With the bridal season around the corner, we’re doing some trend spotting of our own and keeping an eye out for the bridal trends that will dominate this year. To get an expert point of view on the subject, we called on one of our fave makeup artists, Swarnalekha Gupta, and asked her about her favourite bridal makeup trends for 2014 and how she’d get her brides to wear these looks. Here are the excerpts…

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The Glossy Look
Cory Walia did it at his Bridal Masterclass, Daniel Bauer did it for the Manish Malhotra finale and we’ve been spotting it all across the runway at Lakmé Fashion Week. Clearly, this bridal season, gloss is here to stay. So what are the different ways to wear the glossy look?

Swarnalekha’s Glossy Look: “If I were to do the glossy look, I’d go with a bright, glossy mouth and muted eyes. The idea is to make the pout more prominent and keep everything else understated. So I’d do the eyes with a beige or soft gold eye shadow, a brown kajal, soft invisible eyeliner but top it off with lots of mascara to add some subtle drama. I’d team this with a messy waves or an updo for an engagement or the reception.”

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The Metallic Look
Most people never even get around to experimenting with metallics when it comes to their own wedding and just stick to the basics instead. However, a few daring brides (on the runway and off) have been playing with metallics on their face. Perfect for a cocktail, we asked Swarnalekha how she’d recreate this look…

Swarnalekha’s Metallic Look: “A bright metallic shadow with a lovely winged or thick liner and heavy kajal can make the eyes look stunning, and yes, don't forget the layers of mascara as that adds all the drama. When teamed with a soft nude mouth, it enhances the shimmering metallic look. A lot of bronzer on the cheeks can accentuate the metallic sheen. This look can be teamed with loose soft beachy curls to tone down the shimmer.”

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The Old-School ‘Red Bride’ Look
This one never goes out of fashion, primarily because while brides have tons of trousseau and makeup options to experiment with these days, the old-world charm of the traditional “red” bride still holds.

Swarnalekha’s Red Bride: “I think it’s a lot easier to do the ‘red’ bride now since we have close to 50 shades of reds to choose from and they go so well with our Indian skin tones. Brides are also experimenting a lot with the monotone look so when it comes to doing an old-school style with a new twist, it’s going to look super fab! In addition, this whole bold, red look is so classic and fits in perfectly with our loud, Indian weddings. And this way, no one can say that you’re underdressed!”