Christmas beauty: 6 easy ways to look party-ready in no time (even if you are staying at home)
Love this photo of Jan De Villeneuve for TK Maxx
Office parties are cancelled, dinner dates are down and that little get-together is getting smaller by the minute. All the more reason, says beauty writer Jo GB, to let your makeup shine.
SMOKE UP
Love a smoky eye? Avoid makeup looking too heavy on crinklier or hooded eyes by swapping a harsh eyeliner for a softer looking powder eyeshadow and use a fluffy brush to shape and contour. Focus most of the colour on the corners of the outer lids and keep the inner corners clean and naked. Play with the two crease-proof powders in Inika Organic Pressed Mineral Eyeshadow in Choc Coffee Duo, £22 using the Fluffy Shadow Brush from Ariane Poole’s Vegan 7pc Brush Set, £33.
Next, take a fine eyeliner pencil, such as the fantastic Hourglass Mechanical Eyeliner Pencil, £47 for 3, or Jillian Dempsey Khol Eyeliner in Jet Black, £18.50, and work in the secret style of tight-lining. Make sure you pencil is soft enough, then from where your lashes start, gently pull your lid up to expose the upper waterline and trace a dark pencil line along inside. Tight-lining doesn’t show but it miraculously makes lashes look thicker, and eyes more defined. You’ll love the effect so much, you’ll get used to doing it in no time!
Photographer: Annie Johnston. Beauty editor: Vicci Bentley. Fashion stylist: Alyson Walsh. Model: Silvina Neder. Make-up: Louise Heywood. Hair: Marco at Ena Salon
YES GIRL, YOU CAN SHIMMER.
Don’t believe any of the nonsense, glittery eyeshadow isn’t ruled out for grown-ups, it’s just better to shimmer rather than sparkle. Take a fingerprint of a subtle glimmer shadow and print it on your eyelids. Silvery gold, champagne, pinky nude or bronze powder work best; it’s a nod to party without going overboard. And applying the powder with a damp finger tends to help the glimmer stay in place longer. My favourite eyeshadow, all year round, is the E.L.F. Cosmetics Rose Gold Eyeshadow Palette in Nude Rose Gold, £10, with ten shimmering options. For speed on the night, try Kat Von D Beauty Dazzle Vegan Eyeshadow Stick in Storm, £19, as the shimmery particles won’t drop on your cheeks.
RAISE THOSE BROWS
If you do one thing before we go into another lockdown, get your eyebrows shaped. Enhancing your brows instantly makes you look groomed, wide awake and ready to party. Draw tiny featherlike strokes along the brow using Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil, £33. Brush hairs into place and keep a magnifying mirror on hand to help fine tune any tweezing.
Shereen Batliwalla Photography: Claire Pepper. Blouse: Winser London
LOVE A RED LIP
The best thing about wearing a strong, bold lip colour is that it barely needs any other makeup to go with it. The trick is just a little definition for drama. Easy. The latest velvety lip textures are rich in pigment, so they tend to stay in place all night without drying, no matter how much cheese and wine you get through. The best lips to wear right now, include: The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick in Athens Anemone, £8; Lisa Eldridge Luxuriously Lucent Lip Colours in Atomic Cherry, £26, and Inika Certified Organic Vegan Lipstick in Auburn Ambition, £19.50, with avocado, jojoba and argan oils. Wear it well by coating your lips first with a pencil as a base ( see Lisa Eldridge’s video on how to create a Power Pout ).
QUICK PICK ME UP
From daylight to candlelight, my favourite go-to party pick-me-up is a face mask. Transforming the skin in under 10-minutes to give a pre-party energy boost, plump out fine lines and hide any tiredness and dehydration. Favourites include Marie Reynolds Restore, £68, a probiotic scrub-like mask that mixes fresh into a paste, or The Body Shop Pumpkin Instant Radiance In-Shower Mask, £18.
Image: 1999 beauty
FLAWLESS SKIN
Since the goal is healthy-looking skin, you want a base that’s effortless and just covers the areas that need covering, leaving the rest bare. This is the key to more youthful, less caked makeup. I absolutely love Monika Blunder Beauty Blunder Cover, £45, which comes in 14 blend-able shades and bridges the gap between a concealer and foundation. It covers flaws to help fix skin in seconds and can be easily applied with fingertips or a brush.
Then, highlight the tops of cheeks, forehead, eyelids, or collarbone to give skin that ethereal glow. Cruelty-free favourites include the beautiful Hourglass Ambient Lighting Infinity Powder, £49, or RMS Living Luminizer, £36, an all-over creamy highlighter. Pat on eyelids and cheekbones as an all-over shimmer. Finish with a pop of creamy bronze on the cheekbones using Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Contour Wand, £29 to help warm up the complexion and give skin more of a bloom.
JO GB is an author and beauty & wellbeing writer and founder of Jo GB Living. Read her advice on giving over-50 skin a radiant glow HERE.
