Tips & Tricks: Holiday Party Makeup Look

Are you as excited as I am for Holiday Parties? The UnitWise Heroes always have the best Christmas Party and they wanted to step up their makeup look for this year. They were so kind to ask me to create a glamorous look that will not only look perfect in every picture, but also last all night long. This is a tall order, Heroes, but I am always up for the challenge and any excuse to use glitter. I don't want to keep you from all the makeup fun, so let's get started!









This week's model was the beautiful UnitWise Hero Brittany. Here is her before picture - the after is just amazing, but don't skip to the end just yet...

The Hair
I don't know exactly what happened to my before-hair picture. I know I took one, but oh well, I'll just tell you what I did. I sprayed her hair with a medium hold hair spray first. Then I curled her hair and pinned the curls in place to set. This way her hair will hold the curl all night and have tons of body and volume. The bigger the hair, the more you care ;)

Prep
Before I started applying any makeup, I prepped her skin with moisturizer and lip balm. Then I went over the entire face with a mattifying primer. This will keep your skin from getting oily through the night and keep you looking picture perfect until you cleanse your face.

The Base
I changed up the usual routine and applied her foundation and concealer first. I usually do the upper-lip eye makeup first, but I decided to start with foundation. Once her foundation was well blended, I went in with concealer. I then set the concealer under the eye with setting powder and left a heavy application of the powder under her eyes to catch any fallout from the shimmer shadow we will be applying later on.






The Brows
For her brows, I just used a pencil to outline them, and then I filled them in with a brow powder. The powder gives a really nice natural look, but also gives volume to the brows. To set them for an evening of holiday fun, I combed through the brows with a clear brow gel.





The Eyes
To keep her eye shadow in place, I first applied an eye shadow primer. To help the shadows blend flawlessly, I started with a light brown in her crease. Then I built up the depth with a slightly darker brown and blended the edges so there are no harsh lines. To make her eyes appear larger and give more shape to the lid, I took a dark brown and blended it into the outer V. We are not doing a big wing or anything, so I wanted to really accentuate that outer portion of her eye.






Once I have the crease and outer V defined, I applied a shimmery golden shade to be the base for the glitter. To ensure the glitter stays, I put some glitter glue on her lid. Then I took a very fine gold glitter and applied it to her lid. I kept building up the glitter until I got the optimum sparkle.

I kindly asked her to keep her eyes closed for just a few seconds after applying the glitter to let the glue and everything set. I also swept away the excess powder that caught any fall out.


Next, I took a gel eyeliner and smudged it into her lash line. I needed to thicken it up in preperation for the lashes that will be going on. To prep her lashes for the falsies, I curled her lashes and put on a few coats of mascara.

For the lashes, I used really full and fluffly lashes to give her really big eyes. The exact ones I used were the demi-whispies by Salon Perfect. I did measure her eye and trimmed them so they would fit comfortably. A realization I came to during this process was that it is much easier to apply falsies on other people than yourself. I seriously live for these lashes, they are my favorite.

After her lashes were on and looking fabulous, I started with the bottom lash line. I first blended a light brown along lower lash line from outer corner to inner tear duct. Then with a darker brown, I accentuated from center to outer corner. Next, I took the same black gel liner and smudged it from outer corner to inner tear duct, and had it darkest on the outer portion. To finish the eyes, I applied a light coat of mascara to the bottom lashes.


The Face
Once the eyes are finished, it's time for some contouring. I love contouring, it really makes a difference in your pictures. I started with a bronzer and carved out her cheekbones. Then I dusted bronzer right above her temples, sides of the nose, and jawline. Next, was some blush. I went with a dark peachy shade and stippled it on very lightly until I acheived the desired color.

Helpful Tip: Stippling the blush on, rather than just wiping back and forth, will help you from applying too much.

Then I went in with highlighter on her cheekbones, down the center of her nose, and on the cupids bow.

The Lips
I let Brittany choose her lip color, the choices were: nude, red, violet. She went with red, and my eyes just lit up like a Christmas Tree. With a red lip, it is very important to line your lips to keep it from feathering and fading away. I started by lining her lips, then I filled them in. Filling them in with liner also helps the color stay all night long.









The red color I used, was a bright matte red. When you have a bold eye look, a bright matte color won't steal the show like a glossier color would. To finish up the lips, I cleaned up any uneven lines with a pointed Q-tip and some makeup remover. To set the lip color and fully ensure it's longevity, I pulled a tissue in half, and set one ply on her lips and then pressed setting powder over it. This little trick will save you from losing that beautiful red lip while you party the night away.





The Hair
Brittany was really excited for this part. By now, the curls have set and I started taking out the pins and letting the curls fall. I ran a bristle brush lighty through the curls to separate them, then I started shaping them. For her side-swept hair do, I pulled out a few curls on her right side, then started making a large twist at the base her hair. I would twist and pin to keep the twist from coming loose. I kept twisting all the way around until I got to her ear on the left side. Then I just teased and shaped the curls on the left side. To set the style, I just gave it a good spritz of hairspray and voilà! A gorgeous Holiday Party Look.

This is one of my favorite makeup looks so far. It just look so pretty, and let me tell you, no picture will come out bad with this look. Brittany is ready for a party to remember. I hope you enjoyed this week's Tips & Tricks blog, and if you have any holiday makeup tips, share them in the comment box below. I love to read your comments and use your suggestions in our blogs. Stay tuned for next's week Tips & Tricks blog, published every Friday.