We’re coming up on the first week of December and the holiday party season is upon us!  However, although you may want to celebrate, dress up, and have a little fun with your makeup, you have to remember some simple rules to avoid looking like you’re trying to hard.  It’s all about positive – not negative – attention.

The biggest temptation might be to match your makeup look to your outfit.  Say you’ve got a great metallic gold dress.  Wearing gold eyeshadow, lip stick, and nail polish is going to make you look like you’re wearing a costume.  The only holiday party this works for is Halloween!  Don’t clash with your dress, but generally go for makeup in colors that work well with your skin tone is your best bet.  Want to glam it up?  Go for dramatic lips OR a dramatic smoky eye – but not both!

Another don’t is glitter.  A shimmer powder is a great idea (Estee Lauder has a fantastic shimmer powder this season with a hint of gold), but powders, gels, and lotions with glitter can not only look juvenile or trashy, but it’s so messy!  You’ll leave glitter on everyone from the coat check attendant to your date.  A definite DON’T.

This season, resist the urge to fake bake or overdose on the bronzer.  If you’re feeling a little pale, wearing a dress in a great jewel tone or maybe a red lipstick can help perk up your skin.  Tanning beds may leave you seeing red, especially if you have had limited exposure to the sun over the last few months.  Likewise, your summer bronzer may be too deep for your winter skin. So while we agree, a bronzer is a great look for a party, the trick is picking the right one for your skin tone. Look for a powder in a golden tone and avoid colors that are too orange-y. Fair-skinned girls should go for tan or honey-toned bronzer. For slightly deeper medium or olive skin, a medium brown or terracotta color should look great. For dark complexions, try a deep copper shade. The trick is to not use a bronzer more than one shade darker than your skin. Sweep your bronzer across your cheekbones, jawline (don’t forget to blend!), chin, nose, and forehead. I even like to sweep just a tiny bit over my temples.

You may be tempted to powder your nose more than once at a party. A good thing to have with you is some blotting paper instead (or before using powder). This will soak up the excess oils on your face without smudging your makeup or leaving you with a face caked with powder. Always bring some lipstick, liner, and concealer as well to make the most necessary touch-ups throughout the evening.

When I was a little girl, I was occasionally so lucky that my mom and my aunt would bring me along for a shopping trip.  Sometimes we’d go through the cosmetics department of a major department store – most often Macy’s – and I would be mesmerized by the array of colors, the testers on display, each shade varying slightly from the last: a painter’s palette.  It was delightful.  There was one brand that had these little eyeshadow samples on pieces of paper covered in plastic you could peel back.  I remember my mom admonishing me when I sought to have one in every color.  I was too young for make up but not too young to play.  I wanted to possess every beautiful shade.

I have always  liked to color and paint, work in charcoal or oil pastels, and always loved fashion.  It came as no surprise that I love makeup.  Now that I am old enough to not play with my mom’s makeup, I like the peruse stores in search of an array of beautiful colors to play with: a cosmetics-obsessed Goldilocks looking for the perfect shade, the perfect application, the perfect shopping environment.  I LOVE both department store and drug store makeup (I’m no snob), but sometimes the department store feels wrong.  Samples and testers abound, but the  employees are TOO helpful and I just want to browse, to take in the colors and breathe in the scents.  The drugstore employees are often not specialists, and the lack of testers and samples has left me with a cabinet full of duds.

So, I guess it’s no surprise that on my way home last night – after a hectic day at work – I stopped at Sephora.  I was feeling dejected, and knowing the hubby would be home late, I needed to shop.  I needed the perfect pick-me-up and today it wasn’t new shoes (just got some) or sweaters (the closet’s overcrowded).  It was new COLOR for my face.  That is what I needed.   I like the more laid-back sales approach there, and the rows of eye candy lined up by brand, then application, then shade.

That’s when the Sephora Brand caught my eye, followed by the $5 price tag next to some twenty or so shades of eyeliner, lined up by color like a rainbow.  It was Sephora Brand Nano Eyeliner,  a highly pigmented eye pencil, and it was pulling me in like gravity.  It goes on nice and smooth and (so far) has lasted me all day.   And how often do you see eyeliners in beautiful colors like this  – and only $5?!  I was stoked.   I ended up going home with a Glitter Black, a Glitter Brown, an Iced Brown, a Pure Beige, a Kaki Green, a Silver Green, a Gri Gri, a Lagoon, a Blue Jean, and a Wild Spirit – and yes – definitely a wild spirit.  It was like standing in front of those paper samples with tiny bits of eyeshadow on them.  A little reckless abandon, but I’m definitely young enough to play.

I admit I’ve never tried a lash primer before.  I have long, thick lashes – the curly, tangly kind.   I love mascara because it’s instant drama -  but I never though about using a primer.  Then came Lancôme’s Ôscillation Powerbooster, a primer with a vibrating wand: “Feel the vibration.  See the growth.”  It’s supposed to make your lashes “visibly stronger, fuller, longer day after day.”  Even those with long lashes would want to try that, right?

So I decided to give it a whirl.  I really like it!  At first I was a little taken aback by the vibration, and I am pretty sure you have to hold down the button the entire time to make that work.  However, it really did a great job at separating my lashes.  When I put my regular mascara on over it, it didn’t get all clumpy and my lashes didn’t stick together.  That alone is success!

Lancôme’s Ôscillation Powerbooster contains conditioners to fortify and strengthen lashes and boost the appearance of natural lash growth.  It primes lashes, separating and defining your lashes, making mascara application easier.  It helps your mascara last longer – mine definitely didn’t flake off, even after partying!

The new collection for MAC, In Hi Def, is designed high-definition photo and video media – but you can definitely use it for everyday wear.  As the MAC Cosmetics site says, “Cameras everywhere, media madness, instant images flashed around the world in seconds. You ARE being photographed! Makeup designed for the new-technology demands of the professional world, for girls and boys who want to look good no matter who’s looking.”

The products are great for runway and real life, anywhere you might be photographed.  I think I may have even seen them backstage at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week!

The collection includes:

• Face and Body Foundation
• Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder
• Lipstick
• 187 Duo Fibre Brush (Great for body makeup application)
• 188 Small Duo Fibre Face Brush

The Face and Body Foundation and the Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder are available in a wide variety of shades.    The Face and Body Foundation is a water-based, water-resistant foundation that provides long-lasting, natural coverage for face and/or body and is ideal for all skin types. It also contains several skin-conditioning emollients.  It’s always nice to have a foundation that isn’t harsh or heavy on your skin.  I used this just recently on my calves to hide some still-red scars from some cuts I got while sailing this summer. It’s lightweight and very easy to blend.  I was really happy with the results and I didn’t have to hide my legs from the cameras this Fashion Week. MAC’s In Hi Def Face and Body Foundation delivers professional-looking results.  This product with definitely be hot with makeup artists working with brides!

The Mineralize Skinfinish Natural Powder works great to set the foundation and I love it’s silky texture and ease of application.  You could probably use it alone to slightly even skin tone before going on film!

The Lipstick in this collection is color plus texture for your lips. It comes in four colors:

• Resolutely Red – Deepened claret (Lustre), this might be THE perfect red
• Close to Real – Light Neutral peach pink (Lustre), would be great for a nude lip with some gloss)
• High Def – Mid tone Neutral Coral (Amplified), is perfect and natural-looking
• Sharp Focus – Deep Brown Plum (Lustre), gorgeous and ready for Fall

As usual, MAC brushes outperform so many others.  I was really excited to see this and I think makeup artists, beauty product addicts, and fashionistas alike will be very excited to use these products.