Glamorous Grinch Makeup: Steal the Holiday Spotlight
Christmas is coming, which means it’s time to unlock your inner Grinch and steal the holiday spotlight with your most glam makeup looks.
Whether you’re hoping to channel Christmas’s most-loved villain with green eyeshadow or go for a more subtle holiday glam look, we’ve got a tutorial (and all of the essential products, of course) for you.
Get ready to turn heads and steal hearts with these three glam makeup looks.
1. Grinch Green, Of Course
This first look is our ideal mix of festive fun and a touch of mischief. Eye makeup is the centerpiece here, so begin by prepping your eyelids with a hydrating makeup primer. We like this Good Grip Hydrating Primer, formulated without silicones or oil in order to hold makeup all day long without creating an oily look.
Apply just a few pats of primer and let it dry before moving onto the next step: Eyeshadow. Use your fluffiest eyeshadow brush to sweep on the Grinchiest shade of green you own, blending into your eyelid crease for a nice even pigment. Don’t worry about darkening the color as you approach your outer corner — for this look, we want a consistent green.
Apply just a few pats of primer and let it dry before moving onto the next step: Eyeshadow. Use your fluffiest eyeshadow brush to sweep on the Grinchiest shade of green you own, blending into your eyelid crease for a nice even pigment. Don’t worry about darkening the color as you approach your outer corner — for this look, we want a consistent green.
Next, use your finger to apply just a few dots of a light, shimmery shade into the inner corner of your eyes. You can also use highlighter for this, but we recommend trying shade “In a Twist” from our Jazy Jigsaw Eyeshadow Palette. These cream eyeshadows glide on like a dream.
Now that you’ve created a pretty, simple green base, it’s time to amp up the drama with a bold cat-eye. Grab your favorite black eyeliner — we like this waterproof liner, which comes with a precision tip and wing stamp to make winged eyeliner easier than ever.
Start in the middle of your eye, just above your pupil, and thicken the liner as you approach the outer corner of your eye. Then narrow the line again into a sharp wing that ends about a centimeter past the outside edge of your eyelid.
When your eyeshadow and eyeliner is all set, we recommend a once-over with some setting spray (try our Rick and Morty Pickle Rick spray).
Finally, curl your lashes with a sturdy eyelash curler, and turn heads with sky-high lashes thanks to our volumizing All-in-One Volume and Length mascara. This long-lasting, waterproof, and clump-free formula even comes in a green-and-black case to match the theme of the day.
And, voila – your Grinch-green makeup look is complete.
2. Soft Holiday Glam
For this look, we’re leaning into the clean girl aesthetic with an added touch of Christmas sparkle. The clean girl makeup look is all about fresh-faced natural beauty, so start by creating a canvas of luminous skin.
Begin by moisturizing and priming your skin with a hydrating primer. No need to go overboard — just a few pats of primer should be enough to create grip for the rest of your makeup.
Next, grab your favorite concealer and use a light touch to cover up any dark circles or blemishes. To create the illusion of makeup-free skin, we recommend dabbing concealer onto your wrist and then using a finger to transfer the concealer from your wrist to the blemish. Use a tapping motion to slowly build up coverage, stopping as soon as you’ve reached ideal consistency.
Once your skin looks so clear even the Grinch would envy it, it’s time to add a touch of glam. Using the same wrist-transfer technique, tap highlighter onto the high points of your face — think the top of your cheekbones, the tip of your nose, and your cupid’s bow.
Our Glow Bloom Liquid Highlighter is perfect for this, thanks to its lightweight, super-buildable formula. It comes in three different shades: Vanilla Frost, Bellini Brunch, and Tea Cake, so you can choose whichever shade feels Grinchiest to you.
The most essential piece of soft holiday glam is eye makeup. We recommend using warm, shimmery neutral shades, like shade “Trick of Fate” from our Jazy Jigsaw Eyeshadow Palette, for the base. If you have hazel, green, or brown eyes, stick with bronze and gold shades. If you have blue eyes, a sparkling chocolate shade is sure to make them pop.
