Online searches are soaring for the best ‘bridal skincare routine’ as brides-to-be want to ensure glowing, flawless skin for their big day. The best time to start is as soon as possible, and the good news is that a stable bridal skincare routine needn’t be full of endless steps, once it serves your skin and gets you the results you want.

The longer you have before your wedding to settle into a steady routine the better, because if you aren’t getting the results you want there’s still time to talk to a professional if you need a top-up treatment like microdermabrasion or a laser session. If your skin is looking great because you have nailed the right routine, avoid adding anything new that might cause a purge, reaction or breakout in the lead up. Below, you’ll find an example of a great bridal skincare routine to follow in the months ahead and needless to say it will work just as well for grooms.

Take A Supplement

Many brides and grooms have found it really useful to follow this wedding skincare timeline which includes boosting your skin health from the inside out with a beauty supplement. These daily supplements work to strengthen and support the hair, skin and nails as the key ingredients are generally a blend of biotin, selenium, hyaluronic acid, vitamin C and collagen. To have an effect they must be taken continuosly for a few months, but they can make a real difference, as skin and nails are stronger and skin looks more plump and hydrated.

Supplments We Like

• Revive Active Beauty Complex, (€59.95/30-day box) is a powder supplement for hair, skin and nails, this daily drink (mix it with water) contains 7000mg of marine collagen peptides plus 100mg of both hydrating hyaluronic acid and plant-based ceramides to support skin barrier health. Biotin, vitamins C, E, copper and selenium boost hair health.
• PharmaPlus PharmaGlow Supplement (€39.95/28 sachets per box) is ideal for boosting dwindling collagen levels in the skin. Each sachet contains 5000mg of marine collagen plus 80mg of vitamin C in powder form to help improve skin elasticity and reduce the look of fine lines.

Get A Great Cleanser

In the months running up to your wedding, you might be using specific skin treatments like retinol for glowing and smoother skin, or salicylic acid for controlling breakouts. If you are, take it easy on the cleansing front in your bridal skincare routine. Buy a cleasner formulated for sensitive skin that will cleanse effectively without stripping the skin of natural oils. Cream or oil is usually non-drying, and make sure that anything foaming is gentle so as not to cause dehydration or dryness.

Cleansers We Like

• Aloe-based, the Clarins Hydrating Gentle Foaming Cleanser, €28 will remove makeup without disrupting the skin’s microbiome and it protects the skin from the drying effects of hard water. A city-living bride’s BFF.
• One to share with your other half, perhaps. Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser, €25.30 is suitable for both men and women and it uses a sugar-based foaming agent to cleanse the skin. Apricot kernel oil and vitamin E help to leave the skin feeling soft, clean and comfortable.
• The gentle foaming cleanser beloved of beauty editors, is by exfoliating queen Kate Somerville, formulated Goat Milk Cleanser, €68 with soothing and hydrating honey and aloe vera to respect the skin’s natural barrier. Milk proteins offer the lightest exfoliating action for a Cleopatra-style cleanse.

Hydration Is Essential

Hydrated skin is key to having the best glow for your special day, and there are so many ways to achieve it with your bridal skincare routine. Include a hydrating serum in your morning and nighttime routine, and consider adding in a refreshing facial spritz after cleansing and throughout the day, and a twice-weekly hydrating mask to boost your moisture levels. Lovely to use and very relaxing, your skin will love you for all this extra hydration. Use liberally on the face, neck and decolletage.

Hydrators We Like

• Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Hydrator Mist , €42 is a cult buy for hydration on the go, a super fine spritz that instantly refreshes skin and makeup. Oxegynating and a moisture boost, the mist contains Hyaluronic Acid, kombu extract, and Niacinamide plus pollution protection for plumper and dewy-looking skin.
• Using a sleep mask in the days and weeks before your wedding as part of your bridal skincare routine will drench your skin in moisture while you sleep, and the Laneige Water Sleeping Mask, €32 is perfect for the job. Filled with hydrating ingredients like glycerin and squalane, the cream mask has a probiotic complex to strengthen the skin’s natural barrier. Overnight, the mask works to hydrate, brighten and soften the skin.
• Treat your pre-wedding skin to the brand adored by A-listers including Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton. Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist, €56 is a heavenly spritz with 20% botanical oils and humectants like Hyaluronic Acid, red algae and green tea extracts. The mist can be used to fix and set makeup, refresh the skin and for on-the-go hydration and environmental protection. Dewy skin is guaranteed.

Love Your Lips

Your wedding day MUA will not love making up parched or chapped lips, so add in a treatment specifically to keep them soft and hydrated as part of your bridal skincare routine. Along with your daily lip balm, there are intensive treatments, overnight sleeping masks and more to keep your lips as soft as butter. Add in a weekly lip scrub to keep flakes at bay and your pout will be perfectly kissable.

Lip Treatments We Like

• Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream Intensive Lip Repair Balm, €26 gets five stars from users and it’s a powerhouse for repairing and hydrating dry lips. The perfect autumn and winter lip buy, it will work wonders as part of your daytime and overnight bridal skincare routine.
• Mask experts, Patchology, created this easy-to-use Rosé Lips Hydrating Sleeping Mask, €18 ask to nourish and hydrate the lips while you slumber. Enriched with hyaluronic acid and a cocktail of plant oils, the mask offers long-lasting moisture and care that works until morning.
• La Mer’s chic Lip Polish €71.30 contains a blend of sugar crystals and its famed Miracle Broth marine extracts to smooth the skin on the lips and provide the nutrients they need. The lip polish comes with a double-sided applicator, the smooth side is to apply the product, and the ridged side is to massage the polish into the skin to shift flakiness and boost circulation.

Bridal Skincare Routine: Our Final Tip

When it comes to your bridal skincare routine, be aware that the best-laid plans don’t always go swimmingly, and this is where the pros come in if you are in the capable hands of a skin expert keep them informed of any challenges you might face like an unexpected breakout or a reaction. Their advice will help to solve the situation, so you are back on track quickly. Check out these 7 amazing facials that are perfect for brides!

For more bridal skin, hair and makeup ideas and tips on One Fab Day, click here and follow us on Instagram for more wedding features.