With the holidays quickly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about your upcoming looks. Whether it’s a bold red lip or a sharp winged liner, every girl can find a staple to rock during this festive time of year. Here are 18 beauty tips that will get you through the holidays and beyond!
Everyone knows the best way to attain healthy, luminous skin is by drinking water, but if you’re slacking on your H2O consumption, have no fear! You can always try a hydrating, brightening primer to get the same effect. Pat one onto clean, dry skin before applying your foundation and you’ll look like you’re glowing from within. Try BECCA’s Backlight Priming Filter or, if you’re on a budget, L’Oreal’s Magic Lumi Primer.
Eyebrows can make or break your entire look, so you better make sure you get these face-shapers on point. Whether you prefer a natural or bold brow, you can achieve either look with Anastasia Beverly Hills’s brow products, such as her Brow Wiz or her Dipbrow Pomade.
Just like you should prime your skin, you should prime your eyes. This is one of those must-know beauty tips for ladies who love a smokey eye. An eye shadow base is a must if you’re planning on wearing eye shadow all night long to all your holiday parties. Primers will make your shadows pop more, as well as last longer without creasing or fading. Some great primers are Too Faced’s Shadow Insurance and MAC’s Prep + Prime 24-Hour Extend Eye Base.
Without a doubt, one of the toughest things to master in makeup is the winged liner. But if you practice and finally succeed, your cat eyes are sure to be sexy and sharp this season. Some of the best liners for creating a fierce wing are Kat Von D’s Tattoo Liner in Trooper or Inglot’s Matte Gel Liner in 77.
If sparkle isn’t your style, you can never go wrong with a classy smokey eye. Whether you use natural tones, like in Too Faced’s Natural Matte Palette, or darker tones, like in NYX’s Smokey Look Kit, your sultry eyes are sure to stand out this season.
If a black wing or a smokey eye is too basic for you, you can try some glitter this holiday season. Winter time is all about sparkle and shine, so adding a pop of glitter to your liner or eye shadow is a perfect way to add a festive flair to your look. MAC’s pigments and NYX’s Glitter Liners are great options.
There are two ways to give yourself that brightened, wide-eyed doll look you’ve always wanted. First, apply some highlight or shimmer shadow to the inner corners. Then, apply a nude liner on the waterline. This will awaken your eyes and add that extra touch of glam to your look. A great nude liner is Tarte’s EmphasEYES Inner Rim Brightener or Rimmel’s Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Kajal Liner in Nude.
Luscious lashes can instantly add some va-va-voom to your look, so feel free to pile on the mascara! Too Faced’s Better Than Sex mascara is the best around, but if you’re feeling more adventurous, you can always apply some falsies, like the Demi Wispies from Ardell.
Definitely one of the most important beauty tips to know! Your entire face can be re-shaped and re-focused by using just one product – concealer. Using about one to two shades lighter than your skin tone, apply the concealer to the middle of your forehead, the under-eye area, down the bridge of the nose, and your chin, and then blend out with a sponge or brush. This will highlight these areas of your face and therefore take attention away from the other areas you may be trying to minimize. NARS’s Creamy Concealer and Maybelline’s Fit Me Concealer are both great options.
Yes, you read it – bake. Take some translucent powder and pack it onto your under-eyes to keep your concealer from creasing and moving throughout the day. Let it sit for a few minutes before you brush it away; this “cooks” the concealer into your skin. Brush away, and then you’re all set and ready to look fresh-faced throughout the entire holiday party. You can also dust some powder over your entire face if you have oil-prone skin. The best translucent powders for baking are Laura Mercier’s Translucent Loose Setting Powder, or the cheaper option, RCMA’s No Color Powder.
Nothing will complement your glow better than a set of contoured cheekbones. Sculpt your face to accentuate your features with the perfect tools, like Physician’s Formula’s Butter Bronzer, or if you’re feeling more advanced, Anastasia Beverly Hills’s Contour Kit. You can also use creams!
Keeping with the sparkly theme, highlighting and/or strobing is a must for a perfect holiday look. Give the tops of your cheekbones, nose and cupid’s bow a pop of shine and you’ll glimmer like the winter snow. You can get the perfect glow with BECCA’s Shimmering Skin Perfector in Moonstone or Laura Gellar’s Baked Gelato Swirl Illuminator.
There’s nothing sexier than a lady in red, and this is even more true during the holidays. A red lip looks perfect with or without a full face of makeup, so this go-to will never fail to make you stand out. Some recommended reds are NARS’s Jungle Red or for a liquid option, NYX’s Soft Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam.
If you’re not feeling the red lip, a nude lip is just as gorgeous. There are endless shades out there, so just pick the best one for your skin tone. It could be brown-based, like Kat Von D’s Everlasting Liquid Lipstick in Bow N Arrow, or pink-based, like NYX’s Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm. For an even more natural look, you can opt for just a sheer gloss, like Buxom’s Full on Lip Cream in White Russian.
Let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to have that perfect pout? To plump up your lips, you can use a plumping gloss, like Too Faced’s Lip Injection Extreme or Fusion Beauty’s LipFusion XL.
The final step to perfecting your look is to use a setting spray. Mist your entire face with this good stuff, and your make up will stay put no matter how snowy the weather or how wild the party. For a matte finish, try L’Oreal Infallible Pro Makeup Extender Spray, or try NYX’s Dewy Make Up Setting Spray for a glowy finish.
When the festivities are all over at the end of the day, you need to remove your make up. But you may not know that how you erase your face could make a difference in your skin! Although make up removing wipes are the quickest and easiest, they can be rough on the skin because of pulling and occasional fragrances. Instead, try a micellar water or a cleansing balm, which are gentler on the skin while hydrating at the same time. You might see a more radiant, moisturized you! Try Garnier’s SkinActive Micellar Cleansing Water or Boscia’s MakeUp-BreakUp Cool Cleansing Oil.
If your make up is on fleek, then your nails should be, too. Go for the glitter this holiday season with nail polishes like OPI’s My Private Jet or a top coat like essie’s Luxeffects.
*This is a sponsored post. All opinions are my own.
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