Bridal makeup tips from Lauren Sánchez, Adele, and Kris Jenner's MUA

Makeup artist Buster Knight is one of the nicest people in the beauty bizz. His celebrity client list reads like a Hollywood premiere, from pop stars like Anastacia, Adele and Katy Perry, to TV and film icons, such as Paris Hilton, Kris Jenner and Priyanka Chopra. But it’s the makeup at one of his recent weddings that made him catch our eye.

When Millie Bobby Brown married Jake Bongiovi in 2024, it wasn’t just her four dresses that turned heads. Her radiant, barely-there glow felt both timeless and totally modern. Buster was the down-to-earth genius behind her flawless natural wedding makeup look.

We spoke with him about his bridal beauty tips, and what makeup matters most on a day when every detail counts. He also shares his thoughts on the best wedding gifts, and reveals the sentimental present he loves to surprise his brides with.

“‘Bridal makeup’ — and I say that in inverted commas — doesn't really exist anymore," says Buster. "The rise of social media and celebrity being way more attainable, [means you can] see what celebrities use and how they use it. More and more wedding makeup and red carpet makeup is the same thing now. And I treat them in the same way.”

Treating them the same way means understanding what a lot of modern brides want these days. “Before, bridal makeup was always floral kind of pinks. I remember this lipstick from Laura Mercier, Tea Rose, so vividly. It was a soft, dusty pink. Every bride wanted it, it was like The One. Brides generally don't want a “bride look” anymore. They want that soft kind of bronzy Hollywood glow.”

It’s not just makeup that they rely on for that glow though, says Buster. “General consumers are way more savvy now. They know what different acids do for the skin, and regular Joe Bloggs goes for laser facials and all these different treatments that used to be just for the rich and famous. The market is opened up to everyone. Salmon sperm facials, lasers, injectables… Those kind of things that were secrets many years ago, are now not. And it’s so easily accessible that now sometimes I have to say to my friends that are getting married: Don't do it all. You don't need it all!”

While Buster doesn’t recommend doing everything as part of your bridal beauty prep, there are some things he maintains are important. Here are 13 of his tips that will make a difference to how you look and feel on the day…

“Every makeup artist doing a wedding will want to do a trial because they need to learn what you're about. And also it takes the pressure off them on the day. So definitely get a trial in. And my advice is to always do two or three trials with different makeup artists because that will give you an idea [of what you want]. Every makeup artist has a different style and technique because we're all different. And so, someone might be reasonably priced, but it doesn't mean that they're gonna be your favourite. Someone might be really well known, but that doesn't mean that they're gonna be your favourite. You know, I get a lot of people asking me to do their wedding because I work with the people that I work with, but that doesn't mean that they're going to like my makeup when it's on them!”

“Bridal makeup is the closest that a lot of people will ever get to a red carpet because you're being lit in so many different types of light throughout your day, while being photographed constantly. You are being seen by lots of people, and you are having to wear that makeup all day. In sunlight, inside, outside, and so all of the [makeup] rules are the rules that we follow for a red carpet. You're going to be seen in the high sunlight and night time strobe lights at your party. Your makeup has to kind of match that, and so it will be more than your everyday. Your day-to-day makeup won't cut it because you don't think, when you're putting on your makeup in the morning, you might be papped this afternoon, or you might sit at a wedding tablescape that's lit beautifully with candlelight, or you might go into a room that's overhead lit with spotlights… You generally don't think about it. You think in the morning I look nice. I'm ready to go on with my day. Whereas as makeup artists, we have to think ahead about how you might be lit, where you're going be, [and how] you're going be seen from every angle. 

My looks are quite glam but polished, and I always, always like to pat myself on the back and say that my clients look as good in person as they do on camera. To someone who doesn't wear a lot of makeup or has never had their makeup professionally done, they probably feel like it's more than they would ever wear. So you've got to broach that subject early. If I ever do a wedding trial, I start lighting [the bride] in different lights and walking around their house with them to show them themselves. I'm like, this is how it's gonna be on the day. You're not gonna be under my perfect light in an Instagram picture. You're gonna be seen like this, and like this. Then I take them out into their garden or onto a balcony. I'll take them into their bathroom. I'll take them into their living room. I'll then get a spotlight out and shine it on their skin.” 

