Albert Kurniawan breaks down Ara Mina's bridal makeup look • PhilSTAR Life

Everybody can't stop talking about Ara Mina's wedding—and why not? It was indeed a dream wedding. From the enchanting princess ball gown to the fresh, glowy makeup, it was all ethereal! Albert Kurniawan, Mina's bridal makeup artist, shared how he created the look for the actress' big day.

One important rule for Kurniawan is to match the makeup with the gown and the bouquet. For Mina's wedding, the Teviant founder wanted to "stay away from the typical artista makeup."

"I don't want people to see her on that day as Ara Mina the actress. I want people to see her as Ara Mina, the beautiful bride having her beautiful dream wedding. So, I want to show to people that she’s a real person," he told PhilSTAR L!fe in an exclusive interview.

And so, to do this, Kurniawan started watching Mina's movies and interviews, "I tried to study her face and the makeup looks that she's been doing." He revealed that as a bridal makeup artist, it's very important to "understand the personality of the bride and the features of the face."

The ceremony look

Kurniawan described Mina's look as "princessy" and "regal." Mina wore a ball gown wedding dress by Leo Almodal, which was inspired by Baroque Rococo ball dress and features an "intricately handcrafted and fully crystallized" neckpiece, bodice, and sleeves.

To do this, he stuck to a color palette—peachy corals—to achieve a fresh, young, and modern look. The challenge for him, he admitted, was balancing the texture.

For the eyes, Kurniawan used a very soft, peachy shade of eyeshadow, and played with texture by using highlights on the inner corner and then below the brow bones. He also used a smudged liner to make the eye makeup look "softer and cohesive" and full lashes so that her eyes are seen from afar.

For the brows, the celebrity makeup artist decided to go strong with Mina's eyebrows. "Kasi kung everything’s soft, parang nawawala yung authority na dating. She’s a bride, she wants to look like princess, like royalty. Normally mga royalties parang always very soft, very nude yung makeup, pero may something prominent," Kurniawan explained. He added, "I changed the shape of the eyebrow a little bit."

Kurniawan also revealed that he intentionally wanted Mina's cheek color to pop. He used three blush colors and swiped them horizontally across her face.

For Mina's lips, Kurniawan used peach and coral shades and added lip gloss on top. But the secret? He shared that he used a concealer first! "A lot of people are really asking me kung anong lipstick yan. Well, I mixed the lips with concealer," Kurniawan shared. "Pinatay ko muna yung natural color of the lips, and then I put the Title Holder, yung Teviant Lip Spell color ni Pia. And then to tone it down, I mixed Lip Spell in Ley," he added.

And finally, to add more texture, Kurniawan highlighted Mina's nose and cheekbones. But instead of using cream or powder highlighters—which he's not a fan of—he dabbed face oil after spraying makeup setting spray. "So if you see the photo, iba yung glow nya sa ilong parang dewy pero hindi sya mukhang oily," he shared.

The reception look

Kurniawan changed "the mood of the cheek and lips." He mixed a cool-toned mauve lipstick with a natural rosy lip color for Mina's lips, and contoured and added a little bit of bronzer on the apple of the cheek. "Tinanggal ko ulit yung pagka rosy cheek nya sa evening. Kasi yung sa reception, her gown is more like Oscar style, body-hugging, so I want to really focus on the eyes. Pinatay ko yung color sa cheek and then pinalitan ko yung color ng lips to more on the nude moss type of color," Kurniawan revealed to PhilSTAR L!fe.

Albert's beauty tips for brides

Don't always base your pegs on the makeup artist's Instagram portfolio. Not all makeup looks will suit every face. While you can tell the makeup artist what look you have in mind, have an open mind and trust the artist. "I know some brides lagi silang i-be-base yung mga post ng makeup artists sa Instagram, pero they forget those Instagram posts are the face lang. I mean super close up," he shared. "In weddings kasi, huge venue, huge reception, so a lot of people. So, we want the bride to stand out. Dapat yung taong naka upo sa likod, yung pinaka last row or last table, makikita parin yung mukha nung bride or itsura ng bride," Kurniawan explained.
For now, do away with browns or brick colors. "Yung skin natin lahat kahit papaano ay less healthy than before the pandemic—much more yung mga bride. During the preparation, stressed sila, and their pH level hindi rin balanced, so mas mabilis na mag oxidize yung mga colors ng makeup," Kurniawan explained. He also added that browns, terracotta colors can add a "pagod" or "puyat" look especially if the lighting is wrong. Thus, he is "bringing back again those pinkish nude, peach or coral kind of fresh makeup" for his brides.
Understand that balance is everything. Some brides prefer the "no makeup makeup" look and wear an over-the-top gown. "Kung super couture yung gown, super kinang yung gown, tapos we still do 'no makeup look,' hindi sya mukhang special," he mused. "Makeup is all about balance and proportion. So, if the gown is couture, let's make your makeup a little bit soft glam, a little bit glamour, too much everything, kasi dapat cohesive eh."
Get enough sleep the night before the wedding. Probably the most important or crucial tip of them all, is to get enough rest the night before. "Kahit na gaano kagaling yung makeup artist, kung hindi enough yung tulog nya, ibig sabihin very weak yung skin, hindi conditioned yung skin to support all the makeup that will be applied the whole day. So, ang laking tulong sa aming mga makeup artist if the pride really sleeps well at night," Kurniawan said. What he does for brides who can't help not to do so is he uses ice on the face after prepping the bride's skin to lock-in moisture and wake up the skin.