Holiday Spirit: Naughty or Nice?

It’s the holiday season, so you better glow like a Christmas tree. Even in you don’t have your hostess gifts picked out, it’s never too early to think about makeup. We asked makeup artist Troy Jensen for his take on our three favorite holiday looks. Are you feeling naughty, nice or a bit icy?

Naughty, like Christina Aguilera: “She really works the Old Hollywood retro look very well. A bold red lip and a defined eye, like Marilyn Monroe,” Jensen says.

How to wear it: Stain lips red and top off with a sheer gloss-transparent, and not too thick. Instead of a harsh black liner, try a plum, chocolate, or bronzy brown liner. And you simply must wear false lashes with this look. “I cut the lash three-quarters of the way down and use the lash on the outer corner of the eye to lift the lashes up a bit,” Jensen suggests. Curl your natural lashes and coat them with mascara before applying the falsies.

Nice, like Rachel Bilson: “A lot of the pinks,” Jensen notes. “Chanel came out with an amazing holiday collection—really warm browns and golds, with pinky lips. You would almost think that it was a spring palette.”

How to wear it: Try sheer pink lips, light eye makeup, soft, warm brown, and a flush of color on your cheeks. “I’m most inspired by colors that are really fresh and really pretty, almost springy,” Jensen says. You might also try Clinique’s “Chubbies” lip colors, which Jensen says are “really wearable, in a pencil form with the feeling of a lip balm. Put a gloss over them,” he recommends.

Ice Queen, like Lady Gaga: “This last fall and winter, a really hot color was gray: gray nails, gray eyes, even graey lips. Really big for the holidays,” says Jensen. A smoky gray eye, like Nicole Kidman’s circa Moulin Rouge, looks great with a touch of navy liner or hints of silver.

How to wear it: “Keep the skin more luminous, have the emphasis on eye and lip,” Jensen suggests. Choose a “berry lip (pick a color that is a shade or two darker than your lip; put a gloss over it) with gray smoky eye. You can use a dove grey on the eyes if you’re someone who wants a little hint of color, or an elephant grey if you’re someone who wants more drama. For evening, throw on some black eyeliner to define the eye.” Try Guerlain’s gray palette, along with Dior Timeless Gold nail polish (#226), which is gunmetal silver with flecks of gold.