Get ready for your big day with the ultimate bridal skincare routine

Many people make the mistake of starting their wedding skincare routine last minute, which is what you want to avoid. A sudden switch in skincare may disrupt your skin and cause discomfort or breakouts.

Instead, we recommend starting your bridal skincare six months before the wedding. It’s enough time to figure out a routine that leaves your skin silky smooth for immaculate wedding makeup.

Why you should do wedding skincare

Weddings are beautiful, fun and exciting, but they’re also stressful. From finding the perfect wedding dress to deciding where to sit your ‘fun’ uncle, weddings involve a lot of planning and organisation.

When under pressure, you may struggle to make time for yourself, neglecting nutrition, exercise and sleep. These things can lead to hormone disruption, breaking out your skin, deepening fine lines and leaving your lipid barrier parched. That’s not what we want for you. So we’re giving the best skincare advice for the lead-up to your wedding.

Six months before the big day, the wedding excitement is amping up. It’s around now that you want to start laying the foundation for excellent skincare. These aren’t things you should do just before the big day. Why? Because your skin needs time to settle and adjust for ultimate results.

Try a peel

Skin peels are excellent at rejuvenating and resetting the skin to maximise wedding skincare steps. Here are a few of our face peel favourites:

Pro-Collagen Tri-Acid Peel
Our Pro-Collagen Tri-Acid Peel uses an 8% Tri-Acid Complex to break down dead skin cells that daily exfoliators don’t always remove. Combined with the hydrating ingredients Padina Pavonica and chlorella, it plumps up the skin and reduces fine lines and wrinkles. The peel smooths your complexion’s texture for an even and luminous glow, perfect for your wedding skincare journey. 

Papaya Enzyme Peel
Our highly reviewed Enzyme Peel is formulated with natural fruit acids like papaya and pineapple to remove impurities. The luxuriously soft cream then uses bladderwrack, a brown seaweed, to intensely hydrate for a dewy complexion. 

Peptide4 Overnight Radiance Peel
We have to give our Peptide4 Radiance Peel a spotlight for its refining, brightening and replenishing effect. This daily peel has a milky consistency that revolutionises skin overnight. The lactic and hibiscus acid and flower milk lift dead skin cells and pollutants while stimulating cell renewal. Peptide4 strengthens elasticity, tightening your skin and reducing sagging and fine lines. The peptides are complemented by British night-scented stock oil. It’s rich in Vitamin E for a refreshed, glossy look. 

Dynamic Resurfacing Peel & Reset
Finally, we have the ELEMIS Resurfacing Peel, a showstopping product for your skin that uses a dual-action approach. 

The first phase deeply exfoliates layers of skin and stimulates cell turnover in just fourteen days. Phase two provides instant aftercare by intensely hydrating for fresh skin after just one application. It’s fantastic for hyperpigmentation and lacklustre, dull skin. 

Cultivate an effective, regular routine

Consistency is the key to great skin and the perfect way to ensure you never miss a skincare step. Find the products that work for you, create a skincare ritual and stick to it for the six months before your wedding.

Start with an ELEMIS cleanser, follow up with a toner and serum, and apply your chosen moisturiser for the ultimate glow. You can also add a weekly face mask for intense hydration. 

As your wedding day draws closer, introduce a few new steps to nourish your skin and prep it for the big day.

Concentrate on hydration

Hydration is essential if you want a dewy fresh complexion. Without it, you may experience dry, flaky skin, redness, under-eye bags, fine lines, and wrinkles.

Cleansing for hydration
Our Superfood Glow Cleansing Butter gently melts away buildup with fermented pumpkin enzymes. It also contains ingredients rich in fatty acids, such as mango and chia seed oil, to condition skin, creating a buttery-soft feel. 

Serums for hydration
The perfect follow-up to cleansing is using a hydrating serum. The Pro-Collagen Rose Micro Serum contains 7,000 rose microdroplets and antioxidants to calm and protect the lipid barrier. The ingredients have a lightweight plumping effect to lift wrinkles and fine lines for a glass-like appearance. 

Moisturisers for hydration
After applying a skin-enhancing serum, condition the skin using a moisturiser. The ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Rose Marine Cream is specifically formulated to hydrate the skin during the day. It’s enriched with organic English rose hydrolat for petal-soft skin, making it the perfect follow-up to our Rose Micro Serum.

