Your wedding is a week away and you’ve completely neglected your skin for the last three months. Among all the stress and the hassle of organising the wedding of your dreams, we can’t really blame you for forgetting to take care of your face, but that doesn’t mean we’ll let you get away with it all.

It’s common knowledge that for your makeup to look as flawless as possible, you first need skin that is ready to handle it all. If you’ve got acne, dry skin, large pores, or anything in between, it’s likely that lathering on a full face of makeup isn’t going to make them vanish as you’d hope. Trust us, we’ve all been there.

Unfortunately, if you have left your skin prep to the very last minute, you can’t really make any drastic changes. Don’t even think of doing any aggressive treatments this late into the game. Your skin needs time to heal, and you just don’t have that sort of luxury anymore. Luckily for you though, we do have a few tips and tricks up our selves that might help you deal with some of the more minor problems, so that you can look your best for your big day.

The Week Before

In the week leading up to your wedding, there are a few things you can do to help prep your skin. First things first, get familiar with a good exfoliator. You should be doing this roughly twice a week, and now is as good a time to start as any. Exfoliating your skin gets rid of any dead skin cells and gives you a smoother complexion that’ll help your makeup apply much better. Try and find a gentle exfoliant as opposed to some of the much harsher products. You’ll want to stay away from scrubs with all of those little beads in them, as they can actually cause micro-tears in the skin, which isn’t great in the long-term.

Next, try using a clay mask. Clay masks are great in pulling out all of the gunk up to the surface of your skin, which, granted, doesn’t sound like a very good idea, but works well as long as your using it at least three days before your big day. If you’ve got any pimples you can feel coming, using a mask will help it heal much faster and you’ll be rid of the damned thing before you know it.

You should also make sure you’re building up as much hydration as possible. In this last week or so, don’t skip out on the moisturises. Use it both day and night for a hydrated skin.

If you’ve used certain serums or essences before, use them as well, but definitely, do not try out any new products during this time. You don’t know how your skin will react and you don’t want any mishaps.

The Night Before

Hello, sheet masks! Look, we know there are many people who argue it’s benefits, but the way we see it, face masks give great last-minute hydration, they feel good, and they make us feel like an A-lister getting ready to walk the Oscars’ red carpet. We love sheet masks, and you can’t lose much when using them.

If you have the time, use a face massaging tool. You can go with either a jade roller or the Nurse Jamie massaging device. The tools help to increase the amount of product seeping into your skin and plumps up your skin to give you that bridal glow.

Finally, if you notice any last minute pimples pop up, do not, under any circumstance, pop that little sucker. Instead, invest in some pimple patches. Leave them on overnight and they’ll work to draw out the gunk and hopefully reduce the size of your pimple.

On The Day

Ok, ok, it’s the morning of and you’re a world of emotions. The excitement, the anticipation, the nerves! It can all be a little overwhelming, so find time in the morning to just relax and breathe. Use your face massaging tool again to help wake you up, and if you can’t be bothered for a full sheet mask, then honey, bring out the under eye mask.

We’d totally understand if you weren’t able to catch much sleep, so expect some dark circles or puffy eyes. Using a good under eye mask will work wonders and help give you a minute to just chill.

Written by Hanan Merheb

Cover photo by: @elinnesutt