Besides party-proofing your makeup, what can you do to make sure you stay looking fabu throughout all your holiday festivities?
1. Don't leave home without your eyelash comb.
If holiday songs make you misty or you get caught trudging through a snowstorm, you run the risk of lash clumpage. Be ready with a good eyelash comb If you wear mascara, it's one of the most important tools in your beauty arsenal (no matter what time of year it is).
2. Combat Shine With Powder Papers.
You probably can't avoid all the holiday picture taking...but you can avoid looking shiny on film. Use face papers to absorb excess oil without messing up your makeup or leaving your skin looking chalky or overdone.
3. Drink plenty of water.
This is simple, but seriously effective. Drinking plenty of water will help counter the dehydration caused by holiday cocktails as well as combat bloating from all that decadent holiday fare.
4. Get your antioxidants.
Few combinations can wreak havoc on your skin as easily as the season's mix of cold wind, blowing heaters, alcoholic bevvies, and a few too many late nights. Be sure you have an antioxidant-packed night cream on hand to moisturize, protect, and recharge your skin.
5. Relax and smile.
When it really comes down to it, true grace and beauty comes with being comfortable with yourself.
Don't worry about cosmetic perfection and just remember that you're already gorgeous. If you relax and enjoy yourself, your true beauty will be sure to shine through.
The gray eyes have it
While nude, neutral eyes are timeless, a smoldering gray gaze is one of this season's hottest looks. Less harsh than black and more fresh than brown, grays can make your eye makeup look instantly fresh and on trend.
Choose lighter grays and silvers for a more subtle, ethereal look. If you want something more dramatic, layer on the deeper shades of pewter, heather and charcoal gray. The best part is that, regardless of which shades you choose, grays trends to be easy to wear and easy to incorporate into makeup that you already have.
1. Your easiest bet: Gray eyeliner.
The easiest way to incorporate gray shades into makeup that you already own is to simply swap out your regular black or brown liner for a gray one. Remember that, because gray is also a neutral, a gray liner will work beautifully with a range of other colors.
When you're short on time and want a super easy makeup look, try lining your eyes with gray liner and then blending it out for a quick, softly smokey look.
To get maximum bang for your buck, invest in a high quality gray shadow that can pull double duty as an eyeliner or an eyeshadow. One of my current faves is Plantlove eyeshadow in Dove ($20, Sephora).
2. Gray was made for smokey eyes.
While the most traditional "smokey" eye relied heavily on black shadow, more recent times have seen a shift to a lighter, more wearable, smokey eye in pretty much any color you desire. Brown smokey eyes are popular, but gray eyes just look more fresh.
To make smokey gray eyes a breeze, invest in a great eyeshadow palette like Elizabeth Arden's Color Intrigue Eyeshadow Duo in Illusion ($24.50) or, for a more budget-friendly alternative, try Loreal's Wear Infinite Eye Shadow Quad in Rich Smokey Eyes ($7.49, Walgreens)
3. All that glitters is not gold.
For an absolutely fabby party look, smoke out your eyes in shades of shimmering silver and pewter. If you really want to amp up your look, layer on a glittering gray shadow (just beware the disco ball effect). Try Tarte's Lock & Roll Creaseless Eyeshadow Duo in Slate or Gunmetal ($17, Sephora). It provides a shimmery, smooth-wearing liquid shadow on one end and a perfectly matched glittery powder on the other.
While the gray eye trend may come and go, the color gray is still classic and neutral enough that you can wear it year-round...and for years to come.
Get dazzling without looking like a disco ball
One of the simplest (and funnest) ways to amp up your makeup look for a special occasion is to add some sparkles or glitter to your look.
Because sparkly makeup has the ability to draw attention to wherever it's being worn, it's an excellent way to enhance your best features. On the other hand, sparkles can be so eye-catching that they tend to look garish if you go overboard and wear them from head to toe (a.k.a. the "discoball effect").
One of the easiest guidelines to follow when stepping up your glam factor with glitter is to choose just one (or maybe two) features to enhance with sparkly makeup. Any more than that and you're probably venturing into the dreaded disco ball territory.
Also, be sure to choose a part of your face or body that you love, so that you can use your makeup to show it off.
1. Make your kisser twinkle
An easy way to add a little sparkle to your makeup look is to simply wear a sparkling lip gloss. You can wear it either by itself or over your lipstick. If you want a more subtle look that will also make your lips look more plump and luscious, try dabbing just a bit of shimmering gloss to the center of your bottom lip.
2. Add some bling to your blink
One of the most popular and effective ways to create a special makeup look is to add sparkle to your eyes.
While you can really load up on a sparkly shadow to create an ultra-dramatic look, my favorite way to wear it is to concentrate a sparkly shadow just on the center of the lid. Every time you blink, you'll show off a nice bit of sparkle without looking over the top.
If you want something more subtle, swap out your regular eyeliner for a sparkly shade or layer a glittery liquid liner over your regular liner.
For the more adventurous, try giving eyelashes their own dose of sparkle with the help of a shimmery mascara (try Beautifully Luminous Lashes by Bare Escentuals, $15 at Sephora).
3. Give blush a boost
Another easy way to amp up your makeup look is to wear a sparkly blush (I'm loving NARS Super Orgasm, $25 at Sephora).
Alternatively, you can give your cheeks a boost by brushing on a layer of shimmery highlighting powder over your regular blush. To create the illusion of higher cheekbones and draw attention to the eyes, try sweeping a shimmery highlighter just over the tops of your cheekbones.
4. Heavenly hair and glitzy gams
When considering a sparkly makeup look for a special occasion, don't forget that you can also wear it on the rest of your body! Shimmery body lotions, powders and gels are all excellent options for adding a little glitz to your party look. To look extra alluring, try adding some shimmer to your decolletage, shoulders and even your legs.
You can even add the look of super tiny diamonds to your 'do by using a sparkly hairspray (try Frederic Fekkai Spray On Hair Crystals, $18.50 at Sephora)
You glow, girls!
Whether you want to go subtly shimmery or all-out glittery glam, the choice is, of course, up to you. If you play up one of your favorite features, you'll be sure to shine!
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