Makeup Mistakes To avoid This Holiday Season

ScarJo wearing beautiful, Instagram-free makeup

With the holiday season in full swing you've no doubt got tons of parties and events lined up to take you all the way through to New Years Eve.
You've already planned out your outfits, your accessories and your hairdo so that you look and feel super glam at each and every event, now lets make sure you don't ruin your look by making any of the following makeup mistakes.

 8 Makeup Mistakes To Avoid This Holiday Season

Too Much Makeup

The more makeup tutorials girls watch, the more makeup they pile on. Don't get caught up in all the makeup steps you see online - makeup is meant to enhance your features, not smother them. 
Seriously, less is more.

Contouring Like An Instagrammer

Looking at a face that has been over-contoured makes your brain hurt. Makeup artists have been contouring forever, but not the way you see it on Instagram. We artfully apply a little highlight here and a little shade there to bring out the best features in the face. The key is to be subtle and to be so well blended that you can't see it with the naked eye. 
The nonsense that is still all over Instagram is like a very bad joke.
Heavy product, sitting on the surface of the skin (instead of blended away to almost nothingness) shaded too light and too dark, flagrantly abusing color theory and totally visible to the naked eye is really bad makeup.
Do yourself a favor: don't look at Instagram before you do your makeup!

Stoppppp!

Treating Your Face Like A Makeup Chart

When you treat your face like a makeup chart you start to look like a caricature of yourself. It's super unflattering. 
Instead of following the Instagrammers, focus on creating a gorgeous complexion with sheer foundation and a soft creamy blush. Leave the drag queen look to the drag queens - remember these goddesses of the night use this extreme makeup chart makeup to take their larger, more manly features and turn them into soft, female features. They have reason to do it. You don't.

Instagram Eyebrows

I'm not sure which bothers me more. Instagram contour or Instagram eyebrows.
Eyebrows are one of the most important features on the face. They help give the visage dimension, frame and open the eye, and create balance. 
I am all for a well defined brow, but these crazy, squared off, ferocious brows that are all over the IG look plain stupid. 

Too Much Foundation

Foundation shouldn't be a thick, opaque layer that obliterates the skin. It's job is to create the illusion of perfect, glowing, healthy, even toned skin. Keep your formulation sheer, and blend it well. The person standing next to you should be thinking you have a gorgeous complexion, and shouldn't be able to see foundation sitting on the surface of your skin.

Mis-Matched Foundation

Your foundation shade should ideally match the skin color at your collarbone. Your face shouldn't be any lighter or darker than your decolletage.

Putting Trend Before Reason

Don't be too obsessed with trends in makeup. Find out what works for your face, and do that. 
If a matte oxblood pout is all the rage and you have thin small lips, do a sheer, glossy neutral instead. If dark, smoky eyes are the biggest thing in makeup, but you have deep set eyes or heavy bags under your eyes, you will just draw more attention to those features.
Colors that are on trend might not suit your skin tone, makeup styles that are in vogue might not work your face shape. 

Dull Lipstick

Party season lips need to have a pop of bright color. Dull, brown lips drag your face down. The idea is to look bright and vivacious.

If bright colors feel overwhelming, at least give yourself a pretty, colored gloss.

Holiday Gift Guide ~ Eyeshadow Palettes

Are you going holiday shopping this weekend?
I love all the eye shadow palettes that come out for Christmas. 
In fact one of my absolute favorite gifts that I received last year was an eye shadow palette set that looked like chocolate bars, by Lorac. It was given to me by a former makeup student of mine, and I can honestly say I have used it almost every day for the past year.

So here is a look at some of the holiday palettes in the stores right now. Where possible I will put online shopping links with them.

Happy Shopping!

From Lorac

The Lorac Unzipped Palette
This is actually part of their normal collection, but is a fabulous combination of neutral mattes and shimmers that you will literally use year round. At $40 it's a bargain.

 The Pro Palette.
I have 2 of these, one in my pro makeup kit and one for use at home. Again it's a wonderful combination of colors, the top row is matte and the bottom row is shimmer. Only $42

From MAC

The MAC Keepsakes Limited Edition Smoky Face Palette

Three eyeshadows, one Iridescent Pressed Powder, a cream color base and 2 lipsticks.

