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Updated Oct 14, 2024The Best Wedding Makeup for Blondes That Creates Harmony and Balance
Choosing makeup colors based on your hair color can result in a beautifully cohesive look.
Photo: Libby Benedict Photography,Makeup: Brian Graham Salon
Your bridal makeup helps complete your entire look, and when you opt for shades or styles that work with your features, like your hair, it helps make things feel cleaner and cohesive. For example, wedding makeup for blondes can help create a balanced look that comes across beautifully both in person and in photos. The right colors not only help to enhance blonde hair, regardless of the shade, but also prevent you from looking washed out or too bold. Your wedding makeup look should leave you feeling beautiful and confident, and opting for colors that work with your hair can help achieve that. Read on for some expert tips on bridal makeup for blondes, and be sure to check out The Knot Vendor Marketplace if you're still in search of the right makeup artist.
In this article:
21 Inspiring Wedding Makeup Looks for Blondes
In search of the perfect makeup look for your big night? Start by looking for images of brides with blonde hair, preferably a shade just like yours, to see which makeup looks you like the most. You can ask your makeup artist to use these inspiration photos so they have a better idea of what you're going for, and be sure to use them for a makeup trial. Start searching by scrolling below. If you see a look you love, click the heart in the right-hand corner to save it to your favorites while logged into your account on The Knot.
1. Neutral Gold Shimmery Makeup
Blondes of any shade can't go wrong with shimmery gold eye shadow. Champagne and gold shades play nicely with the shades in your hair and give a little bit of sparkle to your look without making it feel like you went overboard. Opt for a pink or coral lip color like this bride to pull it all together.
2. Glowy No-Makeup Makeup
Blondes who want a more natural wedding makeup look have to be careful—colors that are too light and subtle can end up washing you out. This bride shows off a great way to pull it off, with plenty of creamy pink blush and just a touch of shimmer on the eyelids.
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3. Classic Bridal Glam
A classic glam look is a go-to for many brides for a reason: It almost always looks great, no matter the season or gown style. This bride shows off a subtle smokey eye, long lashes, lots of blush and a nice splash of color on the lips.
4. Bold Colorful Makeup
Jewel-toned eye shadows are such a fun and unique choice for a bride, and go especially well with blonde hair with cool tones. Opt for a bold blue shade like this bride, and keep the rest of the look more subdued and natural for balance.
5. Romantic Dark Hues
Photographer: Michelle Alexandra Photography,Makeup: Blush Makeup Studio
While a smokey eye might sometimes feel a little harsh with platinum or light blonde hair, it works nicely with warm, dark blonde hair. Keep it a bit more subdued by using lighter grays and brown eyeliner instead of black. You can keep that theme with warm mauve blush and plum lip color.
6. Fun But Simple Colors
Photographer: Angela Lally Photography,
Makeup: Molly Makeup + Hair
Play around with color if you want to do something fun and unique. Purple hues look especially great with light or platinum blonde hair. You can balance this wedding makeup for brown eyes and blonde hair by keeping the rest of your makeup a little more natural—think light pink blush and a neutral lip color.
7. Glam Smokey Eye
Photographer: Libby Benedict Photography,Makeup: Brian Graham Salon
A more classic dark smokey eye can still work with blonde hair. The key is to balance it with softer shades of blush and lipstick to ensure the look is still bright and not too dark. This bride does that well with pink lipstick and a fresh, glowing face.
8. Glowing Gold Shimmer
Gold shades are a classic go-to for wedding makeup for blonde hair with hazel eyes. This bride uses shimmery gold and copper shades that look bright and so pretty. You can keep the look simple with natural lashes (consider brown mascara for something more subdued) and a matte pink lipstick.
9. Bright and Bold Makeup
A subdued look might be more classic for a bride, but it can be really fun and interesting to play with bold colors. If you want to keep it a little simpler, choose a bright shade for your lips, like a bright red or pink. Then go with a light pink blush and metallic eye shadow.
10. Classic Gold Glam
A mix of gold, copper and champagne creates a beautiful eye shadow look that works for so many different brides and for almost any shade of blonde. Add some dramatic lashes to make things more glam, and keep your face fresh and glowy with highlighter and blush.
11. Simple But Shimmery Neutrals
A more subdued metallic eye shadow can be achieved by using silvery eye shadow shades, as this bride did. This makeup for brown eyes works really well for brides with platinum or ash blonde hair, but as this bride shows, it also works with dark blonde hair. A glossy neutral lip color pairs nicely with this.
12. Glamorous Smokey Eye
Go for a slightly more dramatic look with black eyeliner and fluffy black lashes for stunning wedding makeup for blondes with blue eyes. Cool-toned eye shadows work well with this shade of blonde hair, as it doesn't feel too dark. Some contouring adds shape.
13. Bold Lip Color
If you want one pop of color, your lipstick shade is a great option. It's bold without feeling overwhelming, and it's easy to wipe off if you no longer want it on. This red lip shade looks great with a subtle smokey eye.
14. Dramatic Eye Makeup
More dramatic eye makeup can feel so glamorous and classic for a bride, especially if you're doing a black-tie dress code. This bride shows it off well with a small wing and long eyelashes. Use a light plum eye shadow if you have lighter or more platinum blonde hair.
