There is nothing that excites us more than the sparkle, shimmer and glitter, that is the backbone of the holiday season. We find it in our clothes, in our homes and most certainly in our makeup. But it’s easy to get overwhelmed with choices or get a little trigger-happy when we have so many options to choose from.

Whether you’re a newbie at makeup, or a pro who wants to get inspired with new techniques, this easy smokey eye & red lip combo makeup tutorial will be your ammunition for party season!

Usually, I wouldn’t combine a bold lip and dark eye, but the subtle green tint in this eye shadow palette perfectly balances the red tones on the lips. There’s a reason why we naturally gravitate to green and red, they are contrasting colours that look great together! If you don’t believe me, ask Christmas!

I love the convenience of a perfectly curated eye shadow palette. They provide loads of options and colour combinations to choose from. And when you’re feeling bold and inspired, you can use them all (just like I did in the tutorial)!

For this look, I used the following products:

1. Mac Cosmetics new Veluxe Pearlfusion Shadow in Greenluxe
2. Mac Select Lip Palette (Lady Danger mixed with Ruby woo)
3. Mac Skin base (face primer)
4. Select Cover-Up (N20)
5. Studio moisture tint (tinted moisturizer with SPF)
6. Mac Paint (Untitled)
7. Blush (Mac Shy beauty)
8.  Mascara
9. Eyebrow pencil

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If you’re more visual, you can watch the entire makeup tutorial 

5 Tips for makeup newbies

• Invest in a good set of brushes; you’ll thank me later!
• Practice makes perfect. Smokey eye can be a more difficult look to achieve, so start with lighter colours and get used to your technique and application.
• Invest in high quality makeup. You’ll be amazed at the pigments, coverage and how easy they are to work with.
• Light colours open up the eyes, and dark colours will make them smaller. Use this advice wisely depending on what look you are going for.
• If nothing else start your makeup routine with mascara, blush and lipstick. Add more as you see fit!