I received Mary Kay products through Condé Nast products to facilitate this Holiday Makeup Looks review; all opinions are my own. @MaryKay #MKHolidaylook #MKTrend
I don’t wear a lot of make-up any more. Oh, I do wear it when I go out, but until today, I didn’t realize how little I wore and how little it really improves my appearance. There’s such a thing as a “natural look,” but mine was more of a “are you really wearing any?” look.
Holiday Makeup Looks: MARY KAY Vintage Holiday
Mary Kay, a well-known makeup creator, wants to help-out makeup challenged women like myself. They’ve packaged up some of their most popular products into foolproof holiday look kits. They sent me one of these kits to try and they challenged me to recreate this Lindsey Calla’s Silver Screen Siren holiday look. I figured why not give it a try, so I took on their makeover challenge!
The ribbon-wrapped box was filled with rich jewel-toned colors and deep shades of black and brown liner and mascara – all colors that scared me! But I was assured it contained everything I needed to pull off a dramatic holiday look.
Holiday Makeup Looks: My Mary Kay Makeover
Please note – these photos are unretouched – real women have pores and wrinkles! Plus I’m 52, I’ve earned a few of mine.
[new_royalslider id=”32″]So how does someone who wears barely-there makeup get to a full-on holiday look? It’s easy. First step? Take off the make-up I had on. I cleansed my face, then removed my existing eye shadow with Mary Kay® Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover, then I slathered on some moisturizer, and I was ready to start with a clean slate.
Foundation wasn’t included in the kit so I used my current one. Next I applied the Lasting Looks Collection: Mary Kay® Eye Primer – it’s a bit stickier than I’m used to. Next I combined the colors from the Mary Kay At Play™ Baked Eye Trio in On the Horizon and the Mary Kay® Cream Eye Color in Apricot Twist to accent my eyes. I know I tend to go light with eye makeup, so I purposely tried to go heavier than I’m usually comfortable with. I concentrated on getting some contour in the crease and outer corner of my eye and highlighting under my brow.
This would have been a good time to use the brown shadow on my eyebrows to even them out and darken them to complete the Silver Screen Siren look, but I didn’t, and I didn’t realize my brows were lacking until later when I edited the photos.
Next I lined my eyes with Mary Kay® Eyeliner in deep brown and then smudge the line a bit to make it less stark with one of the brushes provided. I started on my neglected eyelashes by giving them a coat of Mary Kay® Lash Primer and then covering them with Mary Kay® Lash Love® Mascara in black. It’s amazing what eyeliner and mascara do to set off the eyes! I usually skip them, but I need to reconsider that morning shortcut.
I added color and contour to my cheeks with Mary Kay® Mineral Cheek Color in Sparkling Cider. The color fits into the Mary Kay® Compact Pro® with a magnets for a secure fit – it’s pretty ingenious! Plus it stores a small blush brush too so it travels beautifully or can be thrown into a bag for touch-ups. I used a second, darker color, in the hollow of my cheeks, my temple, and my neck to add some contour there as well. I added highlights with the Mary Kay® Facial Highlighting Pen – it may be my favorite MK product. It’s a liquid pen that contains light-reflecting pigments to optically “lift” shadowy areas of your face (like the corners of my eyes and the deep wrinkles in my forehead).
I finished my face with a light dusting of Mary Kay® Translucent Loose Powder and then a mist of Mary Kay® Makeup Finishing Spray by Skindinävia and then carried the vibrant colors to my lips, first prepping them with TimeWise® Age-Fighting Lip Primer, followed by Mary Kay® Lip Liner in Plum, and finally covering it all with Mary Kay® True Dimensions™ Lipstick in Mystic Plum. I’ll admit, this isn’t a lip color I would have picked out on my own. It’s DARK and I generally go natural or wear a light, soft pink lip gloss; but as I stared at myself in the mirror, I realized that my features and hair color can take the dark color so I owned it!
[new_royalslider id=”33″]I should mention I loved the brushes included in the Mary Kay® Brush Collection. The sizes and shapes in the set are perfect; one for every need. The bristles are top quality and I’m looking forward to enjoying them for a long time!
So what did I do once I had my holiday look in place? Go to some fabulous Christmas Party? Nope. Holiday cruise? Nah, Romantic dinner for two? I wish! No, I went Christmas shopping at the mall, but I looked spectacular doing it!
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Want more inspiration? Check out top holiday looks from Mary Kay including Flapper Chic and The White-Hot Suit. What’s your favorite holiday makeup looks?
