A packed wedding week can mean getting ready, taking your makeup off and doing it all over again the next day. Through all of that, Luthra believes good prep is what keeps your base looking its best. “Skin prep changes how everything you put on top looks,” she says. Bobbi Brown’s Vitamin Enriched Face Base earns her recommendation for its ability to hydrate and leave skin feeling comfortable and plump, while doubling up as a smooth base for makeup. It’s a useful one-step prep product for the festivities and an easy staple to keep using afterwards.

Eye creams are easy to dismiss—the category is crowded with products that promise a great deal and deliver very little. But this one is worth taking seriously. The skin around the eye is thinner than anywhere else on the face, which means TFC8’s delivery mechanism has less distance to travel and gets to work relatively fast. Over time, it promises to soften fine lines, settle puffiness and reduce dark circles. The texture is substantial enough to feel nourishing but light enough to not migrate or cause milia, which is a harder balance to strike than it sounds. For anyone who has cycled through eye creams without conviction, this is the one that tends to end the search.

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Best for: fine lines, puffiness, dark circles

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Late nights and early mornings are almost inevitable during wedding festivities and, as Luthra points out, “the eye area is often the first place where that starts showing.” Enter Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Eye Cream, a nourishing pick that keeps the under-eye area hydrated when sleep is in short supply. There’s a makeup benefit too: well-hydrated under-eyes can help concealer sit better, with less of the dryness or creasing you might otherwise notice through a long day.

Your skin clocks in for the night shift with the Collagen Night Wrapping Mask, a rich, leave-on treatment that works while you sleep. It locks in moisture, plumps fine lines and leaves your skin tone with a barely-there dewiness that no filter can replicate. Seal it in before bed, wake up glowing, repeat indefinitely.

Not every night during wedding week needs an elaborate skincare routine. On particularly hectic days, Luthra suggests turning to an overnight treatment that can do the heavy lifting while you sleep. The medicube Collagen Night Wrapping Mask fits the brief, offering an extra dose of TLC when skin needs it. For Luthra, the appeal lies in having “an easy way of giving the skin that rested, replenished look without adding another complicated step to the routine”, especially when celebrations are lined up back-to-back.

Some wedding events call for makeup that needs to hold its own for hours. For those days, Luthra favours a primer that serves a practical purpose. Prada Refine Blurring Extending Primer is her pick for areas with texture, visible pores or where makeup has a tendency to move. By helping smooth the look of skin and extend makeup wear, it gives your base a little extra support through “long ceremonies, photographs, dancing and hours of wear”. In other words, this is less about adding another product to your routine and more about making the makeup you already have work harder.

For a softer, more luminous approach to prep, Luthra turns to YSL Touche Éclat Blur Primer. “I love this for a slightly different reason,” she says, distinguishing it from a more practical, longevity-focused primer. This one is about creating a smooth, luminous-looking canvas while allowing the natural character of your skin to come through. Reach for it when you want “a soft glow coming through rather than looking overly matte or heavily primed”, particularly for daytime functions or softer bridal looks.

The answer to midday shine isn’t always another layer of foundation or concealer. In fact, Luthra calls Laura Mercier’s Translucent Loose Setting Powder “probably one of the most useful products to own during your wedding festivities”. A light dusting through the T-zone or wherever shine starts to appear can help freshen up your makeup without piling on more base. Her advice is simple: use very little and only where you need it. Small enough to play a supporting role, it could end up being one of the hardest-working products in your bridal kit.

Lip colour is usually one of the first things to fade between meals, drinks and celebrations, which is why Luthra considers a good neutral liner a trousseau essential. M.A.C’s Soar, with its versatile pinky-neutral tone, can work across plenty of nude and rose lip combinations. More importantly, it makes refreshing your look relatively effortless. As Luthra explains, “Even if your lipstick fades after eating or drinking, defining the lips again immediately makes the whole face look more put together.” A quick outline and you’re ready to move on to the next event.

If there was ever a lipstick that felt like a little luxury in your makeup bag, this would be it. Yves Saint Laurent's Loveshine Candy Glaze combines the shine of a gloss, the nourishment of a lip balm and the colour of a lipstick in one beautifully packaged formula. Hyaluronic acid helps keep lips feeling plump and hydrated, while the glossy finish creates a smooth, glass-like effect that catches the light without feeling sticky. It's indulgent, comfortable and effortlessly elegant—the kind of lipstick that makes even the simplest makeup look feel elevated.

For softer daytime functions, Luthra recommends keeping a comfortable, glossy lip in your trousseau. YSL Loveshine Candy Glaze fills that spot, giving you a balmy option that works particularly well when you want a more relaxed lip look. Pair it with M.A.C Soar for added definition and an easy combination to reach for between ceremonies, lunches and other daytime celebrations.  

For longer events, Luthra suggests balancing your lip wardrobe with a formula that doesn’t call for constant touch-ups. Huda Beauty Liquid Matte Mousse is her pick for those moments, making it a practical counterpart to a softer, glossier daytime lip. Together, the two give you what Luthra considers “far more versatility across the wedding than buying five similar lipsticks”, without overloading your trousseau with options that serve the same purpose.