New Years Eve Makeup: From Drab to Fab in 15 Minutes

Like many nail polish lovers, I rarely wear makeup, New Years Eve is an exception. It’s the biggest party of the year, so it’s obligatory to look fabulous! Plus, there is an old Russian superstition that the way you spend New Years Eve is the way you’ll spend the rest of the year. Drinking champagne while looking fabulous for a year? I’m fine with that! ;)

However, for many of us, it’s a busy time of year leaving little time for makeup. Or, maybe you’re like me and just don’t feel like spending hours on your makeup and prefer to spend that time on a special New Years Eve party manicure (stay tuned, tutorial for that coming tomorrow). Either way, I’ve got you covered!

Here’s how to do your New Years Eve makeup in just 15 minutes:

Start with a perfecting complexion primer. Rub a two pea sized amounts of it between your fingers and spread it all over your face in one quick move.
With your fingers apply foundation on your face and neck focusing on areas that require more coverage. I also apply foundation under my eyes (forgive me makeup Gods!) because I have dark circles. Here’s a tutorial on how to conceal dark circles under eyes like a pro.
Apply lots of highlighter under eyes, eyebrows, on cheekbones and around lips. Blend it all with foundation by patting in with the tips of your fingers gently.
Apply some peach rose cream blush (like this) on your cheeks and blend it with your fingers.
Using a large fluffy makeup brush (like this), apply a little bit of loose powder all over your face to set the foundation-highlither-blush mix.
Use neutral light beige and taupe eye shadows and a small fluffy brush (like this) to add depth to your eyes. Apply a lighter shade under eye brows and darker shade on your eyelids.
Use an angled eye brow pencil* in a shade close to your natural eye brow colour to outline and fill in your eyebrows.
Apply 2-3 coats of black max volume/length mascara. Use a black eyeliner to add extra drama to your look. If applying eyeliner is something you’re not very good at – just skip it. Our goal is to get fabulous as quickly as we can! Leave experiments for later.
Use a well sharpened lip pencil in a shade close to your natural lip colour to outline your lips.
Apply a nice rosy lipstick* covering the lip liner, but not going over it. You’re all done!

*Angled eye brow pencils are the easiest and quickest to use for perfect eyebrows.

**Dark lipsticks are more difficult to apply hence it takes longer. So if you’re in rush, stick with light colours.

Extra tip #1: Use fingers whenever possible to apply makeup, it all blends nicely and is quicker to apply. Yes, that’s why creamy textures are the preferred over powders. Unless you have a very oily skin, in that case you might want stick with powders.

Extra tip #2: Use makeup setting spray to finish and ensure it stays in place, especially if you’re planning a long night out.