How To Do Easy Christmas Party Make Up

Make Up artist Charlie Duffy has kindly agreed to share her top tips for creating easy to do Christmas party make up. Over to you Charlie!

Image Pinterest

Having the perfect 'canvas' to work on is key to creating flawless make up. So the night before the big party prep and prime with Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (a Sunshine & Stripes favourite too!) which is very gentle but effective and will allow any moisturisers to do their job properly. Afterwards prep the skin with Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate which is fab for adding radiance to the skin and plumping it while you sleep. 

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant £41.30 BUY HERE

Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate £36 BUY HERE

Don't forget your body either; I recommend using Bliss' Blood Orange and White Pepper Sugar Scrub paying particular attention to elbows, knees and decollete. Then the night before slather whatever skin will be on show in your new party frock with Nuxe Multi Use Dry Body Oil in Golden. It's a wonderful product that has a delicious smell that highlights the skin and won't come off on your clothes.

Bliss Blood Orange and White Pepper Sugar Scrub £30 BUY HERE

Nuxe Multi-Use Dry Body Oil £28 BUY HERE

I know many people will be going straight from the office to their Christmas party so here are my quick top tips to create the perfect party make up. 

To add a glowing highlight to skin my favourite product has to be Becca Skin Perfector in Moonstone. It suits most complexions and adds the most amazing highlight. Add over your usual foundation to the cheekbones, under the brow bone and the top of the cupids bow on the lips to make them look fuller. I use this product on my A-list clients and they all love the effect it creates.

Becca Skin Perfector In Moonstone £33 BUY HERE

Christmas is the one time we can have more fun with our make up and in my opinion glitter is the way to go! Urban Decay's Heavy Metal Glitter Liner or Stila's Magnificent Metals Eyeshadow both have foolproof formulations. Urban Decay's is suspended in a gel so it won't end up half way down your face after too much dancing and Stila's has a little primer you mix with the shadow then apply with the finger tips, so again you won't have any glitter mishaps! Both are great if you are in a hurry as they have the most intense effect.

Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Metal Liner £14 BUY HERE

Stila Magnificent Metals Eyeshadow £33.50 BUY HERE

I like a classic red lip for Christmas party make up, but to make it more festive put Sisley's Phyto Lip Star in White Diamond on top to add a 3D glittery effect to lips. Perfect for shenanigans under the mistletoe!

Sisley Phyto Lip Star £32.30 BUY HERE

And finally a very quick and easy way to make your nail polish more Christmassy is to paint a coat of OPI's Gold Shatter over the top. Instant party ready nails!

OPI Gold Shatter Nail Lacquer £11.50 BUY HERE

Thank you Charlie! Happy Christmas partying everyone!

Images: Dermalogica, Pinterest, Kiehl's, Bliss, Nuxe, Urban Decay, Stila, Sisley, OPI

Tips From The Pros

I have the pleasure of working with the fantastic make up artist Charlie Duffy on various jobs and not only is she a brilliant person but Charlie does damn fine make up too! 

A recent shoot for Canary Wharf Magazine that Charlie and I worked on together

With nearly 20 years in the business Charlie has worked with everyone from Nicole Kidman and Emma Watson through to photographers Terence Donovan and John Swannell. Charlie is a regular at the Cannes Film Festival and has worked for magazines including Italian and British Vogue. Here Charlie shares her top beauty tips.

Chanel Vitalumiere £36

My favourite foundation has to be Chanel Vitalumiere. I love its reflective properties, making it great for any age and any skin type.

Shu Uemura Face Powder Sheer £27

Shu Uemura's Face Powder Sheer is my favourite powder of choice. It's very fine and light and is great for older skin types.

Mac CremeBlend Blush £18

I like to apply blusher with a foundation brush and then pat in with my finger. Mac's CremeBlend Blush comes in a wide range of colours, isn't drying and looks incredibly natural.

OPI Drip Dry Lacquer £13.50

Barbara Daly Goodbye Yellow £6

For nails I recommend OPI Drip Dry Lacquer. Literally you plop a drop on each nail and the polish dries in seconds. Very good for getting celebs red carpet ready when time is limited. A good budget buy is Barbara Daly's Goodbye Yellow. It does exactly what is says on the tin.

Philip Kingsley Maximizer £22

Philip Kingsley's Maximizer is the best for creating voluminous hair. I apply it to the roots before blow drying and find it works brilliantly on thin hair.

Sisley Restorative Fluid Body Cream £91.50

I adore Sisley products so this is the first recommendation. The Restorative Fluid Body Cream tingles upon application, sinks into the skin easily, smells divine, is packed with rich essential oils and is super luxe. I love using it on clients and myself.

Lucas' Paw Paw Ointment £4.95

I use Lucas' Paw Paw Ointment on all my celeb clients. It doesn't contain caphor (which dries out the lips), is deeply moisturising and is a great multi-tasking product too. I use it on dry patches of skin and the cuticles.

Benefit They're Real Mascara £19.50

Benefit's They're Real Mascara is incredible. Its formulation is very rich and dark and it creates volume and length on even the thinnest lashes.

Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask £95.50

The one product I can't live without is Sisley's Black Rose Cream Mask, I recommend it to all my clients and use it myself. I like to apply it when I'm relaxing in the bath, leaving it on for 15 minutes, then I tissue off the excess rather than wash it off as I like my skin to take in all the rich goodness. It's like having a spa facial at home as it plumps and leaves the skin glowing.

Thank you Charlie! 

You can see more of Charlie's work here.

Images: carolhayesmanagement.co.uk, BeautyBay.com, Tesco.com, JohnLewis.com, PawPawShop.co.uk, Canary Wharf Magazine, Net-a-Porter.com, Debenhams.com, Sisley-Paris.com, PhilipKingsley.co.uk, MacCosmetics.co.uk, ShuUemura.co.uk