Thank you to Target for sponsoring this post!
Nothing excites me like the holidays; it’s the best time of the year to indulge in some serious shimmer and break out the festive reds! To celebrate the season, I’m partnering with Target to create a modern and classic beauty look that’s easy to recreate.
There isn’t anything more classic then a red lip for the holidays. Add in some beach waves for that perfect tousled hair and a winged black liner, and you have a timeless look.
To recreate the look, I started by applying e.l.f. Hydrating Face Primer, followed by Covergirl Outlast Stay Luminous natural glow foundation to even out my skin tone. From there, I used the bronzers from the Pixi Contour Kit (bottom row; I mixed the two shades, but you can use one or the other depending on your skin tone) on my cheekbones, followed by the W3LL People Bio Brightener Stick for an added glow above the contour. I then applied the brightening powder from the Pixi Contour Kit (top row) to set the brightener and blend it with the bronzer. For a more intense highlight, stop after the Bio Brightener.
For the eyes, I used the shimmer eye shadow (bottom-right shade) from the Pixi Contour Kit all over my eyelids, followed by the Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Slate Grey on the water line and the NYC Liquid Eyeliner across the lash line. I then finished with W3LL People Expressionist Mascara. On the lips, I used e.l.f. Moisturizing Lipstick in shade Red Carpet.
For the hair, I used It’s A 10 Miracle Leave-In product on towel-dried hair to hydrate my strands, and also for its heat-protection properties. (It protects strands from heat damage from hair dryers, flatirons and other hot tools.) I then used a few spritzes of Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Texturizing Spray for some added body and volume. Once my hair was dry, I went in with my new obsession in life: the Sarah Potempo Beachwaver S1 curling iron. It automatically rotates to the direction of your choice with the click of a button. It’s what was used on the Victoria’s Secret models during their fashion show, and it’s an absolute it product for that perfectly tousled hair.
I then finished off the look with a classic red nail in shade Altitude Attitude from Essie’s winter collection.
For my modern look, I had to push myself out of my boundaries and play with some more wine shades. For so many reasons, I would classify my original look as classic and modern, so I wanted to go for more of a modern ice queen vs. snow angel for my final look.
The hair was easy: a top knot. Super hip and modern. Just brush your hair up to the desired placement of the bun and secure it with a hair elastic. Then twist strands in different directions (or the same, depending on how creative or messy you want it), and secure it with a thin hair tie in the same shade as your hair color. You can finish with hair spray for added hold, and also use bobby pins for any straggler hair to secure the knot.
For the face, I used Covergirl Outlast Stay Luminous natural glow foundation, followed by Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel in Rosy, patting it lightly along the cheekbone. I then went over the top section with W3LL People Bio Brightener Stick for a luminous highlight.
For the eyes, I started with the Pixi Endless Silky Eye Pen in Slate Grey on my water line, and then took to the e.l.f. Endless Eyes 100 Color Eyeshadow Palette. Using the e.l.f. Small Smudges Brush, I applied the green shade from the e.l.f. palette (the fifth color down from the green row, where the brush is pointed) gently underneath my lower lash line. Using the e.l.f. Eyeshadow “C” Brush, I used the grey shimmer shade in the last row (the sixth shade down, where the brush is pointed in the above photo). I then finished with the Pixi Large Lash Mascara.
For the lips, I went with more of a wet wine tint that’s glossy and festive. I mixed NYX butter lipstick in shade BLS11 Licorice with the Pixi Sheer Cheek Gel in Rosy that I used on the cheeks, to add a little red stain to soften the Licorice shade. I then finished with Neutrogena MoistureShine Lip Soother Cooling Hydragel SPF 20 in shade Glaze 60 for the wet gloss finish on top.
To polish off the look, I went with the new super metallic silver nail shade from Essie’s holiday collection, Après-Chic. Festive and modern, it’s a fun way to close out the look.
For more holiday inspiration makeup tutorials, check out the video above featuring naughty and nice makeup looks from Nikki from My Style Diaries.
Naughty or Nice? from Mode Stories: Videos on Vimeo.
For all of you Target beauty shoppers, Target.com is offering free standard shipping and returns on all orders, from now through Dec. 25.
Happy holidays, everyone!
