This Is What the Next Generation of Brides Will Wear

Backstage, the brief was cloud-soft bridal beauty. On the runway it read as dainty: sheer colour, soft edges, nothing too sharp. Of all the trending bridal makeup from the show, this is the idea most likely to suit brides who don't usually wear much.

Ask your makeup artist: Ask for soft, sheer layers and no harsh lines. Show them a photo of yourself on a happy-skin day, so they know how much of you to leave visible.

Velvet skin is luminous but has less shine than glass skin, which makes it a good choice for a wedding. High-shine bases can pick up bright spots under camera flash, so a soft-matte finish usually lasts longer on a humid day.

Ask your makeup artist: Ask for a satin or demi-matte base, with highlighter only on the tops of your cheekbones. Get them to check you under a phone flash before you leave the room.

Blush blindness went viral on TikTok. It describes what happens when you wear blush every day. Your eyes get used to the colour, so you keep adding a little more without noticing, until your cheeks are far pinker than you meant. What started as a joke about over-application has since become a look of its own, and it showed up on the softest faces on the runway. With everything else kept this dainty, the blush was the one place with a bit more colour.

Ask your makeup artist: Ask for generous blush placed high on the cheekbones and blended out towards the temples. Then check it in daylight, or in a quick phone photo, before they add more.

On the looks paired with a red lip, the blush went on in sheer washes. It was layered until it looked like a natural flush.

Ask your makeup artist: Ask for a cream or liquid blush built in two or three thin layers, letting each one set before the next. It moves with your skin and is easier to correct than powder.

Lips across the show were diffused. The colour was pressed into the centre and softened at the edges so there was no hard line. The new bridal makeup look applies the same idea to a classic red.

Ask your makeup artist: Ask for no liner, just colour tapped into the centre of your lips and blended outwards with a fingertip. If you're wearing red, match its undertone to the red in your outfit. Blurred edges are much easier to fix after a meal than a sharp line, so keep the lipstick in your potli.

For the boldest looks, models wore two liner shades together. [TK: the shades used and how they were placed.] It's the most daring idea on this list, and it belongs at the mehendi or sangeet.

Ask your makeup artist: Ask for liner shades picked from the thread colours in your outfit's embroidery. If bright feels like too much, two softer tones will give you the same effect, only quieter.

Sara Arjun's showstopper hair was the best example. It was long, side-parted and glossy, with waves brushed out until they looked like they'd dried that way. Most of the models wore some version of it.

Ask your hairstylist: Ask for big, loose waves made with a large-barrel iron, then brushed out so they don't look set. A light-hold spray and a drop of hair oil on the ends will keep the shine. If you're wearing a heavy dupatta, ask them to pin one section back so it doesn't flatten the rest.

Some models wore the opposite: hair pulled back into a smooth, low bun. It works best when your jewellery is the statement. On the runway, it was paired with an emerald-drop choker.

Ask your hairstylist: Ask for a centre or side parting smoothed back with a little gel, then a low bun pinned at the nape. If you want some softness, ask them to leave out two thin strands at the front.

Some braids were threaded and studded with jewellery. Others were bubble braids, cinched into sections along the length of the hair.

Ask your hairstylist: For a jewelled braid, plan where the pieces sit around your matha patti or maang tikka so nothing fights. For bubble braids, ask for a ponytail with elastics every few inches and each section gently pulled out to puff it up. Then swap the plain elastics for jewelled cuffs or small flowers.

On a garden runway, a gajra made sense. One bride in red and gold wore a cascade of mogra strands falling well past her waist. It's a long way from the single string most of us grew up pinning on for pujas.

Ask your hairstylist: First decide between fresh and artificial. Fresh mogra smells wonderful but wilts in the heat within a few hours. If you go fresh, ask for it to be pinned in last and keep a spare string handy. For a cascade this long, ask them to anchor it to a braid or a secured section so the weight doesn't pull at your scalp.