The Christmas Day Makeup Menu

Over the years I’ve really grown to love Christmas! I guess as an adult it’s one of the few times to get together with your family, eat, drink, play board games and have fun. Even if you’re one of the brilliant people who works Christmas Day, makeup is one of the best ways to feel festive no matter who you’re with or what you’re doing.

My skin is much drier in winter and it's been loving the Too Faced Hangover Primer | £27 | review | recently. It's a cream formula that isn't greasy at all but just ensures my base doesn't cling to any dry patches. Before applying foundation, I also use my Bobbi Brown Corrector (Peach) | £19.50 | review | to cancel out any dark circles. For Christmas Day, I think I want something quick and fuss-free for my base that’ll still last me the entire day so I’m going to opt for the Estee Lauder Double Wear Nude Stick Cushion Foundation (4W1) | £28 | review. This gives a nice, natural, glowing medium-full coverage and I can rely on it not to get shiny or break down during the day. I’m actually running a little low on my Too Faced Born This Way Concealer (Medium) | £20 | review, however hopefully I’ll still have some left by Christmas! It gives enough coverage for blemishes, though personally I think this is mainly amazing for giving a radiant look under the eyes. It has a medium-full coverage that’s very natural and flawless. My only negative is that you’ll need to set it quickly if you have more oily/combination skin because otherwise it could crease. I use the MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural (Medium-Deep) | £24 | for this on an everyday basis. I just don’t really feel the need to do some crazy bake for a casual day at home with the family – this is just a very natural, traceless powder. Though it has some coverage, it never cakes and somehow looks radiant whilst still keeping any shine at bay.

Moving onto cheeks, I’ve been using the Makeup Forever Pro Bronze Fusion in 30M Sienna | £28 | almost every day recently. It has such a natural finish and is matte, plus for me this shade is the perfect balance because it’s warm but not orange-toned (meaning it still gives some definition). It’s also just very smooth and easy to work with. For Christmas, I obviously have to opt for this gorgeous Nutcracker-themed MAC Sweet Copper Cheek Palette | £29 | review. The highlighter is Whisper of Gilt, a gorgeous true gold with a metallic sheen. Because it isn’t glittery it looks natural but will still give you an amazing glow. Then the matte blusher shade Pleasure Mode is perfect for any warm-toned makeup look (which this obviously will be because it's me we're talking about!) It’s a sort of biscuit-y pinky-brown nude colour with a long-wearing and easy to blend formula.

On the eyes, I prime with my trusted duo: the Urban Decay Original Primer Potion | £16 | review | and Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in Taupe | £21 | review. The primer just ensures my eyeshadows really pop on the lids and don’t wear away or crease and the cream eyeshadow gives the powders I apply on top something to stick to. It’s also great for evening out the colour of my eyelids as it’s a mid-toned brown shade that’s neither too warm or cool in tone. For the main part of the look I’m going to use my Zoeva Caramel Melange Eyeshadow  Palette | £18 | review. I’ve been experimenting with this palette recently and actually use all of the shades! However I think for Christmas I’ll opt for my go-to look. This has been the light peachy-nude matte Universal Delight as a transition, the stunning (almost foil-effect), dewy shimmer Liquid Centre as a coppery rose gold tone across the lid and the vibrant gold shimmer Almost Burnt to highlight the inner corner with. I then finish up by adding more depth to the crease with the warm caramel-brown matte Start Soft and then, using a flat shader brush, I pat Edible Gem (a purple-brown with gold shimmer) on the outer corner, which really balances out the warmth of the look with a little bit of smokiness (though it's nothing too heavy, as the focus of this look is the lips).

The finishing touches for the eyes are of course liner, mascara and brows. In terms of pencil products I’ve been using my ColourPop Gel Crème Eyeliners | $5 each | review | a lot lately. The shades Swerve and Overboard are what I’ll be wearing with this look: Swerve is a matte black to tight-line with and Overboard is a reddened bronze shimmer for the lower lash line. I find these pigmented, transfer-proof and long-wearing; I don’t know why I didn’t try them sooner! For my winged liner, I have my long-time favourite, the Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Liner Pen in Intense Black | £14.50 | review. I mention this a lot so won’t go on! It’s got both an amazing applicator and formula; the tip is very precise and doesn’t dry out, plus the line you get with it is very black and opaque. I often find that on my oily and watery eyes, liquid liner often smudges, transfers or wears away, however this doesn’t! It’s another boring choice (for me) when it comes to brows, but if it isn’t broke: don’t fix it, is how I feel. Here I have the Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz Pencil (Dark Brown) | £15.50 | which I’ve nearly run out of! It’s very similar to the one I often use from Soap and Glory but I’m just enjoying this darker colour and slightly more pigmented formula for this time of year. It’s not too soft or too waxy and is the perfect mid-point between warm and cool colour-wise. I really like it for a natural look that’ll always do the trick for me. I set it with the Benefit Gimme Brow (03)* | £18.50 | review | tinted gel. It has a small wand, meaning you can apply it precisely and the formula isn’t too thick or crispy but still adds the right amount of colour and hold. I’ll then finish off with a good coat of my rediscovered love: Benefit’s They’re Real Mascara | £19.50. It just gives me that amazing, separated false lash effect with so much length. It doesn’t flake or smudge at all either.

Finally, it’s lips! I rarely do red lips, however this duo is one of the few looks that actually does suit me and it's basically the exact shade I imagine Dorothy's Ruby Slippers to be, so it's super-Christmassy! I really love my MAC Amplified Lipstick in Dubonnet | £15.50 | however it's both red and has a sheen so can be a little impractical. However I recently got my hands on Coloured Raine's Matte Lip Paint in Brick House | £16 | which is almost the exact same colour (though a little darker) and they're a match made in heaven! Ok, it's a bit high-maintenance but Brick House (a super-pigmented, matte, seriously long-wearing but non-drying liquid lipstick) gives the longevity and Dubonnet adds the festive sparkle. And just to lock all of my makeup in, I'll be finishing off with a new discovery: the Gerard Cosmetics Slay All Day Setting Spray (Peach) | £14.50. Not gonna lie; I definitely bought this partly for the name! (A+ marketing.) However it's a really nice spray that ensures my makeup doesn't move or wear away during the day but isn't overly mattifying and makes things look a little more seamless. Plus it smells great!

What makeup look will you be going for on Christmas Day?

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*DISCLOSURE
PRODUCTS MARKED WITH AN ASTERISK ARE PR SAMPLES/GIFTS. 
ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN. 

PLEASE VISIT MY DISCLOSURE PAGE FOR MORE INFORMATION.