Nothing is more beautiful than a woman in love. To help that beauty shine through naturally on your big day, follow these health and beauty tips.
• Confidence and grace will outshine any perfect hair or make-up job. On your big day, let your smile and your kindness be your biggest beauty secrets. Don’t let any wedding mishaps ruin your look with a scowl.
• Water is a sexy friend. For radiant skin, clear eyes and kissable plump lips, you must be hydrated. This requires planning ahead. Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of pure clean water every day before your wedding. (If you weigh 130 lbs., that’s 65 oz., or about eight cups.) It takes at least three days of drinking this way to get hydrated; after that, your body will let go of any extra water weight you might be carrying.
• Flawless skin is a bridal trademark. Exfoliate your feet, knees, hands and elbows with a salt scrub regularly. (See recipe.) Use a dry brush before bathing; circularly sloughing off dead skin cells will let fresh new skin come to the surface. Then apply an oil (coconut, almond or olive) from head to toe and let it sit on your skin for 15 minutes as you visualize your perfect day. This allows toxins and dirt to rise up that will then be rinsed away..
• Practice your look! I’ve had the honor of doing the hair and make-up of a few women for their big day and it helps to have a practice session. This allows for anything that might go wrong to happen and be remedied in advance.
• Do you “I do” naturally? These days there are so many nontoxic organic products available to us girls who still like to get all dolled up. Natural foods stores sell nail polish, hair care and make-up with none of the harmful ingredients that have inundated the world of beauty. Still, I’m a crier. Using a semi-toxic waterproof mascara on special occasions is better than looking like Captain Jack Sparrow in wedding photos that will last forever. If you have any questions about ingredients in your products, visit www.ewg.org/skindeep
• Get a little sun every day before your big day! Ten to 15 minutes of noontime sun (with no sunscreen) can do wonders for your appearance and mood. Having sufficient vitamin D in the skin helps minimize acne, boost elasticity, stimulate collagen production, enhance radiance and lessen lines and the appearance of dark spots.
• Slumber is nature’s most powerful beauty treatment. All of your repair hormones that fix damaged cells are produced between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Overnight, skin cells regenerate and your facial muscles that create wrinkles relax, so make sleep a priority.
Regardless of what you do to make yourself shine for your wedding, remember that beauty is a feeling. It is something that can’t be shaped or molded. It shines from your soul and is nurtured by seeing the beauty in all that surrounds you.
“I DO” Exfoliating scrub recipe:
1 cup Himalayan fine course sea salt
3/4 cup softened coconut oil (or oil of your choice)
10 drops jasmine oil
10 drops ylang ylang oil