Makeup Artist-Recommended Tips for Achieving a Glittering Holiday Look
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Curating your festive beauty look can feel daunting. With countless Instagram photos to create, the importance of keeping your makeup intact through endless family gatherings, and the added pressure to impress discerning in-laws (as echoed in a popular TikTok clip, “we listen and we don’t judge…”)—it’s a lot! The silver lining? Elevating your glow doesn’t have to be a hassle, especially with red-carpet-inspired tips at your fingertips.
If you’re in a celebratory mood and itching to add some sparkle, now is the moment to shine—just remember, as Tasha Reiko Brown advises, that there’s a technique behind wearing glitter. The Chanel makeup artist, who has beautified icons like Gabrielle Union, Ayo Edebiri, and Alicia Keys, emphasizes focusing on one or two facial features. This strategy allows the shimmer elements of your makeup to “shine,” she elaborates. “[Look for] products that shimmer, have gleaming textures, and balms that illuminate.”
Below are Brown’s top picks for bidding farewell to 2024 with style and sparkle. Enjoy!
Elevated Pout
Brown recommends two ways to enhance a classic red lip. You can either “[choose] a lipstick that combines shine with pigment,” or layer a “clear or dazzling lip gloss” on top of your red.
If your red lipstick has a hint of sparkle, you can amplify the shine or go bolder by picking a “sparkly gloss that matches the shade.” (Brown loves the Sephora Collection About That Shine Sheer Shine Lipstick in Ray of Red.)
The Chanel Rouge Allure L’extrait in Rouge Royal is her “current favorite.” She suggests pairing it with “satin skin and a fresh eye look.”
For gloss, Brown recommends a “thick” formula like the Fenty Beauty Gloss Bomb Heat Universal Lip Luminizer + Plumper in Glass Slipper. “A thinner gloss can slide too much and may mix into your lip color, causing bleeding,” she warns.
Radiant Skin
“I love applying [shimmer] to the high points of the face to really highlight features,” Brown notes, targeting areas like “the tops of cheekbones, the bridge of the nose, the cupid’s bow, and the chin.”
“To maintain the brilliance, opt for fine textures with small shimmer particles,” she advises. For instance, Rare Beauty’s Positive Light Liquid Luminizer in Enlighten illustrates this well, and if you’re applying it with your fingers, Brown recommends using your ring finger for better control.
Another one of Brown’s go-tos is the Nudestix Nudies Glow Highlighter Stick in Bubbly Bebe. Its blendable texture delivers a beautiful dewy effect.
If highlighters aren’t your thing, a “clear balm” like the Jillian Dempsey Lid Tint in Dew can also provide a stunning luminous finish.
When applying luminous powders, like Chanel’s Diamond Dust Oversize Illuminating Powder, Brown advises using a brush that’s “thinner than your usual blush brush” for precise application.
Shimmering Eyes
A “glittery champagne” shade is one of Brown’s top choices for the festive season. “It perfectly complements a vibrant lip,” she insists. Brown offers two techniques for applying either liquid or powder shadow: for a flawless finish, “use your fingers or a tightly packed brush to gently tap the product onto the eyelids.”
Liquid shadows such as Chanel’s Ombre Première Laque in Rayon can be beneficial, as they help keep the pigment in place.
She also loves Urban Decay’s 24/7 Moondust Glitter Eyeshadow Singles in Space Cowboy. Brown reminds us to “press—don’t swipe [the product]—to minimize fallout.”
