My Top 3 Holiday Beauty Looks

i dare you to go through any holiday season and not act on that urge to throw on some sparkle. not possible! i put together my favourite beauty looks for the holidays with some of the goodies that i picked up for my holiday gift guide with birchbox. with upcoming travel i wanted to focus on creating three different looks while using almost all the same products. we won’t be packing our entire makeup arsenal with us when we go away plus it’s always good to have a couple great looks in your back pocket for those moments when you have to be makeup ready in minutes. the great thing about these is they only take 15 min and under. you can get to be a real pro at this, with birchbox sending you new (and different) samples every month you can really find the products you like the most and that work best with your routine. remember, practice makes perfect! **scroll down to see all the products i used for each of these looks.

my hair routine. i like to change up my hair a LOT, but when i find a look that works i stick to it, right now i’m all about the curl. my short bob really holds curls well and i love this lenght! to prep my hair i will spray it with the amika un-done texture spray to dirty it up and add some grit. i have used a couple different curling wands but ever since i used this amika (mod)ern curler we’ve been inseparable. i love the way it heats up, it only has one setting, my hair really likes it and the results are consistent. the curl is soft and it lasts until i wet it. i’m a serious amika product devotee. like you can throw any product they make at me and i’ll love it plus look how preety it all is! i let the curls set for about 10 minutes without touching them and then finish it all off with the amika touchable hairspray while i shake it all out.

when you are getting holiday ready think h to t. this is your chance to sparkle all over. nail polish gives any look that perfect finishing touch and this season deborah lippmann came out with the perfect colors! my old flame & ruby red slippers are my two favorites. you can get the jazz standards set and add lady is a tramp to your repertoire or opt out for the i’ve gotta be me mini set to try try a selection of different festive colors. the sky is the limit and polish is only temporary. have fun with it!

now to the best part. it all starts with good skin, i started using the mèreadesso all-in-one moisturizer and i love it. you can use it as your day and night cream, serum, primer AND eye cream. it makes travel so much easier and feels too good to be true. it’s my newest obsession and by far favourite skincare product. it comes in a travel size as well so you can stick one in every bag for easy access.

for all three looks i used the nude tude nude eyeshadow palette, there were a couple palettes on my list before i chose this one, all were sold out but in the end what a blessing in disguise, i LOVE these shadows. what makes them different from anything else i’ve used in the past is the consistency, the powder is looser but it sticks to the brush and eyelid really well, it’s opaque so you don’t have to reapply before you get the desired effect. the less i pull at my skin the better i feel about wearing makeup in the first place, don’t you think? i used a combo of snobby and stubborn for look 1, sexy and silly for 2 and sultry and seductive for 3. for all three i also applied sophisticated to the lower lash line for some definition and used sultry to fill in my brows. a real multi-purpose nude palette!

i went softer for look 1. this one is for those daytime parties and get-togethers you will be having during the holidays. the secret to this look is a good highlighter. i used the w3ll people contour kit that comes with the bio brightener for the ridge of your nose and apples of your cheeks and the bio bronzer to add definition. all the bloggers received the ultimate LOC collection in their gift bags during our birchbox dinner in calgary and it’s fast proving to be the gift that keeps on giving. all three lip colors were used for this post, first kiss (look 1), wildest dreams (look 2) & glam life (look3).

the hardest by far was, of course, the eyeliner in look 2. benefit they’re real pushup eyeliner makes the job a lot easier, the brush is perfect for guiding the product in a straight line, all you have to do is know how to draw! i will be posting a tutorial in the new year on my method to applying the perfect cat eye, stay tuned! the eyes are always finished off with benefit, they’re real lengthening mascara, perfect for getting every lash and into the corners. for look 2 i also used the too cool for school blusher to add some rosy cheeks.

my bangs end up covering a lot of my eye in look 3 so i didn’t go too crazy on the lids, instead i focused on what you can see. i applied day trip loc eyeshadow stick to the corners of the eye to make them pop but the real focus was all on the lips, glam life lipstick by loc was the perfect match for the sequin dress i picked up at nordstrom the day before. the lipsticks are matte so i added a little bit of gloss to give it even more sparkle. this look makes me think of the flapper girls from days gone by. anyone else as in love with that capwell & co necklace as i am? xoxo