"Glowing." "A natural beauty."

That's how every bride wants to be described as she walks down the aisle. Makeup is an important consideration, but like with any paint-job, unless you do the foundation work first, the end result might not be what you had dreamed of.

"Without good skin care, it doesn't matter what you do for makeup," said Carie Muirhead, Mary Kay independent sales director. Muirhead calls it "the chocolate cake theory" - it doesn't matter how pretty the frosting looks if what's inside isn't of good quality.

It's never too early to start a good skin care regimen, she said. If you've set your wedding date, taking care of that face of yours should be high on your list of priorities. That way, problem skin has plenty of time to be treated and cleared up - you'll have time to consult a dermatologist if you suffer from skin problems that are serious enough to warrant medical treatment - and faces that have spent more time in the wind and rain than being pampered with beauty products have time to soften up and acquire the desired radiance.

Make a consultation appointment with a beauty consultant - either one who can come to your home, like a Mary Kay or Avon representative, or one who works out of a salon. He or she will be able to look at your skin type and recommend the most flattering and effective products for your particular situation. And, we repeat, do it well in advance.

If you are planning on using a salon's services, it's a good idea to make a pre-wedding appointment at least three months before the wedding, to make plans for hair design, makeup and skin treatments. To the appointment, you should bring the veil, if any, that you intend to wear (or picture of it), a picture or sketch of the gown, showing its neckline in front and back, as well as the accessories you're planning on wearing. Also, before you come in, think through what your expectations are of the wedding day, how formal it's going to be, and what you think you would feel comfortable with. And - not the least important part - have a date set so the salon can prepare and have enough hair and makeup designers on hand that day.

There are different types of products designed for different ages, skin types and schedules. The five steps of skin care - Cleansing, Exfoliating, Freshening, Moisturizing and Protecting - should all be covered, but for the busy woman, there are products that combine two or even three of the steps into one. For women who suffer from hormone-related monthly breakouts, starting a consistent preventative treatment well ahead of time can be the solution, said Muirhead.

One important consideration for a bride, said Muirhead, is what kind of foundation she chooses.

"I would consider a transfer-resistant foundation, like the Mary Kay TimeWise foundation." (If there was a book called "MakeUp for Idiots," that would translate into "foundation that stays on your face and doesn't rub off on your gown when you put it on OR on your relatives clothes when you hug them.")

When applied correctly, cosmetics can literally transform a face. Concealer can be used to "reshape" a face or tone down redness, and the right foundation will give your face an even, radiant look. Various techniques of applying eye shadow and eyeliner can make eyes look bigger or smaller, depending on what you need. It's like a little bit of magic.Ideally, the bride should learn how to apply the makeup herself (whether or not she does it on her wedding day) to make sure she can repeat the magic throughout the honeymoon - or for however long she wants to!

The bride-to-be should pick a color scheme and an intensity of makeup that she's comfortable with. Your wedding day is one day when the old Billy Crystal adage "it's better to LOOK mahvellous than to FEEL mahvellous" doesn't apply: You want to do BOTH. You want to feel comfortable AND look gorgeous. Remember that sunlight as well as a photographer's flash will wash out your normal colors, so using a little extra to play up the lips and eyes might be a good idea.

"Most people want natural beauty - something that enhances their eyes, their skin; something that's customized to making the bride absolutely beautiful," said Jo Anne Bell-Graves, owner of Cuts Online.

While she said her salon is happy to work with whatever the bride wants, "we try to guide toward natural beauty. If you have a wedding that is all out avantgarde, we have those colors too. We do anything." But, she said, choosing a very up-to-date look dates the person.

"When they look at their wedding photos 20 years from now, they'll say Ôoh, that's when we wore purple eyeshadow'.

Even the "natural woman" who doesn't ordinarily wear makeup might want to consider it for her wedding, said Muirhead.

"Natural colors will help enhance your features," she said. "The right colors will make you glow without looking like make-up." Muirhead suggests giving the attendants a makeup consultation and products as a wedding favor. Make sure they have a swatch of their dress with them, for a look that ties makeup colors together with theme colors. Ideally, for a really nice look, all attendants would meet with the same beauty consultant.

"It's really cool when you can get the colors to coordinate," she said. Even if your attendants have different hair- and skintone, different shades of the same color will make for an awesome, unified look.

And if you choose to go with an independent beauty consultant like a Mary Kay representative, you can do it in the relaxing environment of home. If "home" and "relaxing" don't really sound like two words that belong in the same sentence right before your wedding day, consider spending a relaxing day in a salon instead. A pre-wedding appointment consultation at Cuts Online includes a skin care evaluation, a pre-hair design appointment, and a makeup consultation. At this point, you can also choose what else you want to include in the wedding day preparations, as well as what you want to do before the actual wedding day.

Other things to think of before the consultation is how many in the wedding party will need hair and makeup appointments on the wedding day, what kind of flowers are in hair pieces, corsages, etc, and what colorscheme the attendants' dresses are.

For a wedding of any size, a salon/spa reservation should be done at least six months in advance, to make sure the hair designer and makeup artist you want to work with is available. Make sure you get a clear written contract that states that a certain number of hair designers and makeup artists will be available for your wedding preparations - you want to make sure the salon is properly staffed and will provide the service you expect. Attendants and bride alike need time to get used to putting on their makeup, if they choose to do it themselves rather than have a makeup artist at a salon do their makeup.

"They need to practice - especially if they're doing something they're not used to, like eyeliner," suggests Muirhead.

Starting the makeup planning far in advance also means you have time to testrun different options and try color schemes and ideas you might normally find too daring. When you first meet with a beauty consultant, try anything Ð even if you don't think you'll like it. You have time to change your mind. "Don't be afraid," advises Muirhead. "Give it a try. The worst thing that can happen is that you have to wash it off and try something else."

"You never want to try something new on the day of the wedding," Muirhead said. If you're going to have a reaction to a product or a treatment, you don't want it to happen on your wedding day.

Your face is important, but brides-to-be should not forget other highly visible parts of their bodies. With current fashion, strapless or spaghetti-strap dresses, you also need to pay attention to your back and chest area.

"Some dresses require some back treatments, some dresses require chest treatement if they have problem skin," Bell-Graves said. She highly recommends a body glow treatment for brides who choose a gown that bares the back - "it makes your back smooth and absolutely gorgeous."

Manicures and pedicures are also a consideration. For summer weddings with open-toe shoes, coordinating pedicures and nail polish shades adds to the coherence of the visuals.

So what if you've done all your preparations - and then, horror of horrors, you wake up on the big day with a big ugly zit?

That, say the professionals, is highly unlikely if you've prepared. But should the worst happen, Muirhead suggests having a good concealer on hand to reduce redness - but not doing anything else. Except: "Just make sure you smile bigger!"