Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are coming up on their one-year anniversary on May 19, and the makeup artist behind the Duchess of Sussex’s breathtaking subtle wedding look is finally spilling details about the big day. Daniel Martin opened up about working with his longtime friend and client to create what is now one of the most iconic makeup looks of all time during a Net-a-Porter event in London on Thursday, April 4, and we now know the secret behind her otherworldly glow.
“Meg actually saw [celebrity facialist] Sarah Chapman the day before [her wedding], so she had this incredible facial,” he explained. “A lot of my work is actually dependent on the esthetician — whether that’s backstage at fashion week or in real life — so knowing that she was having this time with Sarah made me think, ‘OK, great. I don’t have to worry about anything.’”
Admitting that he didn’t actually have a chance to do any sort of trial before the big day (the royal-to-be was likely busy with, you know, trying to plan the wedding of the century), he did spend a lot of time thinking about what kind of look could hold up to such a jam-packed day.
“I did have to think about her face in the car, in the church, outside the church and outside again, along with the fact the wedding was being televised and that she’d be photographed,” he said. “So I knew I couldn’t put too much on her skin because in that time you’d see a transition – and you do see it in the photographs – when she’s in the car with her mother it looks darker and heavier, but in the church it’s much brighter.”
Despite the daunting task at hand, Martin credited the former Suits actress’ fab pre-wedding facial and naturally “incredible skin” for giving him some peace of mind.
“I didn’t have time to see her [before the wedding], so knowing she would be in good hands and have her skin taken care of meant my work was pretty much done,” he said. “She does have incredible skin so I knew it would be easy, but thinking about the light, where you’re going and how it’s going to hit your make-up is really important. If you keep your skin looking like skin, people won’t notice it and instead they’ll notice you – and that’s what everybody wants.”
He remained tight lipped about the exact products he used to create her luminous skin, pretty pink lip and subtly flushed cheek, but the Dior and Honest Beauty ambassador explained finding formulas that would work well together was key.
“A lot of people don’t realize that water works well with water, so I like to use water-based moisturizers followed by water-based foundations, especially for long-wear,” he shared. “Because what happens is any kind of oil will interrupt the synergy, meaning makeup kind of just disappears over time. So if I’m getting somebody ready, I will use water-based moisturizers and serums so the compatibility of foundations is locked down.”
So while we may not all be #blessed with a pros like Chapman and Martin on our big day, at least we now know how to channel Duchess Meghan’s game-changing less-is-more wedding beauty look.
