Christmas Day Beauty Tips
No matter the climate you live in, Christmas comes with drinks (dryness), naps (smudge city), and plenty of food (increased grease factor). Here’s how to adjust your makeup for a flawless look all day and night!
Do you guys eat loads, have a few glasses of champagne, and have a nap on Christmas Day? Me too. Every year, without fail. I also love to celebrate the season with a decent face of makeup. The issue is that these factors don’t really mix.
If I’m not strategic, I wake up from my food coma nap with smudged liner, crumbly lashes, an oily nose, and dry patches galore. Oh, and my Dad is very overzealous with candid photos, so there’s that. And did I mention, I live in a country where Christmas is during Summertime? Yup, sweaty, hot, humid, smudgy, Summertime Christmas.
Skip the lashes
Falsies are likely to get a bit skewed with all the hugging of relatives, cozy naps, and maybe even some champagne-induced tears (anyone else get teary at Christmas? No? Okay, moving on).
Go for a soft, fluttery mascara as opposed to falsies. I love Clinique High Impact Mascara ($19.50). It gives just the right amount of thickness, length, volume, and lift without overloading the lashes with product. But most importantly, it doesn’t flake or crumble (not for me, at least).
Go for a simple, light eye look
The simpler the eye look, the lesser the risk of smudging, flaking and creasing. That doesn’t mean you need to forgo your glam, just be a little lighter on the kohl liner and if you’re going for liquids, make sure they’re ultra waterproof. Even better, take a little setting spray on a small liner brush, dip into matte black or chocolate eyeshadow, press into the lash line, then buff out. This gives you that deep, smoky look but anything that would pose a risk of smudging or falling onto the face has already been buffed out.
Here’s what I’ll be doing:
– Lay down an eye primer or long-wear cream shadow
– Contour the eye with go-to crease color
– Enrich the lash line with powder
– Brighten the inner corner, middle of the lid, and brow bone
– Apply a few coats of mascara
Opt for a stain over a full matte lip
Eating lots of food, drinking, and talking isn’t really conducive to perfect matte lipstick. To avoid patchy, crumbly, or crusty lipstick, go for a smudgy stain. Take a little dot of your liquid lipstick onto your ring finger and pat it over the lips. It gives that bitten, soft, blurred effect while serving stunning color. Or, go for a nude or rosy lip liner and add balm over the top.
Go light on the base and touch up if necessary
The lighter the base, the lower the risk of patchiness, oil breaking through, unwanted shine, and dry spots. Apply a primer to suit your skin type, then a very light layer of your go-to foundation, just enough to even out the skin tone.
If you use a high-coverage foundation, use it very sparingly and buff it out. Go in with your concealer to take care of redness, blemishes and dark circles. Set with a little translucent powder. You’re flawless yet fresh, with zero risk of weird textures cropping up as the day goes on.
Blush, highlight, and setting spray
Add a touch of blush and highlight to add dimension to the face so you look rosy and fresh in all of those inevitable photos. Set with your go-to spray, and you’re done.
A little note: if Christmas is a tough time for you, or if you aren’t in a position to spend it with loved ones, I’m sending hugs to you!
Gin Mabey