“The main rule that will go on forever and ever for me [for bridal makeup] is don't break away from who you are as a person. If you wear a red lipstick every day, wear your red lipstick on your wedding day. If you constantly wear an eyeliner, don't change it on your wedding day because you'll regret it when you look at yourself in the pictures. Similarly, don't do something that you don't usually do on your wedding day either. If you don't wear a red lip, do not start today!

More and more women want to try things and are more experimental with their makeup just generally in life —  today is not the day. Don't do something that's too trendy. Like, I love a lip liner, and I really love an overdrawn nineties lip. I love that. But on your wedding day, you don't want that, because that's going to age. And in 10 years, you're going look back and go, oh my God! Look at my lipstick! That looks awful. So just make your lips look nice. You know, like they're very hydrated, they're plump and they're you.”

“If you're not scared of needles, there are some really amazing, amazing treatments out there, like mesotherapy and polynucleotides. These things can make your skin look incredible.  I love them and I'm a big advocate for them, but experiment with them months before. Don’t do them the week before your wedding! This doesn't mean you have to have them, but if you do want to go down that road, my advice is do your research about the practitioner. Are they popular? They're popular for a reason. A lot of the time, slightly more expensive is probably better. And don't let your dentist inject you with things, because nine times out of 10, they're just doing it for a bit of extra cash and they're not good.”

“I love a Hydrafacial the week before, because that's a really deep cleanse into the skin and it cleans all the rubbish out and makes the skin look kind of squeaky clean. So I do really recommend that.

I just bought a machine from Geske. It's a German brand and it's a home Hydra-style facial, so you can do it yourself. I can't wait to get my hands on it and start using it.”

“Make your skin look amazing with skin care and then go from there. I tend to give my clients a sheet mask to wear when they go to bed the night before. What I tend to find is when you put them on right before makeup, everything slides. You have to give them, like a good hour, to really soak into the skin.”

“I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it because of an NDA, but I'll just say a client. She used to put ice on her face every time, and it was before the days of, you know, the [ice] globes and the wands and the sticks. She just used to get ice cubes and rub them all over her face. Ice is an amazing, amazing, anti-inflammatory that makes your skin look tighter and makes your face look brighter.

That's the first thing you do before your skin care [on the morning of your wedding], and it will bring all the blood to the surface of the skin. Your skin will look fresher. It will tighten the capillaries, it will tighten the pores. It will kind of get rid of any inflammation. My friend, Michaela Boulder, is a facialist. She's amazing and she's got an ice cube tray and it makes a gua sha [tool] out of ice. It's amazing. Ice is an oldie but a goodie.”

“All of my clients love under eye patches. But I love under eye patches because you need that hydration under the eye, and I like that slip there when I apply makeup. My go tos are the brown 111 eye masks,  Augustinus Bader, and I love Florence Mills. I keep them in my fridge, I love them when they're freezing cold, especially the Florence Mills ones, because, they're really, really hydrating. There's a brand called Dieux, and they do reusable ones, which I think is really cool. So you buy them and then you put the skin care on them and put them on. I also have those in my kit.”

“Everyone gets a blemish on their wedding day. It's kind of the rule and I always carry Mario Badescu spot treatment. It looks a bit like calamine lotion and you put it on and leave it for as long as you can and it dries the spot out. That way when you put makeup over the top, it's not going to become a raging whitehead by mid afternoon. So I love that. I also love spot stickers.” 

"A good tip is [buy] two foundations. [You want] two different textures, one lighter, one heavier, because you just don't know. You might have a breakout on the day, your tan might go wrong, and you might need a bit more coverage. I generally go with one a bit lighter in shade and one a bit darker in shade because then that way if you've caught a bit of sun, if you've had a spray tan, whatever the weather might be, you're not going to be caught out on the day, with like a white face or a face that's two shades too dark.

