Sparkly Holiday Look

It's Christmas Eve so I'm really cutting it close with this post, unless you're looking for a last-minute look for tonight or tomorrow. However, New Year's Eve is still a few days away and we'll all be feeling festive a little while longer, so I wanted to shared details on the holiday makeup look I created this past weekend. It was so fun to do and one of my favorite looks...pretty much ever. I was inspired by one of my current favorite (and adorable) bloggers, Keiko Lynn. She put this beautiful look together featuring soft pinks and rose golds with glitter and a bright red lip. She alone is stunning, but this look was just a dream.

I've been wearing my Mac's Retro Matte lipstick in Ruby Woo quite a bit lately so obviously any opportunity to feature it in a look is one I'm going to jump on, and this one was too perfect. That, and when else is a 28-year-old woman allowed to throw glitter on her lids and sparkle this much? I don't usually need an excuse to put glitter on anything, but it's perfectly appropriate these days.

I'm definitely more olive-toned than Keiko, and my glitter wasn't quite as rosy and silver, but I was really happy with my final look (although I would kill for her fair, porcelain skin).


Here's how I achieved it, in great detail:

Base, Part 1

• I started with moisturized skin - I'm currently using Mario Badescu's Buttermilk Moisturizer, and created my foundation for my base using Benefit's POREFessional as primer.
• I applied Mac's Studio Fix foundation in shade NW30 to my entire face with my Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge (only $6!!). 
• I then added a light layer of Tarte's Maracuja Miracle Foundation in the shade Light to the center of my face (nose, the insides of my cheeks, my forehead, etc.) to add a bit of a dewy finish. Mac's Studio fix is very matte and also a shade darker than the Maracuja Miracle foundation so it also helped add a bit of depth and highlight.
• When applying these I used a patting or bouncing motion, never an actual blending motion, to avoid lines and achieve a really sheer, and soft-focus finish. 

Eyebrows

• After the first part of my base was complete, I lightly filled in my eyebrows using the Flower Beauty Raise Some 'Brows Defining Eyebrow Pencil in the shade Dark Brown. I didn't want my eyebrows to compete with the glitter so I was very gentle with this application.
• I defined my brows by drawing a faint line underneath, and filling in with soft, upward strokes.
• I finished by cleaning up harsh lines, and brushing my eyebrows in place with a spoolie. 

Eyes

• I started with Too Faced's Shadow Insurance Primer all over my lid from lash line to brow bone and even under my eye. 
• I then covered my lid in the shade Dream (an opaque ivory shade) from the Lorac PRO Palette from lash line to brow bone, as a base color, using a wide base eyeshadow brush from Sephora's Smoke Machine Smokey Eye Brush Set. 
• My goal was to make the glitter the focus of the look, so I kept most of the eyeshadow simple. I added a combination of the Taupe and Mauve (both great transition shades) shades, also from the Lorac PRO Palette, to my crease and blended with a fluffy Laura Mercier blending brush. 
• To my lower lid, from lash line to just below my crease, I added the shade Light Bronze (a metallic shade) also from the Lorac PRO Palette. I patted this on with my finger, because I find the color applies bolder and adheres better. 
• I then blended the crease shade into the Light Bronze shade with the Laura Mercier fluffy, blending brush, to make sure the transition between the two was smooth.
• For the glitter, I applied Too Faced Shadow Insurance Glitter Glue over the Light Bronze and in the inner corner of my eye using my finger. 
• Using my finger, I applied a combination of Too Faced Glamour Dust Glitter Pigment in Light Pink, as well as a layer of translucent and silver glitter I found at Sally Beauty Supply. 
• To add depth to my lids, I finished by applying the shade Sable, also from the Lorac PRO Palette into the outer corner of my lid in a c shape using the from the smudge brush from the Sephora Smoke Machine Smokey Eye Brush Set and blended using the precision smudge brush from the same set. 
• To create the winged liner, I applied Nyx Cosmetics Gel Liner and Smudger with the angled liner burhs from the Sephora Smoke Machine set, and then applied Stila's Stay-All-Day Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner in Intense Black over that line to really define it because it can be difficult to draw a line over glitter. 
• For my bottom lash line I applied a combination of the Taupe and Sable shades from the Lorac PRO Palette, with the Sephora smudge brush from the Smoke Machine set and blended using the precision smudge brush. 
• I finished with a combination of Maybelline's Volum' Express The Falsies Mascara (in waterproof formula), followed by a coat of Tarte's Lights Camera Lashes mascara. 

Base, Part 2 

• To finish my foundation, I applied Benefits Lemon-Aid as a highlighter under my eyes and down the center of my nose. 
• I then added Nyx's Above and Beyond Full Coverage Concealer in Beige and blended everything with the pointed end of the Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge in a patting motion. 
• I applied the Balm's Cindy Lou-Manizer to the apples of my cheeks using the Real Techniques tapered blush brush. 
• I contoured my cheeks, forehead and chin using the Sephora MicroSmooth Baked Sculpting Contour Trio in Sophisticated using the Real Techniques Stippling Brush. 

Lips

• I started with Too Faced's Lip Insurance Lip Primer in Nude to prime my lips. 
• I outlined my lips using Milani's Easyliner in Sugar Plum.
• I patted Nyx's Matte Lipstick in Pure Red into the center of my lips, top and bottom. 
• Lastly, I applied my Mac Retro Matte Lipstick in Ruby Woo all over. 
• I blended the edges with a Laura Mercier lip brush.