Test
Test post only, so all good!
I’m Inés Santiago — a bridal makeup artist based in Lisbon, born in Guadalajara, Mexico. I create soft, luminous wedding looks that hold from the first look to the last dance — for brides marrying in Portugal, planning a destination wedding, or celebrating back home in Mexico.
Choosing a base for the day you’ll actually have
| Heading 1 | Heading 2 | Heading 3 |
|---|---|---|
A garden ceremony in the Algarve in August and a candlelit reception in a Sintra quinta in November are not the same job. Heat, humidity and how much you expect to cry all change what I reach for.
| Your day | What tends to work | What to avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Hot, outdoors, summer | Lightweight long-wear base, powder only where needed | Heavy full-coverage foundation |
| Cool, indoors, evening | Luminous base, cream blush, gentle powder | Matte everything — it reads flat in low light |
| Beach or coastal | Water-resistant base, waterproof mascara | Anything sheer that needs reapplying |
| Emotional ceremony | Waterproof liner and lashes, blotted lip | Non-waterproof mascara, glossy lids |
None of this is guesswork by the wedding morning. That’s what the trial is for.
The three products that actually hold a look together
- A primer chosen for your skin, not for the finish. Grip primers and blurring primers do opposite jobs. Using the wrong one is worse than using none.
- Waterproof on the eyes, always. Liner, mascara, and lashes if you’re wearing them. This is non-negotiable at a wedding.
- A blotted, layered lip. Colour, blot, colour again. It outlasts anything applied in one pass, and it survives a glass of wine.
What happens when it does need a touch-up
It usually doesn’t, but the honest version is: after eight hours, the T-zone may want blotting and the lip will want a refresh after dinner. Every bride I work with leaves the room with a small kit — blotting papers, the lip, and a pressed powder matched to her base. Two minutes, once, is all it takes.