Royal Wedding: 4 Ways In Which Kate Middleton’s Wedding Hair and Makeup Were Fairytale Perfect

Brides-to-be, take note–there is much to be learned from the perfection that was Kate Middleton’s hair and makeup at this morning’s royal wedding.

Here are four ways in which the new Princess Catherine perfectly executed her wedding hair and makeup.

1. She wore enough makeup, but not too much.

When you’re having a big wedding–or in this case, an unimaginably enormous one, to the tone of an estimated 2 billion people watching–its important to define your features enough that they can be seen from afar, not to mention look lovely in photos. But you don’t want to wear so much makeup that your groom doesn’t recognize you. Kate Middleton clearly has a sense of what makeup works on her–all-around-the lid eyeliner, smoky brown eyeshadow over the entire lid, pink cheeks and not-too-shiny nude lips–and she stuck with that for the wedding, only amping up the darkness a bit. During the ceremony, her cheekbones looked especially prominent thanks to the way her rosy blush was swept at an angle just beneath them (up toward the ears, versus just circled on her apples). Rumor has it Kate may have done her own makeup using Bobbi Brown products she purchased herself at a cosmetics counter about a week ago!

2. Her half-up hairstyle matched her dress’s romantic tone.

Historically, most princesses have gotten married with their hair up in rather structured updos, so the fact that Kate Middleton chose to wear hers loosely curled and swept gracefully half-up made a bit of a statement. Created by James Pryce of Richard Ward salon (he’s cut Kate’s hair for years now), this more airy and soft wedding hairstyle worked so beautifully with her crazy-romantic Alexander McQueen lace-sleeved gown (and I love how the height up top gave her veil a little lift behind her tiara). The lesson: Even if your wedding is very formal, you’re the bride, and you have license to wear whatever makes you feel the most beautiful!

3. Her eyebrows were so excellently groomed.

Behold the power of an expertly sculpted arch! This is a zoom-in from my favorite shot of Kate and William, where they’re looking at each other as they exit Westminster Abbey as newlyweds. See how, especially from the side view, Princess Catherine’s neatly arched, tapered and penciled-in eyebrows frame her eyes and cheekbones, playing up these beautiful features even more? Also note the highlighter brushed beneath her arches to further shape her brows and bring light into the eye area. I admit, I neglected my eyebrows on my own wedding day, but if I had it to do over again, I’d use Kate’s as inspiration and make them a defining feature.

__4. She wore the perfect wedding nail polish color. __

Not sure what nail polish to wear for your own wedding? You can copy Kate Middleton’s wedding nail polish–she wore Essie “Allure”, a sheer pink-toned nude, which she got painted on at London’s Jo Hansford Salon.

What do you love best about Kate Middleton’s wedding hair and makeup? Was her look all you hoped it would be, or might you have done anything a bit differently?

What’s With All the Spam in the Comments Section?

Sick of all those annoying ads in the comments section lately? So are we! We police the site regularly and delete spam as soon as we can, but recently, the volume of spam has increased dramatically. We’re working on a way to block them permanently, so please bear with us, and know that we’re as eager as you are to get rid of these pests.

Meanwhile, please continue to use the Report Abuse button to flag spam–it really does help!– and continue to leave your brilliant feedback below. If you have any urgent questions about the spam, please contact us.

More Ways to Get Glamour:

Download Glamour on your iPad!

Like freebies? Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes!

Sign up for our fashion and beauty newsletters to get easy style tips (it’ll make your inbox 10x sexier, we promise).

One more PS: Did you know you can now read glamour.com on your smart phone?! It’s the ultimate boredom buster.

Photos: Getty Images