Double take
Along with tackling a skincare emergency, beauty PR Nisha Linnett had two very different wedding celebrations to prep for.
In the run-up to the wedding, I developed eczema on my face. I’ve never suffered with it before and think it was stress induced. I saw Dr Alexis Granite at the Cadogan Clinic, who put me on a strict skincare diet of fragrance free, super-gentle formulas from La Roche-posay and Cerave, which calmed it down. The pre-wedding beauty ritual I loved most was the pithi ceremony. It’s considered good luck for the bride to be covered in pithi paste by her friends and family. The home-made mixture of turmeric, chickpea flour and rose water was originally used to clear and treat the skin, but I was worried that the paste might cause a reaction, so we used four jars of Kiehl’s Turmeric & Cranberry Seed Energizing Radiance Masque, £36, instead.
My Indian heritage is extremely important to me, and as well as the wedding reception at which I wore my white wedding dress (inspired by Meghan Markle’s second wedding outfit designed by Stella Mccartney), we had a separate Indian Lagan mini blessing the day after.
These Indian ceremonies can go on for hours, but we took just little elements from it, such as exchanging symbolic flower garlands and wearing traditional outfits. My hand-embroidered lehenga is a modern version of a sari.
I had a Mehndi party the night before the Indian reception.
This celebration is where the bride and her female family members have their henna painted on. Most henna artists usually freestyle the decorative patterns, but they always hide your husband-to-be’s initials in the design. He then has to find them on the wedding day – and mine did!
For the reception, the only brief I gave my make-up artist was to keep my skin looking dewy and fresh. I was very relaxed, as I trusted her to do an amazing job. I didn’t want a trial session beforehand, so I think she was more nervous than I was. Classic red nail polish is my signature look. I played around with different nudes and neutral tones, but they never seemed to suit my skin tone, so
I stuck to my usual bright shade throughout.
I did my own hair and make-up for my Indian wedding.
Most Indian brides have a full-on glam look, so I did a dramatic smokey eye with lots of bronzer and blusher. In the evening, I’d planned to change my pink-nude lipstick for a bold orange shade from YSL, but I was having so much fun that I forgot!