When it comes to your wedding, doing your own makeup on the big day can be an awesome idea for a few reasons. Not only is this method a cost saver, but it also means getting your makeup done by the person who knows you best — you — and who doesn’t love an excuse to shop for beauty products? If you’re putting yourself in charge of your beauty routine, know that some products will serve you better than others. We did our due diligence and read up on some popular bridal beauty faves, recommended most by professionals who specialize in dolling brides up on the daily. Scroll on for nine must-have beauty picks for a long-lasting, flawless face you can totally DIY on your special day.
1. Tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes 4-in-1 Waterproof Mascara ($21): Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life, so it’s natural to get a little teary-eyed. When you choose a mascara, naturally you should consider a waterproof option. This one from Tarte will not only lengthen, volumize and fill out your lashes, but it’s also waterproof. Because with so many things on your mind on your big day, raccoon eyes shouldn’t be one of them.
3. Stila Convertible Color Cream Blush ($25): DIY your way to blushing bride status — literally — using a versatile product you can layer on for sheer or more opaque coverage. You can use it on your lips too, which makes touch-ups throughout the night a total breeze.
Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation
you. This foundation, which claims a natural feel that’s like “your skin but better,” is another great buildable option for the DIY bride. What’s more, this formula is very much photo-friendly, so you won’t have to worry about a dreaded flashback in those all-important photos.
Laura Mercier Secret Concealer
and conceals.
6. Makeup For Ever HD Microfinish Powder ($35): After putting in all that hard work, you want to make sure your makeup lasts all night long, through photos, ceremony, dinner and beyond. This translucent powder is finely milled, so it goes on sheer without messing up your hard work.
Joey Healy Brow Powder
Cara Delevingne brows, try grabbing an angled brush and get to work filling them in with a brow powder. This pick is a particularly great choice for brides doing their own makeup because of its natural-looking finish and its waterproof formula, which will ensure the pigment lasts all night.
8. Kevyn Aucoin Essential Eye Shadow Set Palette #1 ($58): Neutral shadows are an absolute must for most bride’s beauty regimens, and this particular palette comes highly recommended. With five mix-and-match neutral shades, this collection of shadows can be used together to create a sultry, smokey eye, or alone for a more subdued look. Either way, you can’t go wrong with this array of color choices.
9. Yves Saint Laurent Touche Eclat ($42): This multi-tasker is a cult fave among professionals for a reason, but is great for amateur makeup artists as well since it’s so easy to use. You can use it on its own or over makeup, and it simultaneously brightens, conceals and highlights, making it a big-impact addition to your big day beauty routine. Dab a few dots underneath your eyes and on the high points of your face for a bit of natural highlight that will have your complexion glowing all night long.
Welcome to Selfmade Finance School, our new money series with Block Advisors to help small business owners with their tax, bookkeeping, and payroll needs year-round. This week, we explore the tax implications of bringing family members into your business.
The question for today is this: Does hiring your family members make sense for your business? Let me be clear. This is not a piece about whether hiring your family members makes sense for your relationships with those family members. As someone who is part of a family business, I could fill up a lot more than 600 words on my opinions about that. For today's purposes, we focus on whether it makes sense from an overall "good business and tax implication" perspective. As it turns out, there is a decent amount of tax nuance when it comes to employing your family. Let's break it down based on relationship to the employee:
You X Ventures for Unsplash
Spouses Who Are In Business Together
Personally, if I had to be in business with my husband, it would not go well. However, many couples build viable, strong businesses together and I say, good for them! Depending on how you have your business entity structured, it will make a big difference on the tax treatment of you and your spouse working as partners. Because a business jointly owned and operated by a married couple is generally treated as a partnership for Federal tax purposes, the spouses must comply with filing and record keeping requirements imposed on partnerships and their partners. The election to file two Schedule C (Form 1040) forms, (one for each spouse) permits certain married co-owners to avoid filing partnership returns, provided that each spouse separately reports a share of all the businesses' items of income, gain, loss, deduction, and credit. Under the election, both spouses will be subject to self-employment tax and on net earnings from self-employment and receive credit for Social Security earnings.
One Spouse Employs Another
If you have a dynamic where your spouse is an employee of your business, then your spouse's wages are subject to income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes. If you are self-employed (not a corporation or a partnership), your spouse's pay does not have to be included in your federal unemployment tax account (FUTA) contributions and payments. However, if your business is a corporation or a partnership you must include that spouse's pay in your unemployment tax contribution calculation.
Kobu Agency for Unsplash
You Employ Your Child
First, let's be clear. I work in my family business, but I am an adult, so I am treated just like a normal employee. However, if you, for example, run a family restaurant and want to hire your children under 18 to work for you, there are some tax benefits. But first, you should check with your state for rules on how many hours minors can work (in non-agricultural jobs) and reference the Fair Labor Standards Act for information on limitations on the kinds of work children can perform.
"This is an often overlooked or under-utilized strategy. Paying your children for true services they provide in your business can be a powerful tax-saving tool," says Cathi Reed, Block Advisors Regional Director. "If you are a sole-proprietorship or single member LLC, and the child is less than 18 years of age, the business is not required to withhold FICA or payroll taxes. The child can use his or her standard deduction against income you pay."
You Hire Your Parent
Oh dear. If you are brave enough to do this, know that you will need to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your parent's wages and make the appropriate withholdings, but you don't have to pay unemployment taxes. Now all you have to do is convince your parent that you are the boss. Have fun with that!
Is Hiring Family Members Worth It For The Tax Benefits?
"There are some positive tax advantages to hiring family members. It's important to treat a family member like any other employee. Hiring your children can result in substantial savings for businesses. Make sure your child has real, age-appropriate work to do and a reasonable pay rate, comparable to other employees. Consult with a Block Advisors small business certified tax pro to ensure that you are complying with all requirements," advises Reed. "Block Advisors, a team within H&R Block, is dedicated to meeting the tax, bookkeeping and payroll needs of small business owners year-round. To start working with the tax experts at Block Advisors, visit blockadvisors.com."
In my opinion, you should not hire a family member solely because of the tax benefits. You should always hire based on whether that person is right for the job and keep in mind how this hire could materially impact your relationship with that person and others in your family. Finally, as I mentioned, make sure you have a tax professional on your team when making these determinations. As you can see, things can get a little tricky!
*All details were sourced from IRS.gov and blockadvisors.com
The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect those held by Kestra Investment Services, LLC or Kestra Advisory Services, LLC. This is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific investment advice or recommendations for any individual. It is suggested that you consult your financial professional, attorney, or tax advisor with regards to your individual situation. Comments concerning the past performance are not intended to be forward looking and should not be viewed as an indication of future results. Securities offered through Kestra Investment Services, LLC (Kestra IS), member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Kestra Advisory Services, LLC (Kestra AS), an affiliate of Kestra IS. O'Keeffe Financial Partners and any other entity listed herein is not affiliated with Kestra IS or Kestra AS Investor Disclosures: https://bit.ly/KF-Disclosures