Bridal Beauty with Alex Ouston
Alex Ouston has spent over a decade painting faces and styling hair for some of the biggest celebrities, both globally and locally; working across music videos and live shows for the likes of Kanye West, Jeff Martin, Thelma Plum and Sheppard.
She has extensive experience across film, television, editorial, runway, and is now based in the Brisbane/Byron Bay area where she frequents the intimate dressing-rooms of brides and her maids, ensuring they feel empowered and beautiful before taking down the aisle. She is also a co-host of The Wedcast Podcast, which delves into the ins and outs of planning a wedding.
Here, Alex shares her tips and tricks for preparing and executing bridal makeup, for both brides and their artists.
1. What is your best piece of advice for brides in the lead up to their wedding when it comes to skincare and choosing a makeup look for their special day?
My advice to my brides when preparing their skin for their big day is to start the process at least 6 months in advance and speak to a reputable skin clinic that can assess your skin and give you advice on how to get your skin looking flawless and smooth for your makeup application.
Making sure your skin is hydrated and luminous is the key, so also make sure you have skin care specific to your skin type and that you are doing your full regime each day especially if you wear makeup.
Investing in great skin care in the lead up to your wedding is paramount. Mainly a great cleanser, exfoliant treatment and hydrating moisturiser. If your skin is dry, has redness or discolouration I would recommend Eye of Horus Seven Seed Sacred Oil as a night time treatment as it soothes and hydrates the skin. Also water, water, water! Hydrating from the inside is very important as well.
2. What is your most requested bridal makeup look?
Our brides generally want to look like the best version of themselves, which is what we love doing! Basically, either a soft bronze or pink smokey eye with some natural lashes, a peachy cheek and lip. 
3. What are your favourite Eye of Horus products to use for bridal makeup?
We’ve been loving the Skin Tint Serum Foundation as a beautiful hydrating base. We then build up the coverage with the concealers which is great for longevity. I also love the Bio Lipsticks and the most popular shades for us to use on Brides and Bridesmaids are Athena Blush and Aurora Peach.
4. What are your tips for ensuring makeup lasts throughout a wedding day?
Having your lipstick and a lip liner for touch ups after your ceremony and before photos is a must, and having a great makeup artist that has pro waterproof products that aren’t drying is also important. Seriously though, if you have good products applied to you, you really shouldn’t need to touch your makeup once it’s been set by your artist. The only thing I would suggest is a translucent blot powder if you get super shiny.
5. Can you share any other advice for future brides or makeup artists when it comes to wedding makeup?
Having great communication with each other is the most important thing when it comes to creating your makeup look. Brides need to be discerning when choosing a look that will suit them. Having lots of images to show your artist isn’t always better, so make sure you have selected just a few images of looks that showcase what you prefer.
Wear the makeup for a while before you decide to make any changes. Most of our brides don’t actually wear that much makeup, so what we would describe as a natural look can seem like a lot when you first see it. Try and settle into it and see how you feel after a few hours. Making you feel confident and comfortable is our aim but we also have to factor in the length of the day and the fact that you’ll be having photos taken as well.
To learn more about Alex, you can head to her website, follow her at
@alexoustonbeauty on Instagram and listen to her podcast.