Make-up Maven Mickey Contractor Advises Brides To Go Easy On The Warpaint For Their Big Day

It is rumoured that make-up artists used to sneak their assistants in to the sets when Mickey Contractor would work his trademark smoky eye, flawless complexion and nude lips on actors like Kajol, Rani Mukerji and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. He knows the Indian skin tone inside out and became MAC’s first make-up artist to bring out a signature line. Recently his second collection was launched and lapped up by make-up lovers worldwide.

Best known for his discreet on-screen brides and being the off-screen chosen one of the stars on their D-Days, Contractor states that brides don’t always have to look like “mithai ka dabbas or Christmas trees”. “You are wearing tons of jewellery and a heavily embroidered ensemble, why do you need more bling on the face?” he questions. “You don’t wear so much sparkle on a day-to-day basis, so why would you want to wear that and look like an alien on your big day?”

The trick to get it right is all about the age-old rule of focusing on one feature at a time. Heavy eyes, shining cheeks and glossy lips, all at once, are disastrous. Unfortunately for the bride and her make-up artist there are a lot of opinions floating around on that day. “There is the bride’s vision, her mother’s take, inputs from the mother-in-law and then there are 100 friends hovering around who have different views. It works to look at references and keep photographs ready for inspiration. I’m not asking you to copy it, though there’s no harm in copying also,” he quips.

Quiz him on the ‘Insta-wedding’ trend where hashtags are as important as the guest lists, and he laughs about the omnipresence of new-age photographers. “I understand they want a memory of the bride getting dressed but some shots in-between make-up are plain ugly. ” However, he is happy to meet the current crop of brides who want it subtle. “They say no to even foundation and are fine with just some concealer. While a couple of years ago, every bride wanted a smoky eye, now they don’t mind wearing lighter eye make-up with voluminous lashes.” But the era of the bridezilla is not yet over. “Some insist that they want this heavy highlighter, which they have seen, say, on the internet. Sometimes you just bow down and say, ‘If this is what you want, this is what you will get.’”