i wanted to share some of the looks i’ve been wearing lately in case you need something different for a holiday party.  they’re all fairly simple looks that can executed around 30mins, less if you’re speedy/skilled, more if you’re a perfectionist!  i hope you enjoy them!

during the holidays, you want to look your best.  to give your makeup a good base, take some extra steps in your skincare routine and make sure you stay properly hydrated!  i like to do a sheet mask (i like Karuna Luxe Skin Restoring Treatment Mask) or a gel sleeping mask such as Laneige Water Sleeping Mask which i talk about here.  the sheet mask gives better results, but the sleeping mask is easier to fit in.  also i like to up the number of times i exfoliate during this time, since i’m usually wearing heavier or more products than usual.

this look has been featured recently in my Lorac The Royals 3D Liquid Lustre Set post. there’s a few more glitter looks in that post if that’s the kind of look you want during the holiday festivities.  in this eye look, i’ve used MUFE M530 Eggshell as base all over my eyelid all the way up to the brows.  this serves to neutralize any discoloration on my eyelids and doubles as a highlight shade for the brow bone.  then i used Urban Decay’s West in the outer v and crease.  West is a limited edition shade from the Theodora palette, but you can just use your favorite rich brown from your own stash.  i went back in and deepened the outer v in the crease to give it a little extra dimension.  then i applied Lorac 3D Liquid Lustre in 24K onto my eyelids.  you can use any kind of gold in your collection, but i prefer the paler shades with less yellow.  take a blending brush and blur out the edges between the the gold and the brown.  apply a thin line of liquid eyeliner.  apply a dramatic mascara.  conceal any redness or under eye circles with your concealer of choice (Tarte’s Maracuja Creaseless Concealer was used for this look). then apply your med/full coverage foundation of choice (Giorgio Armani’s Luminous Silk Foundation in Shade 2).  i set the concealer under the eyes with a soft focus finishing powder (Hourglass Incandescent Light).  then i complete the eye look by applying West on my lower lash line in the outer half and a gold pencil (Sigma Enlighten) on the inner half and corner.  i chose the pencil because i think it’s faster, but you can use a gold shadow too.  i like a soft pale pink blush that leans just a touch cool with this look to balance the warmness of the eye look.  i’m wearing Hourglass’ Luminous Flush.  pick a lipstick shade that you’re comfortable with.  this look can support any lip look.  i took this picture when i was about to go out in the day time so i chose a more subdued lip. at night, i switched to a medium red to amp it up and received many compliments from the bf.  i did do some subtle contouring too with Too Faced Chocolate Soleil.

blue is not the most traditional holiday color, but why not?  this look is my take on the winter wonderland theme.  i used a white shimmering base, MUFE Aqua Cream 4 Snow, all over my eyelid up to the eye socket.  i used a cobalt blue, Sleek Simbad’s Seas, in the outer v and the outer half of the crease.  then i put a transparent gold glitter top coat, Shu Uemura G311, on top of the white shimmer base to mimic the the sun sparkling across the snow.

this is a smokey neutral look using a technique popular with asians with monolids. basically you ombre 3 colors together going from light to dark.  here i’ve chosen my favorite go to colors: MUFE ME512 Golden Beige, D320 Golden Khaki, and ME624 Black Gold.  khaki/olive greens are my go to neutral color category because they seem to go with every color outfit in my closet, whether they’re warm or cool toned.  i happen to think they’re more interesting than the normal brown/taupe/purple based neutrals, but that could be just because green happens to be my favorite color.  i applied Golden Khaki, an olive with golden shimmer on my eyelid up to the eye socket bone.  then i used a dense small domed brush, or a pencil brush, to overlay Black Gold (a dark brown that’s almost black with gold sparkles) on the bottom third of Golden Khaki.  take a pencil brush and gently blur the line between the two shades.  take a brush that can give you a light wash of color, like the Sigma E25, and sweep Golden Beige (a pale beige with golden shimmer) on top of the socket bone overlapping Golden Khaki, the middle shade, just a bit.  blend out the edges of the two.  pair with a bold, red lip.

how about a food inspired look?  pick a shade from your stash that’s plummy or cranberryish.  you can also do it with a burgundy color.  here i chose MUFE D826 Fig for the crease and outer v.  i placed a white shimmery shadow, Urban Decay’s Polyester Bride, on the eyelid.  pair this look with a berry lip to complete the food inspired theme!

here i paired a silver and smokey green eye look, Urban Decay Shellshock and Damaged, using the same techniques i used above.  to bring a little more drama to the look, i did bring my black liquid liner all the way to out the top inner corner of my eyes. i paired it with a bright fuschia lipstick with red tones, Estee Lauder Turnmultuous Pink. in this picture, i purposely left out doing my brows so you can see the difference framing your brows makes.  it’s a quick extra step you don’t want to skip!

if all else fails and you’re short on time, creating a flawless complexion and filling in your eyebrows (which i failed to do here) to frame your face.  a colored liquid liner on top of a black liquid liner is a quick way to add interest to your eye look.  here i’ve used gold, but i like it with green too.  by the way, please excuse the unnatural, soft focus look.  this was an old picture.  i misplaced my gold liner so i couldn’t recreate the look for you.

lastly, if you like to keep the makeup to a minium or only have a couple of minutes, go with a statement red lip!

Readers, what are your favorite go-to holiday looks?  please share them with me down below!