Dress Up Your Look
Wardrobe for the winter season
With the winter holidays almost here, those sequin dresses will be back in your closet soon. And when your wardrobe changes, your hair and makeup should, too.
Add something special to your holiday party look, but still strive for balance, advises Elisha Wendt (left), owner of Blush Haus of Beauté, a cosmetic boutique in Lumina Station.
“With all the sparkles and the fur, I do tend to go more conservative with the hair,” Wendt says. “Because then the girl at the party that’s done too much wishes she hadn’t done so much, and the girl that hasn’t done enough wishes she’d done a little bit more.”
The cosmetic boutique offers fifteen-minute teasers for $15 if you need some quick help with your holiday hair. A full makeup bar also helps top off a glamorous look with a glossy nude lipstick, amped-up lashes, and gunmetal gray or champagne-gold shadows.
Blush makeup artist Tess Wheatley says the best foundation for good makeup is skin care. The boutique carries Kiehl’s skin care products such as Cucumber Herbal Alcohol-Free Toner. Before beginning a holiday makeup routine, Wheatley says, make sure to cleanse, tone, and moisturize twice a day, especially during the drier winter months.
Wendt and Wheatley suggest these tips for a festive holiday look:
MAKEUP
Foundation
Start with a thin layer of foundation for luminous-looking skin. Try a
softer look by adding a small amount of finishing powder before applying concealer. Finish with a little powder by rolling your brush over the face.
“The least amount of the heavy stuff you can get away with, the better,” Wheatley says.
Product: Jane Iredale Smooth Affair Facial Primer & Brightener,
Jane Iredale Active Light Concealer
Blush and contour
When applying contour, use one shade darker than your foundation color. During the colder months, the contour – as well as a brighter blush color – adds a sun-kissed look.
“(The rosy cheek) gives that look like you’ve been standing out in the cold for a little bit too long,” Wheatley says.
Product: Jane Iredale PurePressed Blush Cheekie
Eyes
Use a darker palette for a show-stopping smoky eye. When you add
glitter, press the shadow into the eye to prevent fall out. Apply the liner as close to the lash line as possible for a natural look. For extra adventure, add a cat eye design.
“People tend to use lighter shades because they’re easier and don’t take much blending. But the darker shades can really give you that holiday look,” Wheatley says.
Wear false eyelashes to show off the eye glitter. Wheatley still applies mascara, in case a lash gets lost during the night.
Products: Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) Pure Chromatics Wet and Dry Eye Shadow, Japonesque Lashes
Lips
If you’re going dark with the eyes, avoid a darker lipstick and try a classic nude instead. For extra sheen, top it off with a golden gloss.
Try a lipstick that gives a statement. Transition a summer lipstick color by blending a deeper lip liner. This gives the lip color an ombre style.
“For Christmas or a holiday party, you’re definitely going to be seen
with this and a sparkly dress,” Wheatley says.
Products: YSL Rouge Volupté N °1 and Rouge Pur Couture N °50
HAIR
Curl
For an evening party, Wendt recommends doing ribbon curls for a dressier style. Lay your hair flat against the curling iron, instead of twisting it.
“Enzo is the best,” Wendt says. “It’s like my secret weapon.”
Brush the hair out to loosen your curls. Apply hairdresser oil to help
break up the hair and use a styling spray to hold the curls.
Products: Enzo Milano Curling Clipless Curling Iron, Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil, Mason Pearson brush, Bumble and Bumble Do It All Styling Spray
Tease
When teasing, hold the hair together to avoid lumpiness. Brush the
look again and apply hair spray for a final touch.
“It’s sophisticated, but it still has that urban and chic downtown look – that undone, I-just-woke-up look,” Wendt says.
Products: Kérastase Laque Couture Micro-Mist Fixing Hair Spray
Click here to see more photography by Katherine Clark
