GRWM: Easy Christmas Eve Makeup Look

Christmas Eve is a time where I catch up with a few friends and then travel on to meet up with my family, so I like to keep my makeup festive with a little gold eyeshadow, winged liner and a dark red lip.

 Step 1: All About That Base

There will be photos and selfies galore during Christmas Eve, so a good base is a must. After cleansing and all that jazz, I'll prime my face with This Works In Transit Camera Close-Up (£30, link) which creates a perfectly smooth canvas to apply my foundation. It's pricey but a little goes a long way, and it also doubles up as a moisturiser and a hydrating face mask as well. Next, I'll do my brows with Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil in shade 6 (£18.50, link) which really is goof proof because it's super easy to use and looks very natural, whilst giving your brows a little 'oomph' at the same time.

Moving into foundation, I'm still very much attached to my Charlotte Tilbury Magic Foundation* (£29.50, reviewed here) which offers long-lasting full coverage and a pretty demi-matte finish that photographs really well. I use the shade 5 Medium and I've applied it here with a UBU No. 22 Foundation Brush*.

I have a couple of old acne/blemish marks on my chin which are taking forever to fade, so I like to apply a little extra foundation over these with a makeup sponge. I find that using sponges over these difficult areas help to blend everything more seamlessly than a brush can - here I've used a UBU Foundation Sponge*. These are great because they're latex free, smaller and much thinner than other traditional makeup sponges, so they still give you a good 'bounce' but without the expense of a beauty blender. You can also fold them up to blend foundation or concealer into tricky areas like around the nose.

Concealer wise, I'll apply a little NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Honey (£22.50, reviewed here) underneath my eyes to cover up my dark circles and I'll use my ring finger to blend this in. For any blemishes, I'll spot conceal with Becca Ultimate Coverage Concealing Creme in Butterscotch (£24, reviewed here) with a UBU No. 36 Smudger Brush*.

 Step 2: On the Eyes - Subtle Gold Shimmer & Winged Liner

My eyelids get oily so I'll prep them with a smidge of Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (£16, link) which is still the best eyeshadow primer I've ever used and I've been using it for years. This will help to stop any eyeshadow I put on afterwards from creasing and it also helps to stop colour fading later during the night.

As it's Christmas Eve and I'm feeling oh-so-festive right now, I've decided to use a loose mineral eyeshadow from Bellapierre in the shade Celebration (£12.99, link) and applied it with a UBU No. 21 Eye Defining Brush*. This is a beautiful gold shimmer that's subtle, and not too glittery or over the top. I really love using this just on its own for an easy little 'something-something' on the eyes. After that, it's time for some winged liner courtesy of my trusty Eyeko Black Magic Liquid Eyeliner* (£15, reviewed here), followed by a coat of Stila Huge Extreme Lash Mascara* (£18, reviewed here). 

Step 3: Finishing Touches - Blush, Highlight & a Dark Red Lip

I'm usually a die-hard bronzer and contour fan, but as I'm going for a dark red lip in this look, I wanted to keep things simple with just a hint of blush and a little highlight. Here I've used NARS Blush in the cult favourite Orgasm (£23, link) and then I've applied a touch of the white gold highlighting powder in the MUA Set & Reflect Finishing Kit* (£5, link). Both of these I applied with the UBU No. 10 Powder Blush* which has a nice, soft fluffy head for blending.

As I have an oily t-zone, I've set everything with a light dusting of the invisible finishing powder from the same MUA Set & Reflect Finishing Kit, and applied this with the UBU No.12 Kabuki Brush*, taking it down across my chin to further set that foundation and concealer from earlier.

Now all that's needed is a dark red lip! 

To finish off this look, I've chosen MUA Velvet Lip Lacquer in Firecracker* (£3, link). I applied this quite quickly as I was losing the natural light in my bedroom (damn these short winter days!), so it's not the neatest but you get the idea. These MUA lip lacquer bad boys are super pigmented, have a pretty matte finish and they stay put for hours - perfect for cocktails and dancing!

This post is sponsored by UBU (Urban Beauty United) - urbanbeautyunited.com / Check out their affordable makeup brushes in selected Tesco and Asda stores, as well as online from Amazon. 

What's your go-to makeup look for the holidays?

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