I’m thrilled to introduce the super-talented Camilla from CJC Hair & Makeup, a renowned hair and makeup artist with over 15 years of experience creating stunning bridal looks. As a trusted professional in the wedding industry, Camilla shares invaluable tips and insights to help brides prepare for their big day. From choosing the perfect hairstyle to ensuring your makeup stays flawless throughout the celebration, Camillas expert advice will guide you in achieving a radiant, timeless look that complements your unique style and vision. Let’s dive into her top tips for looking and feeling your best on one of the most important days of your life.
Photo Credit: Lina & Tom
Authors Bio: Vivienne May Weddings was founded and created by Kerrie May. With over a decade of experience in the luxury wedding & event industry, Kerrie has worked at some of the UK’s most iconic venues alongside a selection of renowned industry professionals and worked with a selection of high-net worth couples.
Kerrie is an Award Winning Luxury UK Wedding Planner and has a distinctive reputation amongst her fellow luxury wedding professionals. Her wealth of experience, industry knowledge and unrivalled passion for bringing her clients vision to life is what drives her to plan impeccably designed, style-led and perfectly co-ordinated weddings, with romance at it’s heart.
I'd love to hear more about you and your business!
I’m Camilla Collins, a confidence coach, author, and professional hair and makeup artist of 15 years. I founded the CJC Hair & Makeup agency in 2012 and we’ve specialised in making brides and their bridal parties look and feel their most gorgeous and confident selves for over 12 years.
I formed the CJC brand to give more people the friendly and professional 5-star treatment that I believe every single one of us deserve. I handpicked my elite style team to ensure that you receive five-star beauty treatment on your special day; it’s our ethos to ensure that every individual that we work with looks and feels like the star that they truly are.
Our award-winning team of professional and approachable, hairstylists and makeup artists work together with you every step of the way. We promise to create a look, just right for you, to ensure you look, and feel, your very best on your special day with beautifully styled hair and flawless makeup that lasts.
Once a Bride gets in touch with you, what happens next?
Regardless if it’s me or my team looking after them for the special day, I personally speak with all our brides initially via a video consultation to discuss their dream look. By seeing them face to face I can work out exactly how we can make their dream a reality and also provide other suggestions and answer any questions they may have - I also just love to hear about their big plans for the day and sometimes can offer support in other areas of the wedding planning process through the many years of experience and potentially other supplier recommendations they may need.
I advise all brides to collect images of hair and makeup styles that they like either (on a Pinterest board or album on their phone) and keep on top of this board over time - clearing out and replacing images as necessary. It’s good to let hair and makeup ideas “marinate” over time… and the ones that stand the test of the time are the goers for the preview day!
When do you recommend for a Bride to have her trial?
I recommend brides to have their previews (trials) 1-3 months in advance of their big day. If they have a preview too early then they can end up changing their minds and having an unnecessary retrial, and if they leave it too close to the big day then this can cause anxiety around how they will look on the day.
Also, hair and makeup styles (although more so hair than makeup), are often dictated by the dress or outfit for the day so I advise all our brides to not book in their preview until they know what they will be wearing on the day. Any hair accessories do not need to be purchased before the preview and sometimes it’s best not to so we can discuss options and not end up forcing a hairstyle for the sake of an accessory. Of course if it’s a family heirloom or something meaningful then we will find a way of making it sit perfectly in the hair!
What would be your top 3 tips for making sure a Brides skin has that Bridal glow?
Beauty starts from within and the best way to prepare both you and your skin for your big day is focusing on nutrition, hydration and sleep. My top 3 tips would be:
1. Drink plenty of water, start wherever you’re at (even if you struggle to drink 1 litre per day) and work up slowly and steadily to as much as 4 litres per day. Water is amazing for the body and skin! It detoxifies and helps maintain the skin’s elasticity, reduces puffiness in the face as well as bloating in the body.. and it makes your skin glow which provides a perfect canvas for makeup application.
Please note that if you are eating a very clean diet you must ensure you are adding salt to your meals as you will flush a lot out with a high water intake.
2. Pay attention do your diet and eat lots of green leafy vegetables and ensure you are getting adequate protein to support your skin, hair and nails. 1.6g per kilo of body weight is recommended. Also healthy fats are great for your skin which you can get from salmon, egg yolk and nuts. You can supplement with omega oil capsules but ideally you want to get this from real food - just be mindful that they can hike calories up if you are trying to lose weight ahead of your big day!
3. Looking after your skin from the inside out with a nutritious diet, keeping hydration and getting lots of rest and sleep is first and foremost and the best way to get your bridal glow on. Once you’ve got that covered you can look at adding in serums and oils to your skincare routine. Start with a light oil applied at night and move onto heavier oils and serums if you don’t have any breakouts and want more hydration and glow. Facials can really help speed things up and I would recommend speaking to a beautician about options suited to your skin type. Rarely does a one off social do much so prepare to invest in a set of treatments if you chose this route.
We actually have a bridal beauty prep guide detailing this and more here.
What are the benefits of hiring you to stay on site throughout the day?
As specialists in bridal makeup we apply makeup in a specific way that ensures it lasts the day and doesn’t look too heavy of cake. Lipstick is the only thing you really need to top up and perhaps a little powder or blotting papers if you’re prone to shine. With this being said we rarely stay on for the day of the wedding and only come back if the bride is having a hair and makeup change for the evening. Of course it is a service we can provide if our brides would feel more comfortable to have us there on hand for them and it can also be booked as an additional service for the guests to enjoy - we can set up a pop up beauty station for guests to enjoy makeup touches and hair styling… and also some glitter and sparkle for the evening entertainment through our sister company Glitter and Glo.
Photo Credit: Lugermad Weddings
If doing a brides makeup, would you use their own products or new ones?
We provide all hair and makeup products for our brides and their bridal parties to suit their skin type and cater for any known allergies, however, we can use their products if they prefer and we approve that they will create the desired look and stay in place for the day.
A huge thank you to Camilla for sharing her expert advice and invaluable tips with me and all brides! As a luxury Wedding Planner, I know how crucial it is for every bride to feel confident and radiant on her special day and Camilla’s insights on hair and makeup are the perfect guide to help make that a reality. Whether you’re still deciding on your bridal look or fine-tuning the details, her professional advice will ensure you feel nothing short of stunning. If you haven’t already, be sure to follow Camilla on her Instagram to bring her expertise to your wedding day and make your beauty vision come to life.