Holiday Makeup: velvety skin + cheery lips

I’m working on several DIYs to get holiday-ready (sequin clutch, full skirts, and tie-neck bows) and hope to finish the tutorials soon! This upcoming Thanksgiving weekend should be the perfect time for at-home projects before a month filled with festivities. For today I have a holiday makeup post using a few favorite products from Laura Mercier. I’m a big fan of quick and easy makeup – I’ve raved about her foolproof caviar eye sticks which work as an eyeliner + shadow in one, and also own her tinted moisturizer (I took “bisque,” for reference) thanks to several of your recommendations. In this post I’ve used LM’s new Flawless Fluide foundation, which has a little more coverage than the tinted moisturizer and a velvety finish. After smooth skin and creamy eyeliner, the only accessory really necessary is a festive lip! Here’s the same face with a different lip color to complement another ensemble:

I’m a powder foundation girl most of the year, but have found that liquid works better on winter days when my skin gets really dry. LM has a liquid foundation primer which I’ve heard great reviews about. Due to my sensitive skin, I decided to stick with my usual regimen of Eucerin daily moisturizer on my face and Aquaphor healing ointment for lips. I let both “set” while doing my hair, and then applied a coat of the flawless fluide foundation with my fingertips.

Vintage mirrored vanity tray – similar here or here 

I was told by a makeup artist that the foundation starts out thinner, and the more you shake the bottle, the more it thickens up and adds to the coverage. I absolutely love the finish (not cakey or shiny at all) on this foundation and how lightweight it feels. It’s supposed to stay put for up to 12 hours and be sweat and humidity-proof, which I appreciate although can’t speak to yet since it’s winter. My one gripe is with the packaging and tube opening, which can get messy after all the shaking. I combed through reviews online and found some helpful shopper tips that worked – 1) don’t store the foundation with the cap facing down, and 2) shake after you remove the lid, with a clean finger covering the tube opening.

As you can see above, one of my main trouble spots is discoloration on the chin. A layer of this foundation was enough to even out the area and conceal the dark spots. You can add concealer at this point if needed – I did not in this post in order to show the foundation coverage by itself.

For the eyes, I’m still obsessed with these caviar eye sticks and have grown my collection slowly over the year. To apply, draw a smooth line on your eyelids. I used a learned tip to draw with your eyes open (good for those with hooded eyes like myself) so you can see where the shadow will be visible when your eyes are open and it doesn’t get covered-up in the folds. You can leave it as-is after drawing on for more saturated color, or blend immediately with your fingertips for a smoky look. If blending, do so quickly as the color will “set” within a minute or two and won’t budge for the rest of the day.

Left: Khaki as shadow with Tuxedo as liner vs right: Khaki alone, 2 layers blended

The most versatile color in my opinion is still “Khaki,” which is a taupe color if applied thinly and can build up to be pretty dark and dramatic. I use this often either alone, or as a base eyeshadow to layer other colors on top. I also have “Tuxedo,” which I substitute in lieu of liquid eyeliner when in a time crunch. It’s creamy and more smoldery as a liner versus liquid which is very clean. At this point you can finish your brows if needed (mine are a bit unruly and spotty these days so I used a MUFE brow pencil) and add mascara (used Benefit “they’re real”), bronzer or blush if so desired.

For lipcolor – I tested quite a few shades asking for colors that’d make a smile look whiter. Apparently the key is colors with blue undertones, like deep reds or berries, which counteracts with yellow in tooth enamel. I usually fear shades on the purple-y end of the spectrum, but loved this “Orchid” gloss and the teeth-brightening effect.

I’ve been motivated to experiment more with lip color in general since it can change up the look even with other elements remaining the same. This was my favorite deep red out of the ones I tried – “Red Amour” in a very creamy, non-drying formula that lasted a decent amount of time.

Thank you to Laura Mercier for sponsoring this post! Please share any of your favorite foundations for dry skin or long-lasting lip colors for the holiday season :

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