Guides

Holiday party makeup, placed for your eye shape

Holiday party makeup works best as one festive change on top of your everyday face: a metallic or frosted lid, a sharper or silver liner, or a deep red or berry lip. Choose one, place it where your eye shape actually shows it, and keep skin, brows and cheeks at their everyday level. Near the eyes, use only glitter and shimmer labelled for the eