Bridal beauty: tips and tricks to help you get hitched without a hitch.

It's your special day, and you want to look your best. But (with seemingly a million different makeup and beauty products out there promising everything from fuller lips to thinner hips, how's a girl to choose? We went to the experts, Mississippi makeup artists Amy Head and Adrienne Moncrief, to cut through the hype and find out how a bride can bring out her natural beauty. Many of these tips would also be great for a woman preparing for any special occasion.

Head, who runs a makeup studio in Ridgeland, told us the most important concept for brides to remember is to look like themselves. "I like a natural look," she says. As for color selection, Head says a lot of colors that look good on a bride can be used every day; however, the technique used in applying those colors may be different for the wedding, she says.

Head suggests highlighting certain areas of the face for a touch of extra sparkle. "Your face should glisten, your lips should glisten, in order to give a more luminous look than every day," she says. To give skin a healthy glow, Head recommends her Candle Glow liquid highlighter ($16), which can be applied under the brow and along the cheekbones; it can also be mixed with foundation to create a pearly look.

The key areas to emphasize with wedding-day makeup are the brow line, top lash line, and mouth, Head says. "Especially for the purposes of photography, those areas need to not be weak," she says.

For emphasizing the brow bone, Head's Eye Shimmer ($16), a unique loose eyeshadow, comes in five subtly sparkling colors. Her Lip Sparklettes ($14), also in five shades, combine a non-sticky gloss with a touch of glimmer and a sweet scent for a glamorous look that Head says is beautiful "no matter what your coloring is."

Moncrief, a makeup and fashion consultant in Bay St. Louis, says her years of experience making up brides has taught her a few tricks for looking good on the big day:

* Avoid trendy lipstick and eyeshadow colors. "Twenty years from now, when you look at your photos, you don't want to think, 'Why did I wear burgundy lipstick?"' Moncrief says.

* It's okay to cry, but avoid that raccoon-eyed look by using waterproof mascara. "Although I don't normally recommend it for every day, this is the day to use it," Moncrief says.

* Put your maid of honor to work. "Be sure she has a compact and a lipstick for touch-ups," Moncrief says. "That is her job."

* If you plan to use a professional makeup artist, have a trial run and take a few Polaroids to see if you like the way you look.

Moncrief's book Mascara She Wrote ($20) hits on all the big beauty issues every woman wants to learn about--for her wedding day and beyond. Moncrief talks frankly and often humorously about topics from makeup colors and wardrobe to body image and aging. And all that information is squeezed into a package small enough to carry in your purse.

To get a professionally airbrushed look in all your photographs--without the studio touch-ups--we discovered a new kind of makeup that may be the answer. Era Face sprayon foundation by Classified Cosmetics ($55) gives skin a nearly flawless appearance through its surprisingly simple application process. Developed by a celebrity makeup artist, it comes in 10 shades; all are water-resistant and oil-free. Company execs suggest using it on face and body to cover moles, scars, tattoos, veins, and stretchmarks; the wear-resistant formula won't rub off on clothes. For brides facing a day full of picture-taking, kisses, and greetings from greataunts, this could just be the ultimate secret weapon.

Mascara She Wrote is available at Barnes & Noble. Borders, Lemuria, Bookends, and other independent bookstores and gift shops; or call 866/625-3874. For more tips from Adrienne, see her website at www.adriennescosmetics.com.

Amy Head products are available at Amy Head Studio, 175 Ridgeland Plaza, Ridgeland; 601/853-3098; www.amyhead.com.

Era Face spray-on foundation is available exclusively at Maison Weiss, Highland Village, Jackson; 601/981-4621.