For makeup-lovers, the festive season offers ample opportunity to experiment with your makeup. From office parties to family get-togethers, and all of the dinner parties and pub nights in between, there are plenty of occasions to get all dressed up during December — and figuring out how you're going to do your makeup can be half the fun. In fact, if you're truly beauty obsessed, your makeup is often the focus of the entire look, dictating what you'll end up wearing and how you'll end up doing your hair [1]
With all of these parties — and with twinkly, festive decorations lining every inch of every high street — this time of year is a great excuse to take your makeup up a notch, breaking out your sparkliest metallics, your richest jewel tones, and your iciest highlighter hues. Perhaps this is also an opportunity to dig out some of those shadow palettes sitting untouched at the back of your makeup drawer or to treat yourself to an early Christmas or Hanukkah present with one of the many new shadow palettes launching this season [2].
To help you get in the festive spirit, we looked back at some of our favourite celebrity makeup looks from the past year that are not only gorgeous and easy to re-create but also feel very seasonally appropriate for Winter, whether that's Sophie Turner's emerald winged shadow, Nathalie Emmanuel's classic crimson lipstick, or Gemma Chan's frosty lilac lids. Keep reading to see these and more and to get a head start on your festive season planning [3].
Lupita Nyongo's Cherry-Red Lids and Lips
We immediately thought this monochromatic crimson makeup would be perfect for a Christmas party. But makeup artist Nick Barose had the 1980s in mind when dreaming up this look. "The '80s Make Up was about colouring in everything from eyes, cheeks, lips and nails but when you keep all the colours monochromatic it makes it easier to wear," Barose wrote in an Instagram post.
To create the multidimensional jewel-toned smoky eyes, Barose layered three different eye shadows, each one a different texture: The Lancome Hypnose Eyeshadow Palette in Rose Fusion [4] (a powder), followed by the Lancome Ombre Hypnose Metallic Stylo in Rubis [5] (a shimmery crayon), and all topped off with a metallic red cream shadow. On her lips, Barose used "a gorgeous creamy bronze-burgundy tone."
Zazie Beetz's 3D Pearl Eyeliner
Three-dimensional makeup [6] has been a huge runway trend for the past two seasons, so we're happy to see someone daring enough to wear it on the red carpet. For the Joker premiere in New York City, makeup artist Tyron Machhausen [7] glued flat-back pearls along Zazie Beetz's top lashes, extending them all the way to the tails of her brows to create gorgeous wings, then adding a few along the bottom lashes as you normally would when lining the eyes. What really makes this trend work off the runway, however, are the black liner and mascara that Machhausen added to not only create contrast against the pearls but to also add definition to the lash lines.
Lucy Boynton's Painted-On Lashes
Skip the false lashes this festive season and give optical-illusion lashes a try. Inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas (the soundtrack was apparently playing in the background during the glam process, makeup artist Jo Baker told Allure [8]) and The Corpse Bride (another Tim Burton classic), this party makeup look feels both glamorous and eerie at the same time.
To re-create this at home, follow Baker's lead: Instead of using a pencil or liquid liner to draw the lashes directly onto your skin, take a waterproof pencil and smudge the tip against the back of your hand. Then, using an angled liner brush, dip the bristles into the black pigment and draw on the lashes that way. Finish with lots and lots of mascara.
Yara Shahidi's Icy Pastel Shadow and Liner Combo
Makeup artist Emily Cheng dusted matte lilac-coloured shadow all over Shahidi's lids. But instead of lining the actor's lashes in basic black or dark eggplant, she created sharp wings in a metallic turquoise colour that somehow both contrasted and complemented the shadow at the same time. "We were actually playing off the colours from her bustier skirt," Cheng said of the inspiration behind look. "I mixed a dusty pastel lavender and then a metallic turquoise to achieve a difference in texture, too. The metallic wet gave it almost a plastic finish." The cool pairing also gave us major Elsa from Frozen vibes — in a really good way, that is.
Anya Taylor-Joy's Purple Lipstick
Here's another unexpected pairing for the festive season courtesy of Peaky Blinders actress Anya Taylor-Joy [9]: gold eye shadow and purple lipstick. It's a daring combination that inexplicably works, and it would be a fun makeup look to wear whilst ringing in the new year.
Florence Pugh's Dove Grey Lids
If you're not someone who loves wearing colourful eye shadow but still wants your makeup to feel festive, may we suggest trying a dove grey? The shade on Pugh's lids — which according to her makeup artist, Alex Babsky, is Bobbi Brown Cream Shadow Stick in Shadow [10] (£23.50) — is a soft shade of grey that, when worn with a blue or green or teal dress, ends up skewing the slightest bit blue or green without going overboard. Babsky paired the soft eye and graphic black liner with a neutral lip colour: Lisa Eldridge True Velvet Lipstick in Velvet Fawn [11] (£26), to be exact.
Rita Ora's Graphic Wings With a Twist
Makeup artist Marie Bruce added a flash of gold to Ora's lids for the 2019 Jingle Bell Ball in London — sandwiching it between graphic black wings that framed the singer's lids. Not only did the touch of metallic make the look feel festive, but it also brought out the golden tones in Ora's gorgeous brown eyes.
Sophie Turner's Emerald Winged Shadow
Emerald-coloured eye shadow is a festive season staple, and this year we're taking cues on how to wear it from Sophie Turner at the 2019 Met Gala [12]. Using Pat McGrath Labs EYEDols Eye Shadow in Lapis Luxury [13] (£19), makeup artist Georgie Eisdell applied the cleanest, sharpest winged shadow we've ever seen, tracing the inner rims with black liner and loading up the top and bottom lashes for intensity and definition around the eyes.
