A Christmassy GRWM

As soon as I jumped in the car on my way back home yesterday, I finally started to feel it: that Christmas buzz. Before then, my Christmas shopping was just another thing to cross off of my to-do list, and Southampton's Christmas market just meant one thing: don't go into town on a Saturday. But now, I'm helping myself to a Celebration or twelve, writing this in the soft glow of our tree, and that bit of Christmas joy has hit me like a bit too much mulled wine. This time of year inspires so many different make-up looks and outfits across the blogging community - much like one I did last year, give that a read here if you fancy - but in 2018 I've decided to ditch the bold red lip and swap it for a pretty purple instead, and bought some party to the eyes and cheeks with a tonne of sparkle. So I present to you another little Christmas look, perfect for the big day.

Let's start off with the make-up, shall we? For base and eyebrows, I used the same holy-grail products as always - my NYX Colour Correcting Palette as concealer, and the shade Sexpresso from the Too Faced Natural Eyes Palette to beef up the brows (I go into more detail here if you really want to know more). The fun part is the eyes. A new lil beauty discovery for me is The Balm's Alternative Rock Vol 1 palette, which screams party season. I love all the shimmery shades, especially the purple-y tones. As a base, I used the light silvery-mauve Take it for Granite (I adore the names btw) all over the lid. Top tip: spray your brushes with water, then dip them in the eye shadow - it makes the colours much more pigmented, especially for shadows packed with glitter like these. Through the crease and on the outer portion of the lid, I took Nice Ash, which helped give that gradient-like effect. I also smudged this under the eye. In the outer crease, I took the matte brown shade All Ore Nothing, just to add that extra bit of depth. The Balm are known for their crazy, disco-ball-face highlighters, and the one included in this palette - Basalt and Pepper - is no exception; it's a sheer white highlight at it's core, with a shimmery pink iridescence running through it. I popped this in the inner corners to widen and brighten up the eyes. 

I can't go many days without eyeliner, as you've probably worked out by now. I'm still in love with the elf Cream Eyeliner, and created a wing with this. I also took the Rimmel Black Soft Kohl Kajal pencil along the waterline to inject some extra drama. And although I'm back on the Revlon Dramatic Definition Mascara train for everyday wear, I can't say no to the Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof mascara for big events; nothing quite adds volume like this bad boy.

When it comes to cheeks, there's nothing particularly new here. I don't wear bronzer or blush on the daily, but you guys know the drill if I do - it's the elf St Lucia bronzing and blush duo. I took the bronzer on a big powder brush and swept it across the cheekbones, forehead, down the nose, chin and down my neck. With the blush, I took a slightly denser face brush and tapped some on my cheeks, before sweeping it upwards across the cheekbones. On a fan brush, I took the Basalt and Pepper highlighter from the The Balm palette on my cheekbones and nose bridge. And if that's not enough glitter for you, why not add a touch of Royal Gold from the Sleek Precious Metals palette? Should sort you right out. 

While a staple red lip is a classic when it comes to Christmas time, my go-to bold lip has always been a purple-y, berry shade. One of my all-time favourites is the Maybelline Colour Drama lip pencil in Berry Much. I like that these don't dry completely matte, and since they're a pencil, they're super easy to control - ideal when you've got a dramatic colour and a shaky hand. To tie in that little bit of Xmas red, however, I did dot some of L'Oreal's Colour Riche lippy in Blake's Red just in the centre of the lips and smooshed it (technical term) around. 

Now for the outfit. I couldn't look more like an elf if I tried - and that's defo the look I'm going for. I think this is the perfect Christmas day outfit, and it's so super duper cosy as well. The first layer here is my Boohoo jumper dress (actually bought from ASOS). This definitely isn't the most high quality of dresses but is sure is a staple in my wardrobe at this time of year; I love anything with a high neck during winter time. On top of this, I have this velvet Topshop slip dress. I bought this last year - no longer available, so here's a similar one - but never got the wear out of it, I think mostly because I just wore it by itself so it wasn't very shapely. Now that I've found something to pair it with, I can see myself wearing it so much more. Pair this with some black tights and some Doc Martens and you're good to go. 

For that little extra touch of winteryness, I've gone for matte nails here. This is Rimmel's Velvet Matte polish in Midnight Kiss; I don't think much of the formula as it chips after 2.3 seconds, but the colour is gorge. I've also been wearing my hair like this most days and think it's really cute. This green scrunchie came in a set from New Look, which has a burnt reddy-orange included, also perfect for Christmas time. 

If you weren't ready for Christmas before this post, hopefully you are now. I can't wait to wear this whole shabang on Christmas day, which will more than likely see me demolishing even more Celebrations and asleep by two pm. 

See you soon, 

Eleanor