The scene, from a Toronto wedding group today: a bride posted in a panic. Her wedding is tomorrow, and one of her eyes is bloodshot red after getting lash extensions. She was asking strangers on the internet what to do, the afternoon before her wedding day.
Every makeup artist reading that post said the same thing: nothing new in the final week. Here is the list.
The one that started this post. Lash adhesive can irritate eyes or trigger an allergic reaction, and you will not know you are sensitive until the lashes are on. If you want extensions for the wedding, get your first set six weeks out and a fill the week of. What you are wearing on the day should be a repeat, not an experiment.
Facials, chemical peels, retinoids, that serum your friend swears by: all of them can cause breakouts, redness, or purging in the first days. Skin needs two to four weeks to show you how it really feels about something new. The week before the wedding, your routine should be boring on purpose.
Spray tans are wonderful when they work and unforgettable when they do not. Orange tones, streaks, uneven fade on your hands: all fixable with a trial, all disastrous without one. Trial it a month out, note the shade and timing, then repeat the exact formula the week of.
The dramatic chop, the big color correction, bangs for the first time since 2019. Hair grows back, but not by Saturday. Any cut or color should happen at least three weeks before the wedding, with a small tidy-up in the final week if needed. Your hair trial should be with the exact style you will wear, on hair that already looks like your wedding hair.
Cutting calories hard or starting new supplements in the final week is how you get low energy, bloating, headaches, or a stomach that objects on the day. You want to feel good in photos, and feeling good comes from being fed, hydrated, and rested. Eat normally. This is not the week to meet a number.
Whitening strips and in-office treatments commonly cause tooth sensitivity for a day or two. Mild and temporary, unless the day it happens is the day you are smiling for eight hours straight. If you want a brighter smile, start two to three weeks out so any sensitivity is long gone.
The intense bootcamp, the first hot yoga class, the "let me just try" personal training session. Soreness peaks 24 to 48 hours later, which lands exactly on wedding day. Keep moving, but keep it to workouts your body already knows.
Nothing new in the final seven days. Everything on your body for the wedding should be something you have already done, already reacted to (or not), and already know you like. Trials exist for exactly this reason: lash trial, hair trial, makeup trial, spray tan trial, all weeks before, all repeated on the day.
The bride with the bloodshot eye will probably be fine, and her wedding will be beautiful. But she spent her wedding eve panicking in a Facebook group, and that part was optional.