New Years Eve Makeup

It goes without saying that NYE’s makeup = sparkles. Whether you’re headed out to a fancy dinner and dance or you’re staying in with a special someone, you will drink champagne, kiss a loved one at midnight and wear sparkles. That’s just the way it is, as far as I’m concerned.

And if you’re with me on this one, here is the makeup tutorial to end all New Year’s Eve makeup tutorials.

You may recognize this look from Bicyclette’s holiday lookbook. Always up for a ton of fun and sparkle, Paige picked up these great silver star sequins and Emily gave me permission to put glue all over her face and away we went.

Here is what you'll need to recreate the look yourself:
Sequins
White strip eyelash adhesive
Tweezers (I prefer the pointy ones!)
A small plate

1 // Do your makeup as per usual. Emily has great skin so we did a really sheer foundation topped with a translucent powder. I heaped the mascara on but everything else was really natural with a bit of black liner in the lash line, a touch of blush and pink lipstick. One thing you could add is a sweep of eyeshadow or pigment in the colour of your sequins across the lid and into the crease of the eye.

2 // Lay out the  sequins on a small plate in a thin layer. Discard any with flakey or bent edges.  Spread the adhesive on the side of the plate. It will likely dry out as you’re working so only use a bit at a time.

3 // Work with your head tilted slightly. I like to lay my head on the back of the couch so it’s supported and I can watch tv. Side note: I love to watch tv while I’m doing my makeup.

4 // With a mirror in one hand, pick up the stars one by one with the tweezers, dip lightly in the glue and apply to your face. Use a thin layer of glue - too much and the stars will slip before they dry.

5 // Facing the mirror straight on, compare the weight and size on each side of your face. Inconsistency is great but create balance by making sure you don’t have really heavy patches of sequins in one area. Adjust with more stars as needed. And trust me, the answer is always to add more stars.

6 // Admire your fine work and then put a pic up on instagram for me to see! Tag me @ashleyreadings and @shopbicyclette and I’ll pick my favourite NYE sparkle look and send them my go-to lipstick for the New Year.

Disclaimer // Some rules for gluing glitter, sparkles or sequins to your face.

1 // Always use cosmetic glue. Liquid latex, strip eyelash glue or pros aide. No glue sticks, white glue or (ouch) glue guns. And no tape. Just don’t even think about tape.

2 // Use cosmetic grade glitter that is made to be on or near the eye. Cosmetic glitter is shaped and made differently as to not cause skin or eye irritation.

3 // If you are using non cosmetic pieces (like the sequins we used), keep them far enough away from the eye so that they can’t damage it and large enough so that they can be handled in individual pieces, with flakey or sharp edges that can scrape.

‘All Made Up’ is a blog feature hosted by hair and makeup artist extraordinaire, Ashley Readings. We work with Ashley on most of our lookbook shoots and other creative projects, and this new collaboration is the perfect way to offer our readers exclusive beauty tips and behind-the-scenes content. Plus, we like any excuse to dress up and have our hair and make up done!

[photos: scarlet o'neill]