Long Lasting Party Makeup

One of my favourite things about the Christmas period is being able to get glammed up without any particular reason apart from it being the festive season. My mindset is if you can't get glammed up for Christmas and New Year, when can you?! Whenever I glam my makeup up, the last thing I want to be worrying about is my makeup fading, creasing or melting off. That's why I'm sharing all of my ultimate tips for prolonging the longevity of your makeup especially for New Year's Eve, but they would work for any time of year.

L'Oreal Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer and Rimmel 25H Lasting Finish Nude Skin Perfecting Foundation

My first and possibly most important tip for longwearing makeup is to perfect your base, as a good base will keep the rest of your makeup locked in place for longer. Before even beginning any makeup application, it's essential to have a good skincare routine in place as it will ensure your skin as healthy and balanced as possible which will result in your makeup applying more evenly and smoothly. I have particularly dry skin so I like to use more hydrating formulas to minimise any dry patches and uneven skin tone in a bid to stop my foundation clinging to my dry patches as that's where my foundation tends to wear off first.

I like to use an hydrating yet radiant primer such as the L'Oreal Lumi Magique Pure Light Primer as it can be applied to the skin on top of your skincare as a makeup primer, blended in with your foundation for a dewier complexion or applied over your foundation for a strobing effect. The Primer has a subtle pearlised effect which imparts a beautiful sheen to the skin and I like to apply it as a makeup primer, and opt for a longwearing fuller finish foundation over the top. The Rimmel 25HR Lasting Finish Nude Skin Perfecting Foundation is described as being a medium finish foundation, but I'd say it very much has a buildable formula which really does stay in place all night long. This is one of my favourite foundations as it covers everything I need covering such as discolouration, any acne scarring or sallow tones but it still looks natural on the skin, and works well when applied with a beauty sponge or foundation brush.

With the base I find the best application method is to sandwich your products in place in layers so I apply the primer first followed by the foundation, and then set them both with a lightweight translucent powder. If you have one, I would also recommend using a makeup setting spray as a finishing step as they're designed to prolong your makeup. However if your skin is super dry like mine, they can have the tendency to leave the skin feeling a little dehydrated so I personally prefer to stick to the primer, foundation and powder method instead. If you have oily skin you could use blotting sheets or the Beauty Blender Blotterazi which both work to remove excess oils from the skin without disturbing your makeup, so the oils don't break down the makeup and they're easy to carry in your handbag for discreet touch-ups.

Makeup Revolution Death By Chocolate Eyeshadow Palette

When deciding on your party makeup, I would suggest choosing whether you want to focus on your eyes or your lips. I tend to favour more dramatic eye makeup for special occasions such as New Year's Eve and opt for a fuss-free nude or muted pink lip which don't need touchups throughout the night. My go-to party eye makeup is definitely a smokey eye and the Makeup Revolution Death By Chocolate Eyeshadow Palette contains all of the shadows I need to create a pretty smokey eye and more. If you haven't tried Makeup Revolution eyeshadows you really are missing out as the quality is on par with higher end brands and they have some great dupes of well known palettes too. The Death By Chocolate Palette contains a total of sixteen shades in shimmer, matte, satin and foil finishes including a great highlighter shade for the browbone and inner corners of the eyes as well as an intense matte black for extra drama and depth which you even use as an eyeliner along the lash lines with an angled eyeliner brush.

I've swatched just four of the sixteen shades to give you an idea of how great the pigmentation and quality is of the shadows, but every single shade is equally impressive and all are easy to apply. My favourite shades in the palette would have to be the middle row as there's a gorgeous deep purple, a warm and intense gold and a great matte chocolate brown which works excellently as a transition shade. To ensure your eyeshadow remains crease-proof, I would always recommend applying an eyeshadow primer to the eyelids prior to applying eyeshadow as it also helps to increase the colour intensity of the shadows too. If you don't have an eyeshadow primer, you could always use a little concealer on the lids as a base to cancel out any veins or discolouration but a silicone based eyeshadow primer is particularly effective at locking your shadow in place.

L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes 

Once I've done my eyeshadow, I always finish off with my mascara of choice and for an occasion such as New Year's Eve I would always go for a waterproof formula such as the L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Waterproof. Before applying a waterproof mascara, I like to use an eyelash curler to add a little lift and curl to my lashes as waterproof mascaras are slightly more effective at holding a curl than non-waterproof formulas. The L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes Waterproof Mascara has a plastic bristle brush with lots of tiny spiky bristles which catch even the tiniest of lashes for dramatic, volumised lashes. Some waterproof mascaras can leave the lashes feeling a little crispy, but this is one of the most comfortable waterproof mascaras I've used and it doesn't flake, crumble or smudge whatsoever and holds a curl all night long.

Barry M Matte Lip Paint

Once you've perfected your base and eye makeup, it's time to decide on your cheek and lip colours. Whenever I want my makeup to last as long as possible, I tend to choose a matte formula for my cheeks and lips as they tend to wear well on my drier skin and rarely need touchups. Matte lips is such a massive trend right now, and Barry M have recently introduced a range of new matte shades to their popular Lip Paint collection and my personal favourite is the Barry M Matte Lip Paint in the shade Cutie Pie. Cutie Pie is such an easy to wear, flattering rosy pink which offers just the right amount of colour without being too over the top when wearing more dramatic eye makeup. Some matte lipstick formulas can be unforgiving on the lips by clinging to any dryness, but the formula of the Barry M Matte Lip Paints are fantastic as they're very creamy, smooth and comfortable on the lips without accentuating any dry patches. In terms of wear time, I've found that Cutie Pie lasts for around four hours before I need to touch-up which I think is pretty good for a lipstick under £5, and it doesn't dry my lips our either which is a massive bonus.

W7 Matte Me Blush

For the cheeks, I really rate the W7 Matte Me Blush in the shade Up Above. I've always been a big fan of the W7 makeup range, but the formula of this new blush range is brilliant and I would wholeheartedly recommend them. The compacts contain a generous 8 grams of product for such a bargainous price with a four shades to choose from, each with a matte formula. Up Above complements the Barry M Cutie Pie Lipstick perfectly as it's also a rosy pink which looks so pretty and healthy on the cheeks, and it blends in effortlessly for a natural finish. I will be purchasing the other shades within the Matte Me blush range as the formula is so good and it lasts for at least six hours for me, so it's ideal for when you want your makeup to last all night long.

W7 Queen of Brows Brow Mascara and Barry M Light Me Up Liquid Highlighter

There are a couple of extra makeup products I'd recommend for party makeup which I wanted to share with you and they're budget friendly too. For long lasting brows I'd suggest a tinted brow gel which contains fibres such as the W7 Queen of Brows Brow Mascara as it deposits colour to your brows to fill them in but the fibres help to create a fuller looking brow which lasts. Finally, no festive party would be complete without an highlighter and you could use the aforementioned L'Oreal Lumi Magique Primer applied over your foundation with your fingertips for a natural glow. If you prefer a more intense highlight, I'd really recommend the Barry M Light Me Up Liquid Highlighter as it's easy to apply with your fingertips or a brush, but it looks incredible on the cheekbones with a metallic high-shine finish.

We really hope you've found our longwearing makeup tips useful, and they help keep your makeup in place all night long on New Year's Eve and of course—Happy New Year!