Do Your Own Nigerian Bridal Makeup: 8 Tips from an Expert MUA

Written by: Precious Umeasalugo

When it comes to Nigerian weddings, the word of the day is detail. The clothes are always intricately beaded, the decorations are exquisitely over-the-top, and the music moves you like nothing else. Like the music and the clothes, the detail with which Nigerian weddings are planned extends to the bride's makeup, a technique that has been a staple in the country's nuptial events for years. 

It's hard to define what makes Nigerian bridal makeup instantly recognizable as like many other trends and techniques, it has undergone a few phases of its own. For some, Nigerian bridal makeup for traditional ceremonies is colourful and full-glam, with bright eyeshadow looks and a bold lip. However, that definition has recently shifted to an almost clean girl glam look, with feathered brows, more blush, and a greater emphasis on a skin-like finish, especially for white weddings. But the fundamentals are the same: detailed work that focuses on making the bride the star of the show. 

If you’re trying to get the snatched look for your big day, or as a guest at a wedding, we’ve got some trusted tips on achieving the best Nigerian bridal look from Oluwatosin Abejide, founder of Rheevo Makeup and an experienced professional bridal makeup artist.

Like any other makeup technique, Nigerian bridal makeup begins with the base. While others may focus on colourful add-ons like lips and eyeshadow, Abejide says you should focus on your skin work. 

"It all begins with skin prep. You want your makeup to look radiant without making your skin feel heavy. This is usually my focus, so the kind of foundation you use depends on that", she states.

To prep the skin, you need to moisturize and prime your skin with intention.

"Like a house, painters use a primer to prepare the wall for the paint that'll come on it. This analogy also explains how your skin might not be the best texture for makeup. Sometimes your pores may be too large, or your skin could be too dry or oily," Abejide explains. 

It is easy to pick up a mattifying primer and call it a day, but Abejide recommends priming according to your skin’s needs and problem areas only.

"I like to use a hydrating primer to add moisture to the skin. I also recommend using a hydrating under-eye cream to make your eye bags less visible and applying lip balm to prime your lips,” she explains.

“If you notice you have large pores, use a pore minimizer or a blurring primer to fill them in. If you have combination skin, you could use a toner to control oil and then apply a mattifying primer only in those oily areas".

Nigerian bridal makeup is full-glam, so foundation is indispensable to the look. 

"As human beings, our faces are not coloured uniformly. For some people, the undereye could be darker, the top of the lip could be darker and some people have sideburns. Foundation evens your skin tone, giving the rest of your makeup a great base,” Abejide explains.

However, choosing a foundation can be pretty tricky if you do not know what to look out for. Abejide simplifies your options to four things: climate, coverage, the shade match, and your undertone. 

Factor in the climate

"If you're in a cooler climate, you can not pick the same foundations as someone in hotter weather. For brides in Nigeria, you want to choose a foundation that can withstand the heat and not melt," Abejide says.

Consider the coverage you will need

While medium to full-coverage foundations are the go-to for Nigerian bridal makeup, you can still go sheer. 

"It really depends on what you like. I know the whole soft girl sheer coverage movement is going on, but liking full coverage is nothing to be ashamed of," Abejide says. 

Focus on your shade match and undertone

For your big day, Abejide suggests sticking with the traditional approach. Forget the online shade quizzes and shade finder apps and play it safe - book an appointment, go into the store and get this tested in person so you can see what the foundation really looks like on you.  

 "The best way to get your shade match is to go into a store and have them test the shade along your jawline and neck. Also, pay attention to your undertone as a foundation that looks good on a person with a neutral undertone will not look good on someone with a warm undertone, even if they have the same skin tone," she adds.

Concealer is a no-skip in Nigerian bridal makeup. But before you use it, make sure to perfect your makeup by colour-correcting first. 

"Colour correcting is such an interesting concept, as it uses opposite colours on the colour wheel to cancel out imperfections like redness or greyness in the skin. If you're light-skinned with red bruises, the foundation may be able to cover it up. But to avoid any loopholes in the pictures on the wedding day, colour correct with some green on those parts," Abejide advises.

“In Nigeria,  this step is optional as many brides do not mainly experience so much redness due to our melanin. But colour correction is still an excellent option for a flawless look.”

If you've been on Pinterest searching for Nigerian bridal makeup inspo, you know the eyes are almost always the star of the show. And, like the rest of your face, your lids must be primed before anything goes on them.

"Use a primer that's not too oily and pat it in gently on the lids as the eyes are very sensitive. It also helps to tap the eyeshadow gently onto the lids to avoid lines. Apply and slowly build the colours to the intensity you want. You don't have to take it all from the pan. Also, invest in quality eyeshadow pigments, as they'll go a long way to ensure your eyeshadow looks great," Abejide says.

Abejide says to never skip the lashes for a flawless Nigerian bridal look. 

"Lashes elevate your eyes. They make you look doll-like, and they 'carry' the makeup. I constantly beg people to wear lashes, even the shortest ones. It does something beautiful to the eyes."

While blush is now widely used in today's makeup techniques, it wasn't always that way in the Nigerian bridal scene. 

"When I first started, we weren't using blush and bronzer in Nigerian bridal makeup. It was like caucasian to blush so it didn't make sense at the time to use blush on Nigerian brides. Now, who cares if you blush naturally or not; it looks really good! There are so many amazing shades: peach, maroon, and orange. They help warm up the skin and put everything together," Abejide says.

At The Beautiful Societies, we love supporting POC content creators and so we rounded up our favourite Nigerian bridal makeup tutorials online.

In general, Oshodi’s YouTube channel is an educational hub for Nigerian bridal looks but we found this tutorial special because it focused on affordability and local products so stood out from the rest.

Ebitonmo is a professional makeup artist based in Lagos, Nigeria and this excellent video shares the actual products she used during the tutorial and the ends with a gele styling tutorial from Olajide Ifeoluwa, a specialist Gele stylist based in Lagos.

Highlighting ensures the light catches onto your skin at the right angles, such as the brow bone, nose, and cupid's bow. However, for Abejide and many other bridal makeup artists, highlighting the face is no longer essential. 

"I really do not highlight the face. Instead, I highlight surrounding features like the neck, collarbone and ears to ensure the makeup gets to those areas".

As for setting your makeup, Abejide recommends getting both setting and fixing sprays to lock the look in. 

"The setting spray is like a binder and makes everything blend better. The fixing spray, however, fixes the look in place. While spraying them on, try to keep your face as relaxed as possible and then spray evenly so you do not fix the wrinkles in place".

With these tips, you're well on your way to doing your own Nigerian bridal makeup yourself.