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Discussion (18 Comments)
Linda Hind says:
Maureen: Isn’t she breathtaking?I showed the photo to my husband and noted that she has twice as much hair as she needs and I only have half as much as I need (and once had!). What a beauty! Stay well and happy Christmas to all!
Really interesting post, Jo – I read it avidly before noticing it was you. Am wondering whether to try to the beauty mask thing before filming videos or whether it would just mean one more thing to organise and remember. But love shimmer rather than sparkle.
Mrs Tonia says:
Thanks Jo for these beauty tips.
I layer eye shadows during the day starting with a pewter more matte one and biscuit colour on browbone. As day wears on and for evening even at home I start adding the more sparkly highly pigmented shadows on top. Good new find is a Clarins four shade circular palette. For my green eyes I chose one called Jade. Mostly it’s khaki, bronze shades plus a teal one. For daytime it’s too disco for my taste but looks good in artificial light. I favour a strong black line using the Clinique felt tip one. No irritation as subtle or winged as one chooses. Again it can be added to from day to evening as it fades. Mascara a great help. I’m not keen on too much shiny highlighter near my eyes on cheekbones. I bought those products. I find it accents my eye hollows and makes me look even more fatigued. Instead a good concealer and warm toned cream blushers. I mix two Clinique Chubby sticks together. The rhubarb peach colour one plus the rosy pink one. Layering as much on as required for a healthy look. The only skin prep I’m doing to avoid irritation is the little sachets of vitamin C powders from
Clinique. Once a week or so. Followed by rich moisturiser. It’s enough for good skin texture and appearance.
Lovely to see some familiar faces from TNMA back in this post. Attractive smiling women who look “ good in their skins” .
Enjoy whatever festivities you engage in readers of TNMA. Best seasonal greetings to all including Alyson and her talented team including her regular photographers and stylists. Thanks for an inspiring year of images and ideas which have guided us to years end.Thanks so much for all your thoughtful comments this year, Antonia. I really appreciate your feedback and I know my regular readers do, too! I’m also a fan of Clinique’s Chubby Sticks and a khaki/ bronze eyeshadow. I’m not sure I’ll ever perfect winged eyeliner (it seems to be getting even wobblier these days) but I’ll keep trying…
Sierra says:
Thank you Mrs Tonia. I wish you, Alyson and all fellow TNMA readers a happy, peaceful and healthy Christmas and New Year. I’ve loved reading your informative posts throughout the pandemic. They lift one’s spirit Mrs Tonia, thank you.
I always struggle with eyeshadow. Having very heavy, loose lidded eyes, I’m not sure where to apply it. I tend to always use matt colours (getting harder to find), never glitter or sparkles, as they don’t look right on my saggy lids. A lighter colour across the lid, under the crease, then a darker shade of the same colour at the outer edges, both over and underneath, then blend before adding mascara . I’d love any tips on where to buy good waterproof eyeshadow, as I suffer from dry eye, always running, especially in the cold.Julia says:
I also suffer from very dry eyes which ran too. Mine have been transformed by something called the Peep Club eye wand. It’s not cheap but has stopped my eyes running – basically a heated, vibrating ‘wand’ (yes, I’m aware of what it sounds like!) which you smooth along your lash line. I mentioned it to my optician yesterday and he did say that it’s the heat along the lash line which makes the difference, so a cotton pad soaked in hot/warm water daily would do the same thing. However, I like my wand which I got from Victoria Health online, coupled with eye drops. Made all the difference to me.
carole b says:
An excellent, timely, post – thank you Jo and Alyson. I was really inspired by your suggestions; watched the Lisa Eldridge vid and practised myself – matt complexion and minimal eyes – to highlight red lips , brilliant! Am going to accessorise with 1990’s large cluster drop pearl clip-on earrings (and also 1990’s Nicole Fahri silver v-necked long sleeve top) for a solstice Zoom writer’s party.
I echo Mrs Tonia’s thanks for a year of inspiration and joyful acceptance of our age, beauty and wisdom; long may we continue to bloom and flourish!
marie treacey says:
Thanks for this post Alyson you look fabulous too Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Frankie says:
Can highly recommend Trinny London make up products & Trinny’s posts regarding how to apply said products.
Josanne says:
Thanks for this post Jo and Alyson some great ideas. I highly recommend Miracle Balm from Jones Road, the new company Bobbie Brown created. It comes in a variety of colors, for all skin tones and adds color and a dewy glow.
Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year.Oh yes, I keep seeing good reviews for Miracle Balm. Thanks for the reminder.
Cindy says:
Let our inner and outer beauty shine – with or without makeup.
Happy holidays from Canada.
Sonja says:
Loved the article. But what Struck my eye is the beautiful dress Silvana wears.
which brand is this dress.
Karen Leave a Reply
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I want Silvina Neders hair. But you know what they say, I want never gets