Special Event / Party / Holiday Look - Tutorial 2018

If you are anything like me, you will probably find yourself attending a number of holiday parties and events this month. Even if you are not someone who enjoys this time of year, you may have to attend an office holiday party or two. Obligation or jubilation, this is a good time to fine tune your holiday makeup look. 

A few years back, this was my go-to makeup for special events: 

http://www.makeupmatters.blog/2014/03/special-eventpartyholiday-look-tutorial.html?m=1

My taste has certainly changed, and my 2018 look is not only easy to achieve, but there is a good chance that you already have these eyeshadows in your collection! 

Let's Get Started!

• Using a Coastal Scents BR-C-S06 brush, I dipped into some of the reddish brown colors in my Urban Decay Naked Heat palette. Taking a mixture of He Devil & Dirty Talk, I swept the color onto my eyelid taking it slightly into the crease. 
• Next, I picked up a smaller tapered brush and applied a mix of En Fuego and Ashes to the outer corner of my lid. Once there was hardly any left on the brush, I brushed the color into my crease. 

• For my lower lash line, I used a Sigma Flat Definer E15 brush to press the same blend of colors just beneath the lashes. 
• Switching to my Urban Decay Naked Petite Heat palette, I grabbed Inhale on a Cozzette P355 brush pressing it on to the inner corner of my eye, and just beneath my brow for a highlight. If you want to stick with one palette for this look, you can use Ounce from the Naked Heat palette instead. These colors are extremely similar, but Inhale has a slightly more brightening effect on my skintone. 
• For liner, I used Jeffree Star Cosmetics Lip Liner in Dominatrix (chocolate brown) gently tracing along my upper lash line. Although this is technically a lip liner, the formula is eye safe. 

• Sticking with the Petite Heat palette,  I picked up the color Strike on an Antonym  #13 angled brush and traced over Dominatrix. Layering the powder eyeshadow over the cream pencil will provide extra staying power so you can have fun all night without your makeup moving. If you don't have this palette, Ashes from Naked Heat will work just fine in place of Strike. The colors are very similar, with Strike leaning more toward an orange brown, vs the darker plummy brown of Ashes. 
• I could have stopped here, but since this is an evening look, I blended just a touch of Scorched from the Naked Heat Palette along the lower lash line with a pencil brush. I blended it just below the mixture of En Fuego and Ashes that I applied earlier.  
• I left the waterline bare so that the focus is on the eyeshadow. 
• I applied a few coats of mascara and drew through my brows with just a little brow pencil. 

I applied my usual primer,  base and powder for my face makeup. Special events are generally not a good time to experiment with new foundation.  Wear whatever you feel comfortable and confident in. Just make sure that there is not too high of an SPF or you may see some flashback come photo time. 

I used a mixture of blush and bronzer along my cheekbones to add warmth to the face. 

For lips, I applied my brand new Chai lipstick from Bite Beauty. To make my lips look just a bit fuller, I used a Milani lip liner in Most Natural to slightly over draw the lip line. 

Here is the final look:

As you can see, someone snuck in the background as I was taking pictures! 

This look is much less dramatic than previous holiday makeup looks that I have created.  As I am getting older,  I try to play up my features rather than going for all out glam. The orange tones in these eyeshadow palettes really bring out the blue in my eyes. Orange and blue are complementary colors, so this look is perfect for those with light eyes. There is a reddish hue to these palettes as well, which will add emphasis to green eyes too. Those with brown eyes are quite lucky, as pretty much every color eyeshadow works! 

What is your favorite holiday makeup look? 

*All products in this post were purchased by me.  This is not a sponsored post. I do not get paid to write reviews.  I never accept products in exchange for a review.