A little sparkle, a little shine and soft color can create a festive, feminine look for the holidays.
‘Keep it fresh,’ said makeup artist Erin Alejandro of INNU Salon in Austin. ‘You don’t have to have heavy, smoky eyes.
Eye colors in shades of lavender, plum and silver are good holiday choices for most skin tones. Try Bobbi Brown Cream Shimmer Eye Shadow in Pale Silver and Pale Steel. For a little extra sparkle, shades of gold, copper and green can be a pretty look. Try Benefit Show Offs! in Mint Julep, MAC LustreLeaf or Emani Crushed Minerals Color Dust in Urbanized. Flattering golds include NARS Night Star, Emani Crushed Minerals Color Dust in White Gold and NYC Sparkle Eye Dust in Pink Champagne. For an extra dose of holiday shimmer, try Cargo’s Glitter Eye Gel Collection.
The rule of thumb is to play up either lips or eyes, but never both. If you’re going with a more dramatic eye, keep the lips subtle. Glossy lips always look festive. Some flattering glosses include NYC Liquid Lipstick in Betti Ann, Aveda Lip Glaze in Bronze, Clinique Colour Surge Lip Lacquer in Sultry Splash or Jouer lip gloss in Breeze.
To give lipstick staying powder, Austin makeup artist Rochelle Rae, creator of Rae Cosmetics, suggests applying lip liner to the entire lip. Powder the lips and then apply your lipstick. Lightly blot and then reapply lipstick to the center of the lips. A good holiday color is Rae’s Luxury Lipstick in Temptress, which has a high pigment level for hours of staying power.
Body shimmer is a sexy look for the holidays. Try applying a little shimmer on the collarbones, shoulders and back (if you’re showing it off.”> Think about where you’d want the highlights to be on your skin.
‘I’m not big on the all-over thing,’ said Wende Zomnir, executive creative director for Urban Decay and Hard Candy Cosmetics. ‘I like lots of drama, but sometimes you can overdo it. Remember, you’re lighting your body, so put the shimmer in places where you want highlights and where you want to draw attention.’
When wearing shimmer on the body, tone down the shimmery makeup on the face.
‘You don’t want to look like you’re going to a Studio 54 costume party, but at the same time, hints of shimmery skin on both face and body can give you an ethereal, irresistible glow,’ Zomnir said. ‘You can put it everywhere, just don’t overdo it anywhere.’
If you want to give your tresses a little holiday cheer, try Cargo’s HairMascara — a wand that sweeps face-framing highlights in blonde, bronze or copper on the hair for a festive holiday look. It sells for $20. Or try Conair’s ProColor Accents, brush-on temporary hair color with 18 color cartridges in 11 natural, shimmery tones. It retails for $23.
After too many nights of eggnog and holiday parties, dark circles may be an issue. Rae likes to dip a Q-tip in moisturizer and remove the concealer closer to the lash line. This will help prevent it from caking and settling into fine lines.
With cute little holiday purses, makeup palettes — with coordinating lip, eye and cheek colors along with applicators — can be a godsend during the busy holiday season. Bobbi Brown’s Sexy Glamour Palette has everything a woman needs to create this season’s ‘Winter ‘White holiday look, with three eye shadows, one lip color and a dual-ended mini eye shadow/eye liner brush and mini lip brush, which retails for $45. Stila has deluxe palettes that include 4 eye shadows, a cheek color, a lip color, all for $36. The palettes come in rose moon or golden moon. Also try Hard Candy’s Jewel Box Eye & Lip Palette, which is compact filled with seven lip glosses and eight eye shadows in a sleek, slim-line compact. It sells for $18. Cargo’s ColorCards are the perfect item for gals on the go — eye shadow that fits in the wallet like a crdit card. Each tin includes playing card with application tips. They retail for $24 for 28 eye shadows.
