According to makeup artist to the stars Misty Fox, who also hosts a weekly makeup segment on ET Canada, ”The holidays are a time to embrace celebration, sparkle and good cheer,” and gold makeup can really enhance that. The challenge, she explains, "is looking festive without looking like an actual party favour.” Fox recommends makeup that has “subtle hints of shimmer, sparkle, gloss and golds.” Think of the Christmas palette, she suggests. "It has a great mix of rich reds, bold browns, silvers, golds and sparkle.”
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Fox’s favourite Christmas makeup look is "dazzling, sparkly gold lids defined by a deeper shadow (I love mixing different shades of golds with a little bit of silver), eyeliner, lots of lashes, Popsicle-stained cheeks and some tinted lip balm. I usually nickname this look 'epic party eyes' when I am with my clients.”
Fox specifically loves Charlotte Tilbury's eyeshadow palettes in The Golden Goddess (below) and in The Dolce Vita. (Charlotte Tilbury, $52)
Both contain four beautiful, sparkly shades of gold that can be mixed and combined easily. She recommends combining these eyeshadows with "an application of medium-length, individual false lashes from the centre to outer corner of your lash line." Fox also recommends adding gold glitter for some extra sparkle. She specifically recommends using Make Up For Ever's Diamond Powder in Gold 16, Gold Shimmer, for extra pop. (Make Up For Ever, $25)
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Fox also recommends using Charlotte Tilbury's Colour Chameleon eyeliner in Gold Digger. (Charlotte Tilbury, $32)
For a complete look, Fox recommends using Tarte blush in Tipsy (Tarte Cosmetics, $34) or one of Tarte's cheek stains, "Tarte has a great range of cheek stains to choose from, including shades like Tipsy if red is too intense for you." (Tarte Cosmetics, $36)
She also loves Candlelight Glow from Too Faced (Too Faced, $44) to give winter skin that warm glow. Finally, she suggests using a red lip colour, like Clinique's Chubby Stick in Two Ton Tomato (Clinique, $20), Marc Jacobs' Hey You (Marc Jacobs, US$28) or MAC's retro matte lipsticks in Dangerous or Relentlessly Red (MAC Cosmetics, $20).
For a more casual, daytime look, Fox recommends "metallic cream shadows that you can just press onto your eyelids with your fingers." They're easy to apply, and "you can choose something with a hint of shimmer that you can control and build up to your liking." Fox's favourites are Stila's pressed metallic shadows in Metallic Gilded Gold, Metallic Pixie Dust or Metallic Golden Pink (Stila Cosmetics, US$32).
Fox also loves Benefit Cosmetics' Creaseless Cream Shadow in My Two Cents (Benefit Cosmetics, US$20), which she describes as "a beautiful bronze gold that makes blue eyes pop." She loves combining this with Inglot Cosmetics' AMC Eyeliner Gel in 95 (Inglot Cosmetics Canada, $20). "They work so well, and they really stay put." She suggests combining this with the red-pink lip balm Sugar Rosé from Fresh (Fresh, US$23) and some light mascara.
Finally, Fox recommends gold nails. She really likes Inglot Cosmetics' Breathable nail varnish in 628 (Inglot Cosmetics Canada, $17), a rich gold hue.
I also had the opportunity to chat with Agnes Fallen. Fallen specializes in glamorous makeup for special events and founded the website Beauty Hub.
For a holiday look, Fallen recommends starting with a golden bronzer "to give winter skin a shimmery, sun-kissed glow." She especially loves Too Faced's Soleil Matte Bronzer in Medium (Sephora, $38).
"It's easy to apply, glides on really smoothly because of its satin finish and gives the skin a golden shimmer." To avoid foundation disasters, Fallen recommends applying bronzer to the face in the shape of the number three. "You start at the top of your forehead and apply bronzer down to the top of your ear, under your cheekbones, similar to contouring, and then down your jawline. You repeat on the other side of your face. This helps to make sure that it's applied smoothly and evenly." Fallen then recommends applying a golden, glowing blush on top, like Nars' Orgasm (Sephora, $37), along with gold eyeshadow. She is particularly fond of MAC eyeshadows, specifically Woodwinked, which she describes as a "beautiful, bronzy gold," or Rubenesque (MAC Cosmetics, $19), which is a "light, golden pink." She recommends combining this with a nude lip for day, like Smashbox's Be Legendary cream lipstick in Nude Beach (Smashbox, US$21).
For an extra burst of gold, Fallen recommends topping the lipstick with Dior Addict lip gloss in Étoilè or Vènus (Sephora, $34).
For the truly adventurous makeup wearer, Fallen suggests MAC's Bronze Shimmer lipstick (Amazon, $21).
"It's a powerful, deep shade of gold, but applied properly, it can be amazing," she says. "The rest of your makeup has to be relatively subtle, though. No gold eyeshadow, just a little bit of black eyeliner and mascara."
For a more understated, daytime look, she recommends gold eyeliner, specifically Urban Decay's Midnight Cowboy (Urban Decay, $22), which she describes as a "white Champagne gold" and loves to layer on top of black or brown eyeliner. She also recommends Laura Mercier's Caviar Stick Eye Colour in Moonlight or Rose Gold (Sephora, $34), which, she explains, can be layered with darker colours or worn on its own.
Fallen also loves Essie nail polish, specifically in Good as Gold (Nail Polish Canada, $8). She also loves Essie's gold sparkle polish in Rock at the Top and Summit of Style (Nail Polish Canada, $8).
This holiday season, embrace the glamour of shimmery golds and glitters. Your skin will glow, and you will feel fabulous and radiant.
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