If you're like most people, the year's events and parties tend to pile up towards the end. Before you know it, every weekend is booked with ugly Christmas Sweater parties, dinner events with Santa, and family holiday gatherings. If you're a makeup lover, or even if you're not, this is the perfect opportunity to showcase glowing skin, a festive lipstick, and of course, winter-approved eyeshadow paired with your favorite magnetic lash.
Whether you're going out or going virtual this holiday, we're showing you Moxie approved Christmas makeup looks with easy-to-follow tips and tricks.
Avoid Common Christmas Makeup Mistakes
Our biggest tip: don’t go overboard with the reds and greens. You might feel tempted to because the colors match the season. But trust us, you don’t want your makeup to match the decor around you. You want to stand out from it!
While it’s likely some of the eyeshadow and lipstick colors you'll wear will match the ornaments on the tree, you don’t want to look like the tree itself. Save the matchy-matchy color schemes for tacky sweater parties.
While glitter is a perfectly acceptable addition to Christmas looks, use it in small doses. If you’re feeling particularly glitter hungry, we strongly suggest saving the craving until New Year’s Eve. Glitter is perfectly acceptable in large quantities when you’re waiting for the clock to strike twelve. Until then, a slight sprinkle will bring enough festive glam to your look - and you'll avoid twinning with the iconic mirrorball its self.
The Holiday Date Look
This holiday date look will work well throughout the entire winter season. You’ll need a warm tan eyeshadow, a medium brown eyeshadow, and a dark taupe eyeshadow. Try to keep it all matte. You’ll also need a champagne-colored glitter liner.
Start by applying your warm tan eyeshadow to your crease and the inner half of your eyelid. Blend it out to add some definition to the eye. Then, go in with your darker brown to add deeper definition to the crease, the outer corner of your eye, and the outer lash line. Take your deep taupe shade and pack it onto the outer half of your eyelid, and use it to finish defining your lower waterline. You can apply a black liner for a sultry look or a white liner for a doe-eyed look.
Then, take your champagne-colored glitter liner and gently apply it to the inner corner of your eye, subtly blending it towards the warm tan shade. These tiny, reflective champagne glitter particles will add brightness, light, and a little bit of holiday cheer to your look.
This look works well with a classic matte red lip. If you’d rather keep it casual, a subtle red gloss will do the trick perfectly. Just keep in mind that gloss is not the most kissproof option.
Finish off with a thin flick of black magnetic liner, and top off your eyes with a dreamy, wispy magnetic lash like Worthy Lash. Worthy is soft, tapered, fluffy, and perfect for batting your lashes at your sweetheart.
The Casual Christmas Party Look
If you’re attending a Christmas party held by your friends, you can go a little more creative with your makeup than you can for an office party. Something smoldering and bronze, like hot cocoa by a fire, will play well at a Christmas party.
You’ll need a mid-toned matte brown, a shimmery bronze shade, and a black or near-black eyeshadow. Start by applying the mid-toned matte brown in your crease and along your lower lash line. Blend it out well to create a big, diffused smokey ring, omitting your eyelid.
You can lay down your bronze shade by packing it in on the lid. For extra intensity, you can lay it on top of a shimmery bronze liquid eyeshadow to add dimension and up the staying power.
Pick up the black eyeshadow on a small pencil brush and use just a touch on the outer corner of the eye, near the crease. Blend it well, and pull any excess towards your lower lash line. This small touch of black eyeshadow will add a little bit of depth and dimension, breaking up the monochrome palette of bronze and brown with an extra touch of something special.
You can use a deep chocolate brown eyeliner on your waterline for a more subdued look. Use a black eyeliner to add a fierce intensity.
A lash like the Wifey Lash will add just the right amount of definition, opening up the eye. This will offset the impact of a smokey eye that may make your eye appear a little smaller. Tall wispy lashes will restore dimension.
Finish it off with a deep pinky tan lip color. If you’re really feeling it, a matte oxblood shade will look festive and a little sexy.
