Top tips for every kind of bride …
The Wedding Salon at The Merrion is an annual highlight in THE GLOSS calendar. At this year’s event, in association with Hyundai, host and wedding planner extraordinaire Tara Fay provided expert advice for the big day, while make-up artist Dearbhla Keenan and hairstylist Christian Shannon from Brown Sugar showcased the best bridal looks and shared insider tips sure to inspire.
Christian said on the day; “Start your routine to get the best hair possible a year before the wedding. Do it slowly and use treatments: I recommend the Kérastase Resistance range to start with and then change things up when it runs out, so you’re getting different results that your hair needs. Lay off the hot tools as much as you can too.”
As for the look, Christian advised; “Speak to your stylist about the style they recommend. Make sure you’re comfortable with them as it’s one of the biggest days of your life. They should enhance it by helping you to keep calm and definitely get a giggle out of you!”.
Top 3 Bridal Hair Looks
On model Sarah Morrissey, wearing a Suzanne Neville Aurora lace overlay with a fitted satin under-dress, Christian chose a Hollywood wave. “A lot of brides want their hair down, but think about your dress – sometimes an up ‘do is the best thing you can do. It’s also nice to get your hair off your face as well, so it’s not hanging in front of your face for the day. This is a great compromise as it leaves the hair down, but it’s polished with one side behind the ear to open the face up.”
Christian focused on the clean girl aesthetic on model Vanessa O’Connell, wearing a Suzanne Neville Seloura drop-waisted ballgown, referencing hit show Love Story and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy as the ultimate role model. He prepped hair with Plex and oil for a slick twisted bun held in place with netting that’s “so fine you can’t even see it”, adding that it allows for more interesting shapes without any flyaways. He added a pearl hairpiece, which Tara Fay pointed out is a nice addition to complement the look when the veil is removed.
On model Yomiko Chen, who wore a Sharon Hoey Bella crepe fitted dress with a train, Christian opted to do a half-up, half-down style which he says is still very popular with brides. He used a large GHD to curl the ends “for big bouncy curls. There are so many options, so don’t be afraid to try them out! My main advice is to think of the entire look as a whole instead of your hair, make-up, dress and shoes separately. Ask yourself: what will my silhouette look like? Then work around that.”