Holiday Makeup Tips

Here are some quick holiday party makeup tips to help you look fabulous at all your festivities this season.

Be careful not to match your makeup to your outfit. For example, if you have a sparkly glittery dress, then don't wear sparkly glittery makeup. Instead, for example, try a smoky eye with a sparkly outfit. If you are wearing bold prints or color, keep your makeup neutral.

A great way to get festive with your makeup is by creating shimmery eyes. You can get shimmery eyes in several ways. Try a shimmery cream, or buy a powder shimmer and mix the shadow with water. The water will help create a dense metallic pigment that's not too soft. Some shadows are barely there, but you want your shadow to have punch.

Apply shimmery shadow above the iris in your eye and on the inner corner of the eye. This will open up the eye, lighten up what is usually a dark area of the lid, and helps eyes look fabulous in photos.

If you do go with this look, please do not go overboard. A helpful hint is to apply shimmer to no more than two places. For example, shimmer your eyelids and your cheekbones, but don't shimmer your lips or use an all over shimmery face powder.

Another way to make your makeup festive is with highlighter. Highlighting pens are a staple in many makeup artist's makeup bag. Highlighters act as a brightener. Skin becomes luminous and dewy.

Here's how to apply: Put your chin to your chest and look into a mirror. Swipe a line of highlighter on the shadows, usually under the eye, along the nose, under the chin. I also apply a line above each brow to pull my face up. Blend the lines in by dabbing with your middle finger.

Along the lines of not going overboard, choose either to play up your eyes or your mouth, but don't do both! If you emphasize both, you'll risk looking like a clown or a…..never mind. If you do a bright red lip, keep the face light and use only mascara and a light shadow on lids. Don't go overboard with bronzer, smoky eyes and blushes either. If you opt for a dark, smoky eye, lighten up lips with a light, sheer lipstick or gloss.

A red lip is a holiday makeup staple. You can check our recent blog post on prepping your lips and applying color. To get the fabulous red lip look, line lips first in a similar shade of lip liner then fill in with the lipstick. Set with powder and apply another layer on top. This will help keep lipstick in place as the night goes on. Remember to keep the rest of your face minimal with mascara and powder.

Last but not least, make sure your eyebrows are well groomed and in perfect shape. A couple of days before your holiday party, get your brows waxed, threaded or tweezed, whichever method works best for you. You can keep them in place by spraying a bit of hairspray on your finger and running them over the brow or opt for a brow gel, which will keep brow hairs in place for hours.

Now that you have these quick tips for holiday makeup you will surely be the bell of whatever ball you are attending this holiday season.