How to Do Your Makeup Like a Celebrity for This Season's Holiday Parties

The holiday season gives everyone an extra reason to wear slightly fancier clothes, spend a tad more time primping and taking a little more pride in their appearances. Why is this the case? Think of all the Christmas and New Years pictures that will be taken and posted on Facebook or spend the rest of their existence in some family photo album. If you want pictures to be proud of then take a page from the books of celebrities who always have fabulous makeup.

Wash and Prime

To start the process you need a freshly washed face. This is important because you don’t want old makeup or oils clogging up your pores underneath the new layer of makeup you’re about to apply. After applying your favorite face moisturizer with at least an SPF of 15 then you can go on and apply your makeup primer all over your face. The primer is not essential for everyday makeup but is every star’s secret to having her makeup last all night and looking absolutely flawless in pictures. Primer reduces the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and pores and turns your face into the perfect canvas to put makeup on.

Conceal and Contour

Next, pick a concealer that is one shade lighter than your skin tone and use it to cover up any acne scars, pimples, redness and dark under eye circles. Use your ring finger to gently blend the concealer out along the edges so that it disappears into your skin but still provides coverage where you need it. After the concealer get out your favorite foundation and apply it all over your face. At this point you’ll want to make sure that you work the foundation out past your face and onto your neck so that it doesn’t look like you’re wearing a mask.

Here’s where the process may diverge from your typical makeup routine. To create the incredible bone structure and cheek bones that many starlets have all you need is some contouring powder and an angled brush. Delicately tap the brush into the powder and suck your cheeks in like you’re making a fish face. Swipe the brush into the hollows of your cheeks and you’ll notice that even when you’re not sucking your cheeks in your cheekbones will still look defined. Gently blend the lines out so they’re not as harsh.

Cheeks and Eyes

On the apples of your cheeks apply your favorite blush as you normally would. Next take a highlight in the form of a cream or a powder and brush it right above where you just placed the blush which will give you a dewy look that will glow in pictures.

Finally take an eyeshadow primer and spread it over both eyelids. Like the skin primer this will make your eyeshadow last a lot longer. To create a smoky look brush a light grey eyeshadow over your eyelid then take a black shadow and work it from the corner of your lid into the center. Apply generous eyeliner and two coats of mascara to complete the look. If you happen to have makeup setting spray handy then mist it all over your face and you are all done!