15. Soft Glowing Makeup
Gold or champagne eye shadow, soft pink blush and a brighter pink lipstick all equal a bright, glowing makeup look. The right foundation—something that is more illuminating rather than matte—can give you such a pretty glow.
16. Romantic Pink Shades
With ash blonde hair, you want to look for more cool tones. A pink eye shadow is a good option, and you can keep it more subdued by going for natural wedding makeup for blondes. Add some blush and contour for shape and a neutral pink lip color.
17. Soft Colors and Shimmer
Soft and romantic, this look is such a classic bridal makeup option. Very light pink and purple hues can really make your hair and eyes pop (especially as makeup for blue eyes) and play well with strawberry blonde hair. If you're doing different colors on your eyes, keep the lips more neutral.
18. Dramatic Details
Photographer: Jessica Bordner Photography
,Makeup: High Tech Salon
A very sharp and larger wing is a dramatic touch that can make your whole makeup look super glamorous. If you really want to keep things bold, add a bright pink or red lipstick. The rest of your makeup should be kept pretty simple for this look.
19. Bright and Glowy
Photographer: Kara Petta Photography
,Makeup: Anagen 11
Go for a glowing, light makeup look that is fresh-faced and gorgeous. Keep your foundation and blush more simple, add a neutral pink lip color, and use some eyeliner for a touch of drama.
20. Bold Fun Colors
You can keep your look fun and interesting with colors like these. A bold plum lipstick is such a pretty pop of color. You can even match it with simple and subtle purple eye shadow shades without it looking too overdone.
21. Subdued Classic Glam
Photographer: ABM Wedding Photography
,Makeup: Belli Belli Salon
Keep things romantic, classic and very bridal with a look like this one. You can use subtle champagne shades on the eyes for a hint of shimmer, plenty of blush for a wide-awake look and a glossy pink lip color to complete the look.
The Best Bridal Makeup for Blondes by Shade
Don't write off the idea of pairing your makeup with your hair color—it really does make a difference. "Hair color is very important when creating a bride's makeup look," says Camila Mancipe, makeup artist and hairstylist based in Westchester, New York. "Adding the right eye shadow, lashes, bronzer, blush and lip color plays such a big role; it balances the brightness of the hair and brings harmony to the overall look."
Keep the undertones of your hair in mind as well, not just for eye shadow colors, but also for highlighter and blush. "You can then pick a highlight or shimmer for your cheekbones in the same undertone as your hair to help bounce light back from your skin," explains Kendall Swenson, Kansas City pro makeup artist and creator of Glam Bootcamp. For warmer undertones, she recommends a highlighter with golden shimmer, and for cooler undertones, she likes a highlighter with more of a silvery beige shimmer.
"Bridal makeup for blondes is really about adding depth, warmth and vitality to the skin to help brides look radiant and three-dimensional," Swenson says. "For most brides, I like to use a combination of warm and cooler colors to achieve that effect."
Blonde comes in many different shades, so we've broken down the right makeup for each shade below.
Wedding Makeup for Ash Blonde Hair
Ash blonde hair is a cool-toned blonde color, generally with undertones of blue, gray or even violet or green. It can have an almost silvery, icy look. Because this is a more muted shade, you want to be careful about washing yourself out, Mancipe warns. You can play around with jewel tones like pinks, plums and blues to help bring those shades out in your hair, whether you choose to do it with eye shadow or your lip color. Dusty roses, pinks and beiges are great for a softer and more romantic makeup look.
Wedding Makeup for Strawberry Blonde Hair
A mix of light blonde and reddish or copper tones, strawberry blonde hair is a warm, golden hue. That means you'll want to avoid cool, ashy colors in your makeup. Instead, opt for soft peach hues, shades of gold or even some shades of pink. "A timeless look will always be neutral tones such as earth shades, a touch of gold or champagne shimmer, a bronzed complexion and blush," Mancipe says.
Wedding Makeup for Dark Blonde Hair
Dark blonde hair is a mix of brown and blonde hair and can have either warm or cool undertones, but is generally a warmer shade. This makes it pretty versatile, so most colors work, but shades of gold, champagne and brown are some great go-to options. "One of my favorite looks is golden shimmer on the inner corners of the eyes, paired with deeper shadow on the outer corners and a good lash strip," Mancipe says. "This combination really opens up the eyes, which is so important on a long wedding day when you'll want to look radiant in every photo." She also recommends bronzed skin and a soft pink blush for a fresh look.
Wedding Makeup for Platinum Blonde Hair
Platinum blonde is a cool tone with a very light and bright look. If your skin is also very light, it can be easy for makeup to wash you out. Neutral shades like taupes and bronzes can work, as well as metallic gold or champagne, but make sure the colors aren't too light. A smokey eye can also work, just try not to go too dark. Mancipe advises, "Definitely false lashes to darken and open up the eyes, paired with soft, well-blended eyeliner using dark brown instead of black, since black can sometimes look too harsh." Swenson also likes subtle contouring, saying, "It can bring out your bone structure in a natural way and keep you from looking flat in pictures."