Using a fluffy eyeshadow brush, buff on your eyeshadow, blending all the way into your eyelid crease. Whichever shade you choose for the eyelid, choose one shade lighter to press into the inner corner of your eye for a pretty, subtle highlight.
(For instance, if you used “Trick of Fate” on your eyelid, you’d want to use “In a Twist” in the inner corner of your eye.)
Finish off the look with a good pair of falsies. It may take a few tries to get the hang of them, but trust us — false eyelashes are the best secret weapon for ensuring that kiss under the mistletoe this holiday season. (And maybe even better than that, you don’t have to deal with removing mascara when you’ve got falsies on! Say bye-bye to raccoon eyes.)
If you’re new to falsies, you might want to practice a few times before an important occasion rolls around.
Once your eyes are done, swipe on a hydrating lip oil and you’re all set! Christmas glam, complete.
3. A Pop of Festive Color
Our last glam Grinch look is perfect for a Christmas bar crawl, Santacon, or any occasion that calls for maximum mischief. Start off with a neutral face — we’re talking moisturizer, maybe a few dots of concealer, and that’s all.
The real work begins with your eyebrows. Using a spoolie brush, comb your eyebrows up, a la the TikTok viral soap brows.
Next, use the same brush to apply eyebrow gel (hairspray will work in a pinch as well) to your brows before using a finger or the handle of the spoolie brush to lightly trace the top of your eyebrows. The goal is to flatten the hairs just enough to give your brows a defined shape, while still allowing for maximum volume and fluffiness.
We recommend using our clear Set Me Up brow gel for this — it’s smudge-proof and long-lasting, meaning it will hold your brows in place without creating any stickiness.
Give your eyebrows a few minutes to set before touching them or filling in any bare spots, and then it’s time for the rest of the eye makeup. This striking holiday look requires green eyeliner, sparkly red eyeshadow, and your favorite mascara.
Begin by using a fluffy brush to buff that sparkly red eyeshadow into the crease of your eyelid. You want it to fill in the area where you’d apply the dark shades in a smokey eye. It might look a bit crazy right now, but sit tight – it’s all going to come together soon.
Once you’ve buffed out the red to form a sort of single-shade smokey eye, grab that green eyeliner and begin drawing a cateye. We recommend starting in the middle of the eye, just above your pupil, and slowly thickening the line as you approach the outer corner. Then, taper it off into a sharp wing that ends about a centimeter from your eyelid. It should extend just past the red eyeshadow.
It’s tempting to draw on winged eyeliner with your eyes closed, but doing it this way can make it hard to determine how the eyeliner will actually look when your eyes are open (aka, 95% of the time). Try nailing the shape of the wing with your eyes open, then filling it in and evening it out with your eyes closed.
Once the eyeliner has fully dried, curl your lashes and apply your favorite volumizing mascara. We recommend two coats for maximum wow factor. Then swipe on some hydrating lip gloss, and you’re all set — a two-toned, Christmas-themed makeup look even the people of Whoville would appreciate.
Products Made With Care
At SHEGLAM, we strive to make products that are affordable for the highest quality possible. That’s why so many of our products are Leaping Bunny certified, meaning they were made without animal testing or cruelty.
We also strive to use nourishing, hydrating ingredients wherever possible, and avoid silicones, parabens, and alcohols, which are often included in cosmetic products but can cause allergic reactions (and just generally aren’t the best for your skin).
So whether you’re rocking around the Christmas tree all night long or just enjoying a night out with friends this holiday season, when you shop with us, know that you’re in good hands.
The Grinch may have tried to steal Christmas, but our goal is to steal your heart — and provide some amazing glam makeup looks while we’re at it.
Sources:
Silicone in Dermatology: An Update | PMC
How to Know if You Are Allergic to Your Beauty Products | Northwestern Medicine