What makes Elevé the perfect choice for brides?

Really, it’s so important because there are so many choices. Finding out what’s different about different teams and brands is super helpful. Our team is very different, one because we’re a non-toxic beauty team which can be very hard to find. We’re very, very proud of that. I believe we’re Austin’s only non-toxic beauty team. What makes us the PERFECT choice is the way that all of our artists work as a team. Most of us have worked together for over a decade. We work so well together, and our whole goal and our specialty is to give brides an elevated look without making them look like somebody else. We’re really good at bringing out the most beautiful self in someone, where you still look and feel like yourself but your best version. 

It’s important for a bride to consider what a team has in their kits and what they’re putting on their face. When you choose Elevé, you’re going to be getting non-toxic clean beauty. We can still customize and give you any look—not necessarily just natural. With modern clean beauty products, you can really do any look. It’s about using the right products and applying them the right way.

What are the top Elevé products you recommend for brides?

Top three: 

Number one, which I do not leave the house without, and is specifically amazing for brides is our concealer. It’s super creamy but also gives a lot of coverage, so it helps hide any imperfections. Dark circles, any redness, and blemishes completely disappear without looking heavy on the skin. It also brightens, so it’s great on camera for wedding photos. It can give a little brightness to those darker areas.

The one thing I could take to every single wedding, and use on almost everybody to create any look, is our little black dress beauty palette. It’s my go-to palette. It has 8 different shades, a mix of matte and shimmer, so I can create any look with this whether it be a natural, beautiful bridal look to a smokey, sultry date night/night on the town. It’s close right behind the concealer for the number one spot. It’s really hard to find one palette you can use on anyone to create any look, but there’s something special about this one.

Last one, I think I would say our flash dance highlighter. I love it—it creates a glow, especially on camera. It’s about putting it in the right places. Glow and dewy is so on trend right now—and glow is different than oily. It gives you a glow, and to me, it can completely change a look and take it to the next level. Our highlighter, specifically the rose gold flash dance, looks beautiful on almost every single skin tone. It’s something I can add to any look and it really makes a difference. 

In order to achieve the best possible skin for her wedding day, what steps should a bride take…

6 months in advance of the big day? Good place to start. Start with an appointment with a derm or skincare specialist and come up with a plan. Depending on what you’re wanting to treat—everyone wants flawless skin for their wedding, but people have different issues—blemishes, sun spots, fine lines—so coming up with a plan in advance is important to target problem areas. A professional can best help you determine a plan. I have an awesome specialist I go to, and I did this on my wedding day, and they helped me so much. With a lot of things you’re looking to treat, if you’re getting full treatments, a lot of times those take a lot longer to work and won’t work overnight. So planning in advance is definitely key. At this point, if you’re not doing any type of skincare routine—night cream, washing face, day cream, sunscreen—it’s time to start. Skincare takes time and consistency to work. 

3 months in advance? Be careful with adding or changing anything, stay consistent, and diligent with your skincare. Follow up with your skincare specialist and check your progress, be sure that you’re moving in the right direction you’re wanting. 

1 month in advance? Absolutely no drastic changes at this point—don’t add or change anything, especially if it’s working. Relax, destress, schedule a spa day. 

1 week in advance? One month to one week before, making sure you’re drinking a ton of water—this will dramatically help with skin being hydrated and will affect how it looks. Do a great lip treatment—exfoliate lips, and gently exfoliate your face if it’s something you’ve done before, but don’t add in a new exfoliator. Get good sleep. 

The night before? Gently exfoliate—I’ve seen a lot of brides doing eye masks, and have had really good results with them to help with puffiness and dark circles—I’m all about it. And get good sleep! And drink a TON of water, even though it’s your rehearsal dinner. 

**If you’re completely new to a skincare routine, start with our skincare set: Boost, Restore and Defend set. It’s an awesome starter package for people new to skincare who are cleaning up their routine. Comes with organic beauty oil, which benefits every skin type, tone, gender—even your future husband can use it. Beauty oil can be used in the morning and night. Also comes with a cleansing treatment. Rather than just a regular cleanser, which can strip your skin of moisture—yes, it’s cleaning your skin, but it can take the good stuff away too—this adds good stuff back in. Keeping your face clean and allowing it to breathe and restore throughout the night is important. Also comes with a moisturizing sunscreen. Wash your face, put on your beauty oil, and put on your sunscreen and you’re good to go. Important not to be overwhelming and be realistic. There are so many benefits, I can’t even begin to put them into words. 

In addition to topical products, are there any facials or procedures you recommend? (Feel free to include the names of local Austin providers!) One of my favorite things I’ve done recently, and it would need to be done WELL in advance, in addition to skincare, if you’re looking to have something a little more intense, I love the HALO treatment. I had it done at Piazza Plastic Surgery Center—it’s like an overhaul for your face. A really intense laser treatment that requires a week of down time where you don’t want to be seen in public. Takes away fine lines, sun spots, smoothes skin, helps with any scarring or acne—makes a huge difference. You can schedule anywhere from 1 to 3 treatments depending on what issues you’re addressing.  

How can a bride make sure that her wedding makeup lasts, and looks amazing on camera?

I absolutely recommend doing a trial run. That is the best way—you may think you want a certain look, but when you give it a test run you may find that you’re actually wanting something different…a little more or less. See what it looks like on your wedding day and see what it looks like in photos. That will lessen your stress. The day of, just make sure that your skin is prepped, you’re super hydrated, not stressed, and your inner glow will come out on camera. 

**What makes Elevé different than other brands, including other natural lines, is that we’re an indie beauty brand—independently owned. We have the say in every product we create, every formulation, every ingredient used. That makes us different from a huge brand that’s under the control of a big corporation. We don’t have that. Everything is made small-batch. We don’t have products that are sitting on the shelves for years.