VIDEO: Sexy Makeup to Ring in the New Year

Make a resolution for looking beautiful at your New Year's party with this sparkling and smoky makeup look.

Toasting to a beautiful New Year
Toasting to a beautiful New Year

By Charleen Gonzalez for Shine Latina

A dashing New Year's Eve party provides the perfect excuse to break out your smoky shadows and shimmer. I personally will be rocking a smoked-out, sexy look with flirty false lashes and a subtle nude lip. You could amp it up even more with a bright red lip for your next New Year's fiesta. Make it a resolution to follow along in the video below, and start 2013 with a bold look!

Start with a good base

Begin by applying a foundation with no SPF. Since it's likely you'll be taking pictures, and SPF tends to reflect light making you look pasty, opt for a base that omits this protective ingredient. I applied Laura Mercier's Oil Free Supreme Foundation with a Sigma F88 Flat Angled Kabuki. If you have dark under eye circles, be sure to also apply some concealer. I've been loving Laura Mercier's Secret Camouflage because it has two different colors in one to create the perfect shade for you. This is also a great product for Latinas who have a hard time finding the right shade of concealer for their olive skin tone. Be sure to set everything in place with powder to ensure the makeup is not going anywhere.Try a translucent pressed powder like Laura Mercier's Pressed Setting Powder with Sigma's F30 Large Powder Brush.

Watch how I create the perfect New Year's Eve look step by step:

Perfect, smoky eyes

Start by prepping your eyes with an eyeshadow base like Laura Mercier Eye Basics in Wheat. This will keep your eyeshadow from creasing or sweating off. Next, choose an eyeshadow palette with smoky shades; I love the Sigma Paris Palette. Just in case I get any fall out from the shadows, I applied a Shadow Shield to protect the makeup I've already applied. Using the included flat shader brush, pick up some of the shimmering white gold color (
Versailles), and place it in the inner corners of the eyes. Using the same brush, apply the shimmery metallic taupe color(Notre Dame) to the remaining 2/3 of the lid. Now, to really smoke up the look, take the glittery matte black color (Eiffel) with a pencil brush, and apply it to the crease area.

Blending is key
To blend out the black and get rid of any harsh lines, I used Sigma's E70 Medium Angled Shading brush making wind shield wiper motions. Once the black is nicely faded, pick up a little bit of the matte maroon
(Elysées), and blend a little above the black to create a transition color. Using the shimmering white gold shadow, apply it to just under the brow bone as a highlight. If you want to add a little more sparkle to the look, take a shimmer powder like MAKE UP FOR EVER's star powder, and dab it just on the middle of the lids. Taking an angled liner brush, smudge some of the matte maroon under the lower lash line. I also added a winged out line to my upper lash line with Stila's Stay all day Liquid Liner and applied a Stila's Smudgestick Waterproof Liner in Stingray to my waterline.If you really want to take the drama to the next level, try applying some false lashes like Eco Tool's Soft and Dramatic Lashes.

Learn how to expertly apply false lashes in this tutorial!

A subtle, finishing touch
Using the included brush, I applied the peachy pink blush (
Pêche) from the palette to the apples of my cheeks. I also applied a light contour under my cheekbones with the NYX Matte Bronzer. To add the kind of highlight to the face that looks amazing in pictures, I used the highlighter powder(Lumiére) (included in the palette) on the highest points of my cheek bones.

I chose to keep the lips nude and subtle with Laura Mercier's Creme Lipcolor in Angelic, but feel free to go bold with a red or hot pink lip.

Get the products:
Laura Mercier Makeup
Sigma Paris Palette
Stila Eyeliners


To see more of Charleen's beauty videos check out her YouTube channel

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