The Keepsakes Natural Face Palette

Three eyeshadows, one iridescent powder, two lipsticks and a cream color base, all in neutral tones.

MAC Keepsakes

Gold Lip And Eye

This is just a really lovely color combination.

I would love one of these, and I think it makes a beautiful gift too.

From Trish McEvoy

Power of Makeup Collection ~Simply Gorgeous
This one is a super versatile collection of eyes, lips and cheeks that is great fro everyday makeup looks.


FromMakeup Forever

The Makeup Station
Makeup Forever simply cannot be beaten on quality. Their line is designed for makeup artists, and as such is all about quality, truth in color and longevity.
This case has 30 amazing products

A makeup artist’s set for creating backstage looks and glamorous holiday style with 30 iconic bestsellers for eyes, lips, and the complexion.

This ultimate Makeup Artist’s collection lets you create infinite looks for the holidays—and beyond. Featuring 30 professional must-haves for the makeup love, this set lets any artist explore and indulge in all the backstage essentials. Housed in a reusable, professional backstage Makeup Artist’s Case, this set includes primers, powders, eye, cheek and lip favorites, and Artisan Brushes.

This set contains:
- 1 HD Primer : 0 neutral
- 1 HD Blush : 210 cool pink
- 1 HD Pressed Powder
- 1 Mist & Fix
- 10 Artist Shadow eye shadows: ME-108 steel, I-544 pink granite, M-500 ivory, M-100 black, D-320 golden khaki, I-414 yellow ivory, ME-216 electric blue, D-236 lagoon blue,

M-630 sweet chestnut, ME-728 copper red
- 2 Artist Shadow blushes: S-748 coral, I-922 electric purple
- 1 Graphic Liner : vinyl black
- 2 Aqua Eyes : 21L dark grey, 25L matte brown
- 1 Smoky Extravagant mascara : black
- 1 Star Powder : 926 iridescent beige
- 1 Glitter : 3 iridescent white
- 1 Aqua Seal
- 1 Eyelashes : 156 Nude
- 2 Aqua Lip : 8C true red, 14C muted dusty rose
- 1 Rouge Artist Intense : 43 vibrant red
- 1 Aqua Rouge : 14 light rosewood
- 1 Precision Blush Brush 150
- 1 Precision Blender Brush 216

Reusable case that stores these 30 must-have products. Large mirror included.
 

From YSL

The Yves Saint Laurent "Wildly Gold" Palette
$95 from Nordstrom.com
Order link here

Christmas Party Makeup Tips

 I absolutely love Christmas parties! 

Or to be politically correct, holiday parties.

With party season in full swing here are some tips for the perfect Christmas party makeup.

 1. It all starts with your complexion.
Make sure your skin is exfoliated and well hydrated, and then use a silicone based foundation to give the skin a lumious quality. Powdery foundations and crushed mineral foundations seldom make the skin glow - they normally make it dull.

2. Add a little luminizer.
Run a small amount of luminizer along the top of the cheekbone and up through the temple area. They idea is to give light something to pop off, not to make the skin look glittery or frosty.

Catarina Lopez by Eric Cassee
Makeup Corinna Cooke
Hair Will Zecco

3. Accent the brow.
Add some definition and accent to the brow, to waken the eye and add some drama.
NOTE: this does not mean do an instagram squared brow. They look ridiculous. Need a good brow model to emulate? Look at Dita Von Teese - girlfriend invariably gives good brow.

Dita gives good brow...

4. Line your upper eyelid.
A winged eyeliner is perfect for a Christmas party. Use a cream/gel formula and a crisp, precise brush to create a defined eye. Finish your look with multiple coats of mascara and some outer corner lashes.

5. Choose a matte red lip.
Offset your glowing complexion, defined brow and gently accented eye with a full blown gorgeous, bold red matte lip. 
I love blue based reds at Christmas time, such as MAC Ruby Woo or Lime Crime Velveteen Red Velvet
If you can't wear a blue based red, use your regular red lipstick, but give it some extra depth by using a darker liner.