Your Christmas party makeup masterclass
How to look – and feel – gorgeous this season with 2024’s very best beauty buys
On the hunt for some Christmas party makeup ideas? Forgotten what going out-out looks like? Perhaps you’ve tried to dial up your day makeup… and wound up looking like a glitterball crossed with a badger? (Been there).
Truthfully, party makeup can feel intimidating. Regardless of how much makeup you wear or how often, switching up a look from AM to PM can befuddle makeup artists and novices alike.
Fear not, for the four most talked-about party makeup trends for 2024 are fast, fuss-free and foolproof. Plus, they come with look-and-feel-good vibes as standard.
For the finger smudgers, the face painters, the enthusiasts, the dabblers, the artists and the ‘dip your face in and hope for the best’ quick fixers. For office parties, big birthdays, date nights, Friday nights, New Year’s Eve – and every celebration in between – there’s a look for your every mood and occasion, thanks to…
The bold red lip
Tomato, wine, black cherry, pomegranate or burgundy… No matter your shade, red lips are a classic – the makeup equivalent to a crisp white shirt, achingly stylish and forever en (and in) vogue. Sure, wearing a bold lip requires confidence, but it can boost confidence too. In fact, it is scientifically proven that when you wear red lipstick, you’re more attractive to people’s gaze, whether on Instagram or in real life.
A surefire way to look ‘pulled together’ (even when you’re not), spirit-lifting lipsticks are a must for party season and meh Mondays alike. Sure, true blue-red lipstick will help make teeth appear whiter in pictures (and in person) but the very best red lips will complement your complexion year-round too.
Smokey ‘Hocus Pocus’ eyes
Smouldering smokey eyes are a must for anyone wanting to look both on-trend and timeless (that's all of us, then) with deliberately smudged and streaked diffused lines. Use powder shadows to build up a budge-free, high-impact look, or try a richly pigmented liquid shadow or colour stick – these are less likely to drop, which is good news for under eyes. Do use a brush to blend and soften pigment to create that iconic smokey finish, and don't forget to take colour under the lower lash line too – use liner or a shadow stick in the waterline, plus plenty of mascara.
Flicked eyeliner
Sharp, super versatile and an easy way to enhance your eye shape, it’s no wonder millions flock to flicked eyeliner for party season; from artful, extended ticks to jumbo graphic lines, consider it your fast-track to looking fash (see TikTok for proof in point). Feeling wild? Try reverse cat-eyes – aka The Fox – lining the inner corner of the eye in liquid or pencil. More of a traditionalist? Use a gel liner with an ultra-fine brush, starting with the outer wings of the eye to make sure they’re even. Next line the rest of the eye, keeping the finish looking super sharp by using a tape as a guide or concealer to clean it up.
Glitter-ball
Silver-foiled, sparkle-laced liner and molten metallics are as synonymous with party season as sequined dresses and Strictly. The new 2024 mood? Playful. Fun. Easy. Charlotte Tilbury’s Hypnotising Pop Shots pack all the pizazz of a party-loving, life-and-soul sequin lid without being overly showy. Whether you opt for a lil’ sparkle on the inner corner of the eye or a full loud lid, use your fingertip to press glitter shadow in, or wet a brush with setting spray to apply for more control. Oh, and do use a good eye primer as a base – it helps the colour to really pop.
Glow-vember skin
Oh, highlighters! Nothing will take your skin from lacklustre to luminous faster than these gems, which is great news for winter-ravaged skin. Be it a powder, cream stick, molten-metal-like liquid or dew-inducing balm, the best highlighters are sure to make dull, lacklustre skin sing with a glass-like glow. Use yours to amplify the areas where the light would naturally hit your skin – the so-called 'high points' of your face (cheek and brow bones, plus the nose and cupid's bow). Et voila! Glow up complete.
