The holidays are a great time of year when everyone is feeling more generous, when food and drinks are abundant, and when the overall mood and happiness of the general public reaches an annual high. I love all of these things about the holidays, but my favorite is the excuse to rock as many glamorous makeup looks that one can fit into a single season. Christmas, Hannukah, and New Year's is a time to throw caution to the wind and have loads of fun with makeup without limitations. Year to year, trends tend to evolve and change, however, there are some looks that manage to survive the changing tides. These are my top holiday looks that never go out of style.
The Deep Smokey Eye
This look takes the traditional smokey eye half a step further by deepening the kohl rim encircling the eye. The goal here is depth and darkness. The beauty of this look is that it does not require complete precision to execute. The eyes are rimmed with black pencil liner and then further smoked out or exaggerated by adding dark shadow. The effect is smoldering, sexy, and unapologetic. Smokey eyes go with everything so wear this look with both sleek locks or big, blown out waves.
Red Lips
Red lips will forever be a staple in the makeup world. It's classic, it's powerful, and it's ultra-feminine, none of which ever goes out of style. The holidays are great for red lips since parties that happen around this festive season tend to call for a bit more glamour. It also seems that as a general rule, more women feel a bit more adventurous around the holidays as they are looking for ways to stand out more than they might typically stand out during most of the work year. Both are great reasons to get more women to sport a red lip. And it just so happens that the easiest, most fool-proof way to glam up a look is to simply apply red lipstick. What's even better about the red lip is that there is a color for everyone. Whether you need more of a cherry red, or an orangey red, there's a red made especially for you, that when discovered- will take you from everyday girl to extra-ordinary woman.
Sparkle
'Tis the season to be sparkly and shine, shine, shine! What else would we want to do at this time of year when trees are lit up with flashing lights, decorations are glittering from every corner, and all things silver and gold are in demand. Makeup follows suit and there is no better time to experiment with shine and glitter than the holidays. Now is the time of year when all makeup brands reveal eyeshadows with shimmer and high reflecting properties, and when face highlighters are never too much. Adding any of these staple shimmery items adds an immediate festive spirit to any look and is easy to apply for even the minimal makeup wearer. To keep eyeshadow simple but impactful, pick a skin colored shadow with high reflective properties or simply add a silver or gold glitter over top of a regularly skintoned shimmering shadow. For face highlighters, use in liquid formats or loose powder formats. Add to high points of face such as cheekbones, browbone, and a touch to the forehead. Use on nose very sparingly as highlighter can cross the line into making the skin look oily.
Try any of these holiday looks this year with confidence knowing that regardless of current trends, you'll be sporting a look that is both festive and never goes out of style.