There’s no better time of year to flex your makeup skills than the holidays. Everyone’s back in town, and the spot under the mistletoe looks very inviting — but which makeup look do you choose?
After all, you could go all-out with red and green eyeshadow, keep it simple with a soft evening glam, or even try out a bit of bejeweling…
If you aren’t sure which glamorous Christmas makeup look you want to try, you’ve come to the right place. Keep reading for a roundup of our favorite festive makeup looks, as well as all the products you’ll need to knock that holiday glow out of the park.
Cold wintry nights call for a soft glam look – specifically, the sort of sparkling eyes and pretty flush that belong right by a fireplace.
To create this look, start off by prepping your skin with a nice hydrating primer, such as our Good Grip Hydrating Primer. This silicone-free primer is packed with AHA exfoliants and blueberry extracts, working to help hydrate your skin and control oil for a smooth, balanced makeup base.
Apply a few pats of primer, let it dry, then go in with your foundation. Winter can be drying, so we recommend our Skinfinite Hydrating Foundation to keep your face looking dewy and natural. The formula was specifically designed to balance coverage with breathability, so it’s a great base for the contouring and highlighting we’ll do later on.
Next, use a spoolie brush and brow pencil to shape your eyebrows. Use the spoolie to comb your brows upwards, then lightly fill them in with a shade matching your natural brow color. Or, to make it even easier, you can use a tinted brow gel that tames and frames your brows with just a few swipes! We like our Expert Eyebrow Gel, which comes in five different shades.
For eyeshadow, we’re going to keep it simple with a pretty, sparkly shade to really glow under those Christmas lights.Our favorite for this look is Jelly Wow Eyeshadow Pop in shade Nova Glow – the creamy, gel-like formula instantly elevates any occasion. Plus, it blends super easily, whether you’re using your finger or an eyeshadow brush. You can even layer multiple Jelly Wow shades for added dimension and depth.
Once you’ve blended out your sparkly eyeshadow, grab an eyelash curler and mascara and touch up those lashes. Long, doe-like lashes are key for this soft glam look, so we recommend our very own Max Impact Extreme Volumizing Mascara. Swipe on a couple of coats for maximum volume.
Finally, it’s time to create that pretty, sitting-by-the-fire flush. Grab your favorite contour stick, contouring at your temples and beneath your cheekbones to emphasize that bone structure. Be sure to blend in the contour by tapping it into your skin rather than rubbing — it will create a more natural look.
(Pro tip: We particularly love a dual-function contour product, such as our Multi-Glam Face Pen, because it allows you to highlight and contour at the same time and is perfect for an on-the-go makeup moment.)
Finish off your glow by blending some cream blush into your checks, and you’re all set – all that’s left to do is find some mistletoe to stand under!
For our second Christmas makeup look, we’re going to get a little creative and focus on the eyes. Just like the rest of your face, your eye makeup turns out best when you start by prepping the skin, so grab your favorite eyeshadow primer and pat it into your eyelids, allowing plenty of time to soak in and dry.
Next, take a sparkly deep red and a fluffy eyeshadow brush and begin buffing out the eyeshadow into the crease of your eyelid. (Shade “Vein” from our Cursed Chrysalis palette is exactly the type of sparkly burgundy we’re looking for with this eye makeup.)
The trick is to layer on product in the right places – specifically, the outer corner of your eye and in your eyelid crease – so that your eyeshadow is super pigmented without looking too messy. Picture a classic smokey eye. You should apply that sparkly red shadow exactly where the dark part of a smokey eye would go.
Once you’ve blended out the red, take a new fluffy brush and apply a lighter pink or cream shade, preferably matte (AKA no sparkles). Shades “Earth Eyes” and “Sandcastle” from our Live to Roam palette are perfect for this. Fluff eyeshadow onto your entire eyelid, including the inner corner of your eye, right up to where that sparkly red shadow begins.
Now, with a smokey eye, we’d want to blend these two shades together for a sort of seamless ombre look. With this style, we’re going to be a bit more dramatic and create a cut crease.
Using a dense eyeshadow brush (our Pro Core brush kit has the perfect one), pack on that lighter shade of eyeshadow right at the boundary between light pink and dark red until you have a dramatic two-toned look.
Finally, take a liquid eyeliner and draw on your best wing, extending just a millimeter or two past the lash line. (For added Christmas spirit, try doing this with a green liquid eyeliner instead of the typical black.)
Curl your lashes and swipe on a few coats of mascara, and you’re done! Consider Christmas slayed.
Our next look takes inspiration from the sparkling snow and dancing sugarplum fairies characteristic of the holiday season.
Start off by prepping your skin with moisturizer and primer, then go in lightly with a concealer stick to cover up any blemishes and dark circles. (We especially like our Like Magic: 12HR Full Coverage Concealer for this because the super-pigmented matte formula sinks right into your skin and easily hides any imperfections.)
The goal here is to create a super hydrated, blemish-free canvas for the rest of your makeup.
Next, grab your favorite highlighter and highlight the highest parts of your face: the top of your cheekbones, the tip of your nose, the inner corners of your eyes, and your cupid’s bow.
To successfully layer on your highlighter, we recommend dabbing a few dots of highlighter onto the back of your hand and then using a fingertip to transfer that product by lightly dotting the skin of your face. This makes it much easier to build up a glow without over or underdoing it.
We’re going to keep the eye make-up super simple with this look, so choose your favorite sparkly eyeshadow in a light blue or icy white and use your finger or a brush to apply it to your entire eyelid.
Gel formula eyeshadow is best for nailing that magical, Sugar Plum Fairy-esque look – think Crystal Flutter Glitter Gel in shade “Mimic.”
Blend it across your whole eyelid, including into both corners of your eye and the crease. The Monochrome eyeshadow trend might be a few years old at this point, but it’s absolutely perfect for a holiday glow!
Curl your lashes and swipe on some mascara before going in with the final touch: A glassy, high-shine lip gloss.
To create that mesmerizing super-shiny effect, start off by applying a hydrating lip oil, such as our Jelly Wow lip gloss in shade “Loco for Coco.” This lip oil is alcohol-free, which is essential for locking in moisture and creating that delicious plumping effect.
Once you’ve applied your lip oil, perfect your pout with a high-intensity sparkly lip gloss such as our Shimmer Lip Plumper, a solid lip gloss stick packed with reflective micro-glitter. The shimmery finish, in combination with the rest of your look, is sure to turn heads all night long.
Holidays are often about traditions, but they’re also a great opportunity to try something new (especially when it comes to your look). Sparkles, fun colors, and glam are all in this time of year, and we would be honored to help you bring your most festive looks to life.
With SHEGLAM, you know you’re getting products made with high-quality ingredients and no animal cruelty (check the Leaping Bunny certification on every product). So rest assured that no matter what kind of Christmas makeup look you try this season, you can find the products you need at SHEGLAM.
Sources:
AHA vs. BHA: Choosing an Exfoliant, Acid Types, Products | Healthline
Vogue’s makeup guide to contouring for the real world (not Instagram)
Finally, An Eyeshadow Trend For Those That Never Nailed The Cut Crease | Vogue