After attending my work Christmas party last night I was inspired to get back into blogging again. Here is a bronze smokey eye which can be paired with whatever lip colour you please - let your imagination run wild, my dear. It's such a great look to wear to Christmas and New Years Eve parties!

STEP 1: Moisterise and prime 

I've been going back to basics and using my Olay moisterising lotion for sensitive skin. I find that the Smashbox Photo Finish primer does a great job at keeping me matte all night long.

STEP 2: Foundation

I am in love with Loreal's Infallible Mattifying Foundation. Dot it on your forehead, chin and cheeks. Blend away with a damp sponge (my beauty blender broke *sad violin plays* so I am using a random sponge).

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STEP 3: Concealer and Powder

Using Nar's Creamy Concealer in Custard, I place small dots under the eyes to cover up my dark circles from my horrible sleeping patterns. Also, I apply a bit around my nose to cover any redness. A bit more on my forehead, down my nose bridge and on my chin to highlight. Blend away with that sponge again.

Apply a translucent powder with a fluffy powder brush, focusing on the t-zone and where ever else you tend to get oily/shiny. I always have Too Faced's Primed and Poreless in my bag for daily touch ups (I think only the loose powder is available in Australia right now). I've been opting for a translucent powder to avoid adding anymore colour to your face. I find that translucent powder makes the skin look much more 'natural'. Ha, as natural as you can get with a full face of makeup. 

Step 4: Contour, Blush & Highlight

With all the new contour palettes being released on the daily (or so it seems), I have rediscovered my beloved Hoola bronzer by Benefit. It is the love of my life and nothing else can ever truly replace it. You can tell it has been well loved by its terrible condition. It really is taking its last breaths. If you're new to contouring etc I would definitely recommend this fella. I apply him to the hollows of my cheeks, around my hair line and along my jaw line.

For blush I went with Clinique's Cheek Pop in 02 Peach Pop 

Oh lord, I have been allllll about the highlighters lately. I want aliens to see my highlight from galaxies away. Becca's collaboration with Jaclyn Hill is godly. Champagne pop is not for the faint hearted. I give up, I can never capture a photo that does it justice. With a small brush, go for gold. Cupids bow, top of your cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose and under your brows. 

BASE IS DONE!

Step 5: Brows

I penciled in my brows using Anastasia Beverley Hill's Brow Wiz in Medium Brown followed by Benefit's Gimme Brow in Medium/Deep to groom the hairs into place and to add volume. 

Step 6: Eyes

I struggled so hard to take photos of my eyes. Please forgive me as I am still learning about this whole blogging shindig. I tried to use only two brushes for this look so it's a bit less daunting to recreate.

Base: MAC Paint Pot in Layin Low

Base Colour/Transition Colour: Naked

Inner Corner: Half Baked

Lid: Smog

Outer V/Third: Buck

Instead of using a liquid liner, I used Hourglass' 1.5mm mechanical gel liner in Obsidian which is thin enough to create a sharp wing. Gel liner without the hassle of a brush and pot.

The eyes are complete!

Step 7: Lips (Yes, I cheated because eyes had about 600 steps)

You can wear whatever you want but red is definitely THE colour for Christmas and New Years. I find that MAC's Russian Red is flattering on most skin tones.

And... here are a few other lip ideas:

MAC Ravishing

MAC Relentlessly Red

THE FINISHED LOOK:

I hope you guys have a wonderful Christmas and a happy start to 2016! We'll see how all my new years resolutions play out. Enjoy the holidays and be kind to one another.