some holiday looks + holiday makeup!

There’s no time like Christmastime to whip out that red lipstick that is tucked away most of the year, to do a winged liquid eyeliner (my personal favorite), to pull out the heels, and to festoon yourself–yes, festoon; it’s Christmas, baby–with glitter. Let’s talk holidaaaaaaay!

I’m trying to be ahead of the game, for once in my whole entire life, and talk holiday things when it is still November. I’ve got some really good gift guides that I’ve been giving serious thought to and adding to over time (so you know these are the real keepers! Rome was not built in a day and neither was a good gift guide!), and today brings us to some holiday looks for the ladies. Do you have a Christmas party to go to? One, two, maybe ten? It’s always fun to do something a bit out of the ordinary. And here we are. I’m going to link you to a few of my absolute favorite holiday looks, and then talk makeup too. The first dress is this one from Nordstrom which is, as of this morning, saying it’s sold out. I don’t believe you, Nordstrom. I know you’re just waiting to drop a restock. Well go on and do it. It’s got a bunch of metallic colors in it and is easy to wear and so fun. I loved the sleeves too.  Then there’s the jumpsuit (40% off). A red jumpsuit! I know I declare myself a mostly neutrals girl but I really love wearing red, especially this time of year. I also like for my lips to match my outfit once a year too.
Here’s a few other fantastic holiday looks:

Outfit 1: This red mockneck sweater with this starry skirt and these heels. Oooh, what a fun skirt.
Outfit 2: This adorable dress with these awesome shoes.
Outfit 3: This sweater (or this gray one; point is, I love that sweater) with this fantastic slip skirt and these shoes and a red lip and great pair of earrings to jazz it all up. I am loving the sweater/slip skirt combo these days. This is probably the most me outfit.

All of my makeup is from Beautycounter and here’s what I used:

First, I used the instant glow illuminating cream: It’s the white bottle on the right, and it  is the old packaging (so fear not, if you’ve ordered and it looks different). It is one of my favorite products. It has just the perfect amount of crushed mica (sourced properly and responsibly! Read this if you’re curious why that’s worth mentioning.) to give your entire face the slightest pearlescent glow to it. I’ve been using it directly on top of my face lotion, and forgoing foundation entirely. It feels like lotion, not at all like makeup. Unfortunately it’s not being sold by itself (hoping one day!), but the glow getters trio is three products I really love. It includes the peel (!!) and the illuminating highlighter which are also used all the time. (P.S. The full size peel is the Band of Beauty gift this month. $63 value!)Next, I used the touch up concealer pen. I use this every day. Under my eyes and down my T-zone as a highlighter. I also use it on my eyelids as a primer if I’m doing eyeshadow. Which brings me to…The starlight eyeshadow palette! Beautycounter really outdid themselves this year with this palette. I love it, I love it, I love it. I put lunar all over, with extra in the inner corners of my eyes, and then used a tiny brush to use eclipse–that beautiful navy–as a sort of eyeliner. For an actual Christmas party, I might smudge even more eclipse on. Finally, with my ring finger, I dabbed constellation, that real glittery one in the center, all over my lid.

My blush of choice lately is date. It’s a deeper, bronzey pink and I love it.Then, brow gel and volumizing mascara. Oh, and topaz. It deserves a greater mention than this, actually. It’s in my top three makeup products. I use it almost every day all year round, down my nose, along my hairline, as an eyeshadow, or my brow bone. It’s a bronzey highlighter.

On my lips, I’m wearing the rosewood gloss in the first picture, and the twilight lipstick in the second. Twilight looks much more like a true red on me than it does on the website. All three in the rosewood trio are used often. I’m reaching for that color frequently. It’s a great every day color.

Best thing about all of the above–it’s clean! Do you know the average woman uses 12 products containing 168 unique ingredients every single day. And some of those ingredients are lead, phthalates, and parabens, all linked to health concerns. We should not be putting that stuff on our skin, or ingesting it cause it is on our lips anymore!

Alright, it’s mid-November. Have you started Christmas shopping? Are you going to any parties? Or are you eyeing this post angrily because you’re waiting to get through Thanksgiving first? I’m all ears.