The Office Christmas Party Look
The key with the office Christmas party look is to take the casual Christmas party look and tone it down just a bit. Follow the same steps, but make a few swaps to make it work appropriate. Instead of your deep smoldering bronze shade, use a medium matte brown with gold glitter. You’ll still get the sparkle you want, but the look won’t be as intense.
Use a chocolate brown shadow instead of a black shadow to add dimension, and opt for a brown liner on the waterline instead of a black liner. The lashes can be toned down by subbing out the Wifey Lash for the Classy Lash. The Classy Lash truly lives up to its name. Its gentle and beautiful natural length and volume make it a versatile choice for any look.
Sub out the lip for a nude pink or a sheer red gloss. You can still have that pop of red in a gentle way if you do it subtly.
The Christmas Eve Look
Your Christmas Eve look should be the definitive Christmas look. On Christmas day, everyone sees their family, makes the rounds, and wants to pass out from the exhaustion that comes with the holiday season. Christmas Eve is the peak of that excitement - the night where it all culminates into the largest celebrations.
Christmas Eve is the night when the most special gifts are exchanged. It’s the night that many people receive their engagement rings. No pressure, but you should probably take your time with this look.
Gather up a red-toned matte brown eyeshadow, a matte deep burgundy eyeshadow, a metallic cranberry eyeshadow, and a metallic pink eyeshadow. For this look, you’re going to be creating an extreme cat-eye shape. If you’re not comfortable making sharp edges, there’s an easy way to cheat.
Take a piece of tape about two inches long. Yes, the same tape you used to wrap your presents with. Stick it to your hand to remove some of the tackiness, and then peel it off. Stick that tape on your face so that it creates an upward angle at the outer corner of your eye. Do that for both sides.
When you finish applying your eyeshadow, you’re going to remove that tape and leave behind a crisp, sharp edge. All you have to do is fill in and blend around it. There’s no cleanup work, and the tape will catch any fallout from the dark shadow.
With your tape in place, use the red-toned matte brown shadow to define your crease. Smoke it out and up with your blending brush. Then, apply the cranberry color to your whole eyelid. If you’d like, you can use an eyeshadow pencil or a cream shadow in a coordinating color to up the intensity and the staying power.
When your cranberry eyeshadow is set in place, use a pencil brush with your deep matte burgundy shade to define the outer corner of the eye and add depth to the outer half of the crease. Push the shadow right up to the tape - even let some shadow get on the tape if that helps.
Then, take your metallic pink on a small brush and add a soft touch of highlight to the inner corner of your eye. Come back around with your mid-toned matte brown to define your lower lash line until the tape stops you.
Keep your tape on when you apply your black liquid magnetic eyeliner to your upper lash line. It will help you keep the angle straight and sharp. Once you’re sure that your wing has fully dried down, gently peel the tape off.
You should be left with a sharp and well defined outer edge. You probably have a small gap at the outer corner of your eye. Use your matte burgundy on a pencil brush to fill that gap and blend it with the other shadow along your lower lash line. Then, apply a black pencil to your waterline.
Top off your look by tossing Sassy Lash on top of your magnetic eyeliner. It’s the perfect amount of drama and volume for a sultry cranberry smokey eye.
What you do with your lips is up to you. How bold do you feel? If the eye is a bit much and you want it to be the star of the show, opt for a tan nude lip. If the drama has you all excited, make the look monochrome with a deep cranberry lip.
Christmas looks are some of the most fun looks you’ll get to play with all year. If you want to embellish your makeup with stars, rhinestones, or sequins because you’re feeling very festive, go ahead and do it. What matters most is that you love the way you look, and you have the opportunity to make beautiful holiday memories you’ll cherish for a lifetime.
Sources:
source 1 - https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesstylefile/2013/11/25/wear-this-color-oxblood/#39362daa2a49
source 2 - https://www.brides.com/story/how-to-propose-during-holiday-season-ideas-engagement-rings