Makeup, DIY Style

My search for someone to do my makeup has been complicated for two reasons: 1. I'm very self conscious about my skin and the appearance of my face, as the result of having acne for many years. This usually means that I'm unhappy with my makeup when anyone other than myself does it. 2. Money seems to be flying out the door, and paying for professional makeup seems like a great waste if I'm not 100% in love with the results.

Looking at the photos of my first two trials, I have mixed feelings. While the first one did create the "look" that I thought I wanted, in person, it was just way too heavy. The second looked more natural and more appropriate to daytime, but was it any better than something I could do myself? I'm pretty good with makeup, so I decided to have an at-home-trial day.

I did my best to create the first look -- red lips, black eyeliner, a "classic glam" -- just more toned down than this version. In person, I thought it looked OK. It looked pretty heavy but not TOO heavy.

I think it's OK, though not anywhere near perfect, which is what we all hope to look like on our wedding day, right? Also, when JT snapped this photo of me, what looked moderately heavy now looked almost nonexistent. Clearly balancing what looks good in person and on film is going to be difficult. I just didn't feel like my eyes popped enough -- maybe what was missing was some false eyelashes.

I've got another professional trial this weekend. I'm hoping that it will go amazingly well and my problem will have a clear solution. But if it doesn't, should I plan on doing it myself? Would this be acceptable wedding makeup? And am I simply being much too hard on both myself and the professionals by thinking that the results so far aren't that great?