation that offers luminous, buildable coverage and a bare skin feel for up to 12 hours.
Queen Letizia of Spain
The Spanish queen kept her wedding day makeup bronzy and glowy with sculpted cheekbones and a natural brownish-pink lipstick. Use Charlotte Tilbury’s Airbrush Bronzer in the shape of the number three along the hairline, cheekbones, and jaw for a similar effect. On the lips, a color like Charlotte Tilbury’s Pillow Talk Medium (a deeper hue of the brand’s best-selling lipstick) adds a natural tint for brides with medium to deep skin tones. A wash of soft neutral matte shadows on the eyes, along with a healthy dose of mascara, is all she used to make her brown eyes pop.
Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg
Princess Stephanie of Luxembourg’s bridal beauty look was radiant and fresh-faced when she married Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 2012. Her barely-there foundation is lightweight and has a natural finish, similar to the Chanel LES BEIGES Water-Fresh Tint. For a berry pink lip like the princess is wearing here, try Bobbi Brown’s Neutral Rose lipstick.
Pippa Middleton
While she’s not exactly a royal herself, Pippa Middleton is related to a princess. Many believe Pippa enlisted the capable hands of Bobbi Brown makeup artist Hannah Martin to bring her bridal beauty vision to life, though, it’s never been confirmed who actually did her makeup. Middleton’s look was simple yet beautiful with full, fluffy lashes, a little bit of color on the cheeks, and a natural pinkish lipstick. We recommend Tower 28’s MakeWaves Lengthening + Curling Mascara, Charlotte Tilbury’s Cheek To Chic blush in Ecstasy, and MERIT’s Signature Lip in Baby to emulate the look.
Princess Masako of Japan
The Emperor and Empress of Japan got married at the Kashiko-dokoro on the grounds of the Tokyo Imperial Palace in June 1993. Japanese brides typically wear red lipstick and elaborate headpieces, which the Crown Princess of Japan also wore on her big day. The rest of her makeup was fairly simple and natural, which made the pop of red all the more stunning and vibrant. For a similar look, we suggest Fenty Beauty’s Stunna Lip Paint Longwear Fluid Lip Color in Uncensored.
Duchess Sophie von Württemberg of Germany
Duchess Sophie of Württemberg had a regal glow when she married Count Maximilien of Andigné in a traditional Catholic ceremony at St.Quirin Church in Tegernsee, Germany. The European royal wore cool-toned brown and grey shadows on the eyes, complete with a thin line of brown liquid eyeliner to accentuate her long, fluttering eyelashes. Recreate the look for your own nuptials by using Dior’s Backstage Eye Palette in 002 Cool Neutrals and KVD Beauty Tattoo Liner Vegan Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Mad Max Brown.