Alice Rhodes

 Christmas is one of my favourite seasons. Especially because I can do smoky golden eyes with bold berry lips and it doesn't look over-the-top or too dressed up, it just looks Christmassy. This is one of the makeup looks I've already been enjoying and will definitely be wearing for the rest of December. 

For my face makeup I started with my Nivea moisturiser and MAC prep + prime primer. I don't usually wear primer as I have pretty dry skin so the makeup tends to not move about over the day but if I'm going to a party or dinner I'll use it to guarantee my makeup stays put. Then I used my beauty blender to put on my Rimmel Wake me Up foundation in the shade Ivory. I swear by this foundation, it gives me perfect coverage and makes my dry skin look alive and healthy, however, if you don't like heavy makeup it's not for you as it's majorly full-coverage. Then I used the matching concealer to cover any spotty areas.

For contour I've used the Rimmel Insta Duo contour-stick and the Maybelline Master Sculpt powder to add some colour back to my face and give my cheekbones a bit more definition. Finally for highlight I've used the benefit High Beam liquid highlighter with the MUA pink powder highlighter on areas I wanted more glow. I don't always use powder as it makes my dry skin look a little flaky and dead but I take the powder brush just to blend my face and neck perfectly. 

Next, onto the fun part! For my eyes I used the Makeup Revolution 144 shade, 2016 edition palette to create a golden, smoky eye. I used a cool brown shade along my lash line and then blended it out to give myself a winged effect; then took a warmer toned brown and blended into and a bit above the crease; finally I took a gold shimmery shade and put it across my lid, blending it into the matte browns. I finished off with my MAC Extreme Dimension 3D black lash mascara. To make my brows big and bold, but still natural I used the Benefit Gimme Brow in the shade 5. 

To finish the look of I used my Models Own 'Strawberry Mojito' matte red lipstick. It's bright, fun and Christmassy. To make the lip more special and glamourous, I added a coat of Tanya Burr's 'Sugar and Spice' lip gloss over the top! A little trick I learnt for a really bright lip is using a matte colour and then a gloss on top for a bold, statement finish. 

I hope you enjoyed my post! I don't claim to be a makeup expert/guru but I just wanted to share how I'll be doing mine for the Christmas season this year, I get a lot of inspiration a tips from Tanya Burr's makeup tutorials- I highly recommend them if you don't watch her.