Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, February 9, 1991 TAG: 9102090070
SECTION: YOUR WEDDING PAGE: W-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
As a matter of fact, many brides do this and often give their bridesmaids one of the above pamperings as a present.
Good Looks, a salon of body care, caters to the bridal market, often starting off the wedding day by having breakfast brought in. It also has a makeup artist who can do an entire bridal parties' makeup, either in the salon or on location, co-owner Donna Woodson said.
"In the bigger cities, it's been going on for years," Meg Johnson, Good Looks' makeup person, said. "A lot of women aren't very adept, and need more makeup for pictures."
She said she sits down and talks with clients first, discussing their skin routine and how they feel comfortable looking. Then she does their makeup, explaining the shape of their eyes, for instance, and how makeup could best be worn.
If pictures are being taken before the wedding, Johnson often goes to the home to make up the entire party.
For an entire day of beauty - the manicure, pedicure, facial, massage, makeup and light lunch - the price is $100, and the routine lasts 4 1/2 to five hours, according to Woodson.
Mary Boothe, owner of Classic Designers, offers the same service, along with a hair salon.
"The brides are wanting to be pampered before the wedding to relieve stress. A lot want facials and makeovers. Before the wedding, they'll come in with the hairpiece (veil, for instance) and have their hair done several ways to see which would look best."
Boothe said that facials and body wraps are wonderful stress relievers. In a body wrap, minerals are dissolved in water and bandages soaked in this 145-degree solution are then wrapped around you.
"It opens your pores and dissolves toxins and cellulite, and with this you lose inches."
This could be a bridal dream-come-true.
"We had one girl that over a period of three weeks lost a total of 30 inches. It tightens and tones your skin."
If gliding up to the alter is your wish, consider the total body massage, given by Classic Designers' myotherapist. "It's done by muscle group, and puts you right to sleep. Our salon is trended toward relaxation."
Boothe said that they also concentrate on makeovers, and for this they go by the shape of the face, plus what a woman likes. By May or June, she said that they will probably have a makeup artist available to send to wedding parties.
Her pedicures involve more massaging. "You sit in a chair with a back massager while your feet rest in a whirlpool."
For further extremity ecstasy, a paraffin wax treatment gives a deep moisturizing. This entails wax and thermagloves and collagen lotion and peach oil.
And for honeymoon preparedness, there's Boothe's high-pressure tanning bed, which she says is less drying to the skin and causes less wrinkling.
One argument for spending just a little more money, when so much is being spent anyway, is to make sure it's being spent right. Colors & You boutique's co-owner Shirley Hammond said that pre-wedding pampering should start several months before the wedding, when the bride starts making arrangements such as picking out her wedding gown and the bridesmaids' dresses.
Disasters could be averted.
"For the bridal party, it's nice to know the safe colors that everyone can wear." And for the bride, a color analysis can help her pick the color of her gown, whether it should be white or ivory or candlewhite, depending on skin tones, hair and eyes.
Although Colors & You does not carry traditional bridal gowns, it does have honeymoon wear and special-occasion dresses that suit second weddings and mothers-of-the-bride. A total analysis - color and body - can direct brides toward the correct makeup, the right colors and styles of clothes, as well as suggest how they should wear their hair.
"We have the four-seasonal concept, but within each season each is individual according to a person's coloring," said Hammond. The first step is to determine your "name." Hammond's, for instance, is Contrasting Striking Winter. The Contrasting directs her toward the suggested range of colors for cheeks and lips; the Striking for the eyes; the Winter signifies the general grouping and, in addition, aids in clothes color selection.
"We try to dispel a lot of myths of color analysis . . . we don't want customers to throw away clothes. We're letting you make decisions and telling you what looks the best on you."
She said they take into consideration a client's lifestyle, honeymoon plans and whether, when doing the makeup, it is for wedding pictures, the wedding itself, or everyday. The makeover analysis takes about 1 1/2 to two hours and costs $65.
The second phase - the comprehensive Signia analysis, for $100, or the Modified for $25 - entails an analysis of body type, plus suggestions on hair style and clothes. The shape of the cheeks, nose, lips, eyes, hands and total body structure is evaluated, and then, through computer analysis, the total image is given a name.
There are six categories: Dramatic, Town & Country, Classic, Romantic, Natural and Delicate.
For a bride's gown, considerations, such as the type of fabric (shiny, stiff, soft, flowing), the color and the line of the dress are important.
For the bridesmaids' dresses, there are some safe colors to use, according to Hammond. These are colors such as teal and the teal family - turquoise, for instance - or pinks, which are more advisable than roses.
"Most customers have a pretty good idea of what looks good. Most know some things, but just about 100 percent don't know some of the colors that look good on them. This analysis gives the person more self-confidence." One of the objects is to teach clients - brides - how to apply their own makeup and choose their own clothes.
"We're experts in body line and proportion," Hammond said, adding that Colors & You can, and does, recommend hairstylists, but the boutique does not have experts in that field.
Hammond suggests picking out honeymoon clothes that are wrinkle-resistant, such as cotton knits, and pieces that work well together.
"We do a wardrobing class and show how to make 30-some outfits out of eight different pieces."
The trick is to choose good, basic pieces - for instance, a navy cotton knit skirt, blazer and pants - and vary it with tops and tee shirts and accessories.
In the long run, these pre-wedding indulgences may pay off.
by CNB