Tis the season of love, light, and a whole load of glitter. Forget mountains of gifts and indulgent feasts, we're all about the pre-party ritual. Perfecting your festive-ready face is an art form – and when the invitations are coming in thick and fast, it is essential to have a few go-to glam makeup looks up your sleeve to see you through the Christmas period.
According to Emmy-award-winning hit show Euphoria makeup artist Alexandra French - yep, you read that right - the one step that simply mustn't be skipped when it comes to acing festive glam comes first on the list.
READ: 11 must-have stocking fillers for beauty obsessives
"The secret to luminous skin is skin prep," Alexandra explains. "I prep the skin with a clean cotton round pad soaked in Bioderma. Then I go in with a hydrating moisturiser – my favourites are Augustinus Bader's The Rich Cream, Weleda's Skin Food and 111Skin's pink face mask.
"Once all of that is set, I go back in lightly with Pat McGrath's Divine Skin Rose 001 The Essence and pat it on gently. I exfoliate the lips using a Lip Luffa and Rhode's Peptide Lip Treatment. Make sure you give it enough time to set before moving onto foundation.
Radiant skin
© Photo: InstagramMORE: Lipstick shades: 7 colours you need to wear this winter
READ: Winter nail colours: 7 ideas to inspire your next salon visit
"My favourite foundation at the moment is by Face Atelier, mixed with Nars' Radiant Creamy concealer. Face Atelier is the best because it gives good coverage, but it doesn't feel or look like makeup. It looks like skin and the glow is insane.
"To retain the luminosity, I set the foundation with La Mer's Sheer Pressed Powder or By Terry's Hyaluronic Hydra-Powder," Alexandra says.
Luscious lips
"I like to prep the lips by exfoliating them. My favourite lip scrub at the moment is just something I can quickly make on-set: raw sugar and some honey," Alexandra explains.
"My favourite lipsticks at the moment are any and all by Charlotte Tilbury. She really knows what she's doing when it comes to lip liners and lipsticks. I love her Matte Revolution range in Pillow Talk Medium and Super Fabulous, as well as her Lip Cheat Liners in Iconic Nude lip and Foxy Brown.
"For glosses, I love those by Fenty Beauty – obviously. But Pat McGrath is also great, she makes my favourite glittery glosses which are hard to get right. And, of course, MAC's Lipglass. A total classic," Alexandra says.
Hypnotising eyes
© Photo: InstagramClaudia Neacsu, who has captivated TikTok users with her killer beauty hacks, to find out their top tips for nailing festive glam.
Claudia has devised a fool-proof eye makeup method to ensure your eyes pop.
"1. Create a soft line using a warm brown or black eyeliner all around the eye but focusing on the outer corner in order to elongate the eye. For brown, I would go for Hourglass' Voyeur Waterproof Gel Eyeliner in Solstice, and for black, Anastasia Beverly Hills' Darkside Gel Liner.
"2. Apply several coats of mascara – there's nothing that makes your eyes pop more than beautiful voluminous lashes. I love Rare Beauty's Perfect Strokes mascara.
"3. To really emphasize the sparkle in your eyes, apply Fenty Beauty's Diamond Bomb all over your eyelids – this will make your eyes shine like diamonds." Riri would be proud.
Complexion perfection
© Photo: Instagram"To add some life into your face you need a bit of sculpting, colour and shine," Claudia explains.
"One of the most user-friendly contouring products I ever used is Makeup by Mario's SoftSculpt Contour Stick. You just need to apply a small quantity in the key areas and blend it with your fingers or a small synthetic brush. Follow up by placing a beautiful pink or peach blush above the contour, on the apple of your cheeks. Anastasia Beverly Hills's Pink Dahlia is one of my favourite shades and it works on so many skin tones.
"To finish off the complexion, apply a couple of drops of Iconic London's Illuminator on the top of your cheekbones as well as on the bridge and tip of your nose. Make sure you blend the edges softly into the blush without applying too much pressure so that every layer of makeup remains unmoved underneath."
READ: 7 lip stains to last all evening that we have tried & tested
RELATED: Best tried & tested lip plumpers: how to get a supermodel pout without surgery
The defined party brow
© Photo: Instagram"Eyebrows definitely frame the face so you want to make sure you find your ideal shape and softly emphasise it, especially when you are wearing a full-glam look," Claudia explains.
"I like to start by filling in any gaps using a lighter shade of pencil and then the next step is setting the eyebrows in place by using a transparent gel. I cannot live without my 24-hr Brow Setter by Benefit – this will literally last all night.
"Finish off by drawing a couple of hair strokes using a slightly darker brow pen (just a couple of shades darker than the brow pencil)."
Tips to help your makeup last all night
"Make sure you are working in thin layers. I like to go in with a hydrating serum but tend to skip the moisturiser. I usually only use primer in the areas that need it – for most people that is the T-zone," Claudia explains. "Laura Mercier's Blurring Primer is a key product in my makeup kit for this purpose."
"After applying the rest of your makeup, finish off your look with the Urban Decay All Nighter Setting Spray and you are set for every eventuality," Claudia says.
Like this story? Sign up to our Hello! Fashion newsletter to get your weekly 'Fashion Fix' delivered straight to your inbox.
HELLO!'s selection is editorial and independently chosen – we only feature items our editors love and approve of. HELLO! may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. To find out more visit our FAQ page.