Storm Reid's Pink and Red Pairing
Frosty pink eye shadow and cherry-red lipstick sounds a little terrifying at first, but one look at Storm Reid's gorgeous makeup and you realise the two shades go together like bangers and mash. It's an unexpectedly festive combination; just make sure to choose a red lipstick that's blue-based (vs. orange-based) or that has some magenta undertones to ensure it harmonises with the cool tones of whatever pale pink shadow you choose.
Gemma Chan's Icy Lilac Lids
The Winter months are a great excuse to break out your icy, metallic eye shadows and channel your inner ice queen. Gemma Chan's frosty lilac shadow looked divine against smoked-out liner, lots of lashes, and a petal-pink lip.
Barbie Ferreira's Scarab-Coloured Shadow
Metallics are always a good idea during the festive season, so why not wear several at a time? We love Barbie Ferreira's amethyst-and-emerald smoky eyes that, when blended together, created a similar effect to that of an oil slick or exotic beetle shell.
Cara Delevingne's Watercolour Shadow
There's no arguing that watercolour shadow is one of 2019's biggest makeup trends, showing up all over the red carpet as well as the Spring/Summer 2020 runways [14]. So why not try it for one of your festive season parties? Cara Delevingne's version — executed by makeup artist Lisa Eldridge [15] using pink, peach, orange, and yellow shadows — is a good place to start if you're looking for inspiration.
Maya Jama's Twinkly Green Lids and Lots of Lashes
If you want to experiment with a festive makeup look but don't want something that's too bold or too loud, we offer you Maya Jama's grey-green shadow. What makes this look so wearable is that the colour is limited to the lids (meaning it doesn't go up and over the brow bone) with a faint line of it under the lower lashes. Add because she paired the hue with some extralong (and feathery) false lashes and a touch of silver at the inner corners, her green shadow became more of a whisper of colour than a full-on scream.
Sydney Sweeney's Rose Gold Shadow
The Euphoria [16] star's metallic coral-pink eye shadow would make a perfect party makeup look — whether or not you're wearing clothes that match (in fact, we think this would go great with a little black dress or an all-white ensemble). To create the look, makeup artist Melissa Hernandez dipped into the Pat McGrath Labs Mothership II Sublime Palette [17] (£115) and — if you look closely you can see — also added the teeniest, tiniest silver crystals at the inner corners of Sweeney's eyes.
Nathalie Emmanuel's Classic Crimson Lips
Red lipstick for Winter (and the festive season) is like florals for Spring: it's not groundbreaking. But it sure is beautiful. We love this true red hue on Nathalie Emmanuel, but feel free to choose something darker, lighter, pinker, or more orange-y depending on what works with your skin tone [18], your outfit, or just your personal preference.
Emilia Clarke's Soft Red Lipstick
You know how we said you could go for a lighter red? Well, here's a perfect example courtesy of Emilia Clarke.
Dua Lipa's Silver Accents
By now it should be clear that we're loving everything and anything metallic for the festive season. If you don't want to be bothered with all the smoky eye blending or winged shadow shaping, then take a page from Dua Lipa's book and apply black liner, coat your lashes with lots of mascara (maybe some false lashes if that's your thing), then simply add a touch of twinkly silver shadow or eyeliner along the inner rims of your eyes for a flash of shine that's as understated as it is glamorous.
Jorja Smith's White Cat Eyes
Here's another simple makeup look that will have maximum impact at your next Christmas or Hanukkah party: a stroke of crisp white eyeliner that's restricted to just the top lashes and paired with dewy skin and lots of mascara. Extra points if you match it to your outfit and pair it with sparkly earrings.
Jourdan Dunn's Soft Burgundy Lids
Model Jourdan Dunn offered another example of how to experiment with colourful makeup in a subtle, barely there way. Her eyes heavily lined in black with black eye shadow buffed around the outer corners in a small "V" shape, Dunn added a touch of soft burgundy shadow to the lids. Look very closely and you'll also see there was the faintest bit of burgundy placed underneath the black liner along her lower lashes.
Millie Bobby Brown's Gilded Smoky Eyes
There's nothing more festive than gold decorations, whether you're talking about the tinsel on your tree or the makeup on your face. We love this gold shadow look on Millie Bobby Brown (done by makeup artist Kelsey Deenihan [19]), which combines the bright metallic hue (Deenihan used Pat McGrath Labs EYEdols Eye Shadow in Enraptured [20] (£23)) with heavy black underliner and bronze shadow buffed along the creases of the eyes, giving the glamorous shade a bit of a punky edge.
Neelam Gill's Sparkly Onyx Shadow
Make your basic black shadow feel festive by throwing a bit of shimmer into the mix, like Neelam Gill did at the 2019 Brit Awards. For a simple way to re-create the look, try a shimmery black cream shadow (like Stila Cosmetics Magnificent Metals Glitter & Glow Liquid Eye Shadow in Molten Midnight [21] (£24)). Or you can always take a black pencil liner and draw (and fill in) your wings, then take a shadow brush with densely packed bristles to press shimmery black shadow on top.
Priyanka Chopra's Negative-Space Cat Eyes
Negative-space liner started on the runways and slowly made its way onto the red carpet over the past two years. Conceptual by nature, it's not the easiest look to pull off in real life, but if you copy Priyanka Chopra — keeping the wings the same shape and size you normally would and pairing it with a pretty plum lip colour and sexy loose waves — we'll bet you'll be getting compliments all night long.