I always have a real mixture of foundations because everyone's skin is different, but I tend to really love the Giorgio Armani ones. If you're going to spend the money on [beauty for] the day, spend it on either really good skin care or a good foundation so that your skin looks amazing, because that's kind of the thing that everyone's going to see.”

“I tend to steer clear of any kind of eyeliner inside the eye because brides tend to cry. If I do eyeliner, I don't really like it to be solid or black. I like it to be kind of soft and hidden in the lashes. When it comes to wedding lashes, keep them natural is my advice. I see a lot of brides with these big eyelashes and I think, yeah, I know you don't usually wear those. We can still have some fun with lashes. If I add anything it would be something underneath the lashes to make it look as though they are hers. Mascara should, obviously, always be waterproof, and nine times out of 10 it's my Lancome one that they discontinued. Anastacia got me into it. When I do find it at an airport, I buy 20 of them.”

“Setting spray is really important. Something that's going to fix the makeup and kind of keep it in place so you're not panicked about it all day. ​​A powder is crucial, and I would generally go with the translucent powder and a powder puff to set the makeup. Laura Mercier’s translucent powder forever and always! It was the first place I ever worked and it's been in my kit ever since. Next, think blotting paper. I know these are really old school, but I love them and it just means that you don't have to keep putting powder on your face throughout the day, getting cakey. It takes the shine away without you looking too made-up.”

“If a bride wants to splurge makeup wise, after skincare and foundation, I'd say to her: lipstick. It's something that you can keep and reuse that's going to feel special every time you wear it. Try on a thousand, find the colour that works and then take that to your makeup artist. There's nothing wrong with doing that. A lot of my brides have done it! I mean, a lot of people do that on the red carpet too!

Having said that, don’t stress if you can’t find the one. Nine times out of ten, when someone sits in my chair, I'll put a colour on them they never would dream of using. And so that's another thing as well. It's usually a lipstick that they wouldn't buy themselves!

For a lot of my friends, [when] I've done their wedding makeup, I give them their lipstick [that I chose for them] after the wedding. It's quite a special little gift because that was so memorable of that day and the smell brings them back. I just think it's such a sentimental present that no one would think of. But actually, it's one of the best wedding gift ideas, because it's so thoughtful. I think the same about fragrance as well. Wedding fragrances are really special because they can evoke a memory in two seconds.  Every time you smell it, it's going to make you think of that day.”

When he's not surprising brides with a lipstick, Buster reveals what he's drawn to on a wedding registry. “I love personalised gifts, like a candle with the date inscribed on it, or a photo frame with their married name on it.  I love things like that, or anything that's personalised.”

Whether you want a bridal look like Millie Bobby Brown’s soft, natural glow, or something more polished and glam, like Lauren Sánchez, Buster Knight’s expertise shows that wedding day beauty is all about feeling like the best version of yourself. Ready to bring your own dream day to life? Create a list with The Wedding Shop to start curating a gift registry that’s as personal and unique as your bridal beauty look.

The Wedding Shop, the UK’s leading independent and multi-award-winning wedding gift list service, has been creating unforgettable and meaningful wedding gift list experiences for over 30 years. Our unrivalled selection of over 450 brands lets you combine stylish presents with honeymoon funds, charity contributions, exciting experiences, subscriptions, and even gifts from other retailers — means you can curate a list of the best wedding gifts you'll love for a lifetime.

With a clientele as luminous as his signature Hollywood glow, Buster Knight is the celebrity makeup artist quietly shaping some of the industry’s most talked about beauty moments. Based in London, Buster’s work spans international red carpets, fashion editorials, music videos, and most recently, star-studded weddings — including Millie Bobby Brown’s much-admired bridal look. Follow Buster Knight on Instagram . All images courtsey of Buster Knight