Post by Aoife
Dear readers, there’s only so much we can say about dressing during the Christmas season. Need some shopping-to-bar-to-another bar and then a heaving pub style tips? Click here! Want to look your very best in the most polished way from morning to night, without having to rush home to change? Look no further! Content to lounge in comfy clothes, but feel like going the extra mile in case someone important calls to the door? Leggings are your only man!
The bottom line is, wear what you want to wear and try to have fun with it. But if what you want to wear is head-to-toe black, or a simple jeans and jumper outfit you could always inject some interest with your make-up look. And if the thought of inches of glitter on your eyes brings you out in a cold sweat (or conjunctivitis), never fear, for this season’s favourite make-up trend is simply a pop of colour to brighten up the most peaky of peepers.
A slick of colourdy eye-liner is truly this year’s cat eye. So easy, so effective! Look at newly Golden Globe nominated Saoirse Ronan go, at a Little Women premiere last week. Keeping the rest of the face clear and flawless looking, once the 45 minutes spent on acquiring the no make-up, make-up look is up, the rest is simple as can be!
Here she is again, at yet another Little Women premiere, this time in Par-ee. Another colour focused look, this one might be even easier to achieve. The lilac is lovely on her blue eyes, and would really make brown eyes pop. Likewise the turquoise blue in the first look; it’s not usually recommended for blue eyes, but I think Saoirse pulls it off beautifully. It would really work on dark skin and brown eyes, likewise the lilac; see Lupita Nyong’o to prove me very much right!
As referenced earlier, you will have to go for the no make-up, make-up look for the rest of your visage, rather than actually wearing no makeup because a faux flawless base is required to justify the fun and quirky little pop of colour, and let’s face it, your complexion is going to be needing a little bit of help during party season.
Prep with a hydrating mask (Penneys does them well and cheaply, FYI), follow with the dewyist base you can find (I dampen a beauty blender in order to give the most sheer coverage and just use my usual foundation, Catrice HD Liquid Coverage), and go to town with your under-eye concealor (my go-to is and always will be Maybelline Eraser). Add your setting spray (Rimmel does a decent one), a light touch of blusher for that winter flush (I’m a fan of Bourjois), a bit of bronzer to stop you looking like Aunt Sally revived from the dead (my favourite is Nars but I can also vouch for that Rimmel Summer Glow one!) and as much highlighter as you can muster before looking reflective – I’m afraid I’m going to have to recommend Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Flawless Filter.
Now for the piece de resistance, the eye-liner, or eye-shadow applied with a fine brush, if you prefer. Pop down to any chemist that sells make-up and peruse their products, you definitely do not need to break the bank with this one. If you have one, use an eye-makeup base to ensure it stays on, if you don’t you could use a bit of primer, sparingly, and a touch of powder for hold.
Don’t go over the whole eyelid, this isn’t the 80s, or even an ironic 80s homage; concentrate on the lash line.
Conventional wisdom advises the following colour combos:
Blue Eyes – Orange, gold, bronze
Brown Eyes – Blue, purple, green
Green/Hazel Eyes – Purple, green, pink
But of course you can put whatever colour you like on tes yeux , if blue works for Saoirse’s baby blues, it works for ours!
So, will you blitz the glitz this season in favour of a slick of colour? We’ll show you our make-up looks over on Instagram, if you show us yours!
Beirt 