Under-eye care for hydration
The skin around your eyes is delicate and easily darkens or shows fine lines after a bad night’s sleep. That’s why you want to brighten under-eye bags for the picture-perfect day.

Our Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks cool down the skin and tighten the under-eye area, reducing fine lines in just twenty minutes. You can also use the ELEMIS Pro-Collagen Eye Renewal, a gentle, hydrating under-eye cream for the morning and evening.

Refreshing skin for hydration
Throughout the day, skin loses moisture and dries out. Ensure you achieve glowing skin for your wedding day by topping up hydration with the Superfood Multi Mist. Simply spritz across your face for a refreshed, dreamy complexion.

Start double cleansing

It’s tricky to achieve truly radiant skin for your wedding day without ensuring you remove daily build-up. Double cleanse to sweep away makeup, oils, pollution and dead skin cells to reveal a smooth and even texture. We have a range of ELEMIS cleansers for every skin type: 

Dry skin - Superfood Facial Wash 
Sensitive skin - Pro-Collagen Rose Cleansing Balm 
Clear, oily or blemish-prone skin - Clarifying Clay Wash 
Dull skin - Superfood Glow Cleansing Butter 
Uneven skin - Dynamic Resurfacing Facial Wash 

The month before, you need a wedding skincare ritual that leaves you with a smooth, even complexion. This ensures your makeup goes on easily, and you look radiant in every photo. Here’s what to do.

Stick with skincare products you’re used to

Now is not the time to experiment with new skincare products. Introducing different skincare at this stage can disrupt your skin. Stick to what you know and continue the past six-month skincare routine to maintain clear and radiant skin.

Try to minimise stress

Stress triggers hormone disruption, which can wreak havoc on your skin. It can cause dryness, increase the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, lead to breakouts and create under-eye bags and shadows. That means minimising stress is essential to achieve your wedding glow.

Concentrate on a balanced diet, exercise, sleep and stress-reducing techniques such as meditation and yoga.

The week before is a time to sit back and congratulate yourself on all your hard work. Why not get an ELEMIS spa treatment — either by yourself or with your bridal party? We have several incredible locations and experts (in-store and at beautiful retreats) to prepare your skin for the big day. 

How many days before the wedding should you get a facial?

A bridal facial plumps, hydrates and tightens your skin. Get a facial one week before your wedding, leaving enough time for your skin to settle into its glowing complexion.

So, you’ve kept up your bridal skincare, but how do you treat it on the big day? We suggest using the same products you’ve used for the past six months. It will help you avoid mishaps and achieve glossy skin for your wedding.

Bridal skincare routine for the night before

Step 1. Cleanse your face to melt away makeup, SPF, pollution and grime. 

Step 2. Use a face mask (optional). Make sure it’s one you’ve tried before and know works for your skin.

Step 3. Replenish skin with toners and serums.

Step 4. Smooth on a deeply hydrating overnight moisturiser.

Step 5. Seal with beautifying face oil.

Bridal skincare routine on the morning of your wedding

Now for the big day itself. Whether you’re hiring a professional makeup artist, doing your own makeup, or going without, here are the key steps to prep your skin on the morning of your wedding.

Step 1. Cleanse the face to break down dead skin cells that collect overnight. Ideally you want to double cleanse for a fresh base.

Step 2. Apply your preferred toner and serums to nourish.

Step 3. For an additional hit of pre-event hydration under your eyes, revitalise with our Pro-Collagen Hydra-Gel Eye Masks. Why not keep them on while you arrange your hair, before moving onto the next step of your bridal skincare routine?

Step 4. Add a spritz of our Superfood Multi Mist to prime the skin. You can also apply it after doing your makeup to set it for the rest of the day. 

Step 5. Moisturise for dewy skin. Our Superfood Glow Priming Moisturiser doubles up as a highlighter; dab on your cheekbones for an extra touch of radiance. 

Step 6. Protect your skin from irritation and dryness using SPF skincare.

We know that glowing skin is a key part of helping you feel confident and glowing on your wedding day. And with this six-month regime, you can’t go wrong. Start preparing and nurturing your skin early for radiant beauty on the big day with ELEMIS skincare.