Reimagining Your Party Makeup: Why Fresh Skin, Brushed Brows, and Glossy Lids Are the New Glitter

For a certain kind of woman, holiday makeup presents a challenge: You’re not the type to go for glitter, you don’t do neon red lips, so how do you establish an appropriately festive look that doesn’t involve color? Does the slightly more glamorous equivalent of no-makeup-makeup even really exist? (Pause here to consider what Phoebe Philo looks like at a party.) According to makeup artist Diane Kendal, the answer is yes—starting with the cool minimalism of clean skin, brushed brows, and a flash of supernatural shine on the face.

It all comes down to the arsenal of clear, reflective glosses and subtle highlighting creams that she used to illuminate models’ skin at shows from Alexander Wang to Proenza Schouler and Thakoon for the recent spring 2015 runways. As Kendal says of the technique, “It makes the face look more alluring and fresh, without requiring too much makeup.”

London-based makeup artist Hannah Murray, who uses makeup glosses backstage and on set, agrees. The easy rule to pulling them off, she says, is that a little goes a long way. She suggests starting by considering your features. “Pick one area you want to push a little further with a high-shine effect,” she advises. If it’s the eyes you want to emphasize, Murray likes to apply a beige or nude long-wear cream shadow as a base, then tap MAC’s Studio Eye Gloss in the center of the lid and inner corners. “Layering the shadow underneath the gloss ensures it has something to adhere to, and won’t move around too much,” she explains. Kendal also primes the lid, rubbing a dark brown eye pencil all over before wiping it off with Embryolisse Micelluar Lotion to leave behind only a slight residue. “Then you can pat on a clear gloss, like MAC Clear Lipglass, and when the textures combine, you’ll get this beautiful, soft eye,” she says. Or, skip the pencil and press the translucent gloss onto a bare lid. “It will melt in with the heat of your skin, and just light up the eyes,” says Kendal.

For a pretty sheen elsewhere on the face, focus on the points where the light naturally hits. Kendal usually dusts a white highlighter, like Ben Nye Translucent Powder, on the top of the cheekbones, down the bridge of the nose, and above the outer corners of the brows. “You get this luminous effect without turning the skin too dewy,” she says.

To give brows a soft gleam, brush them up and run a little Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream through them with a clean mascara wand. “For extra definition, you can fill in your arches with a pencil first, and then do your gloss,” offers Kendal, who describes the finished result as “glistening, like you just came out of the water.”

For a final hint of color, Murray rubs Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in pinkish-nude shade on the apples of the cheeks, blended in with her fingers. “You can build the color, so it doesn’t look makeup-y, but more natural and part of your skin.” The effect, says Murray, is fresh, glowing, and special—but still understated enough for even the most pared-down of party minimalists.

The post Reimagining Your Party Makeup: Why Fresh Skin, Brushed Brows, and Glossy Lids Are the New Glitter appeared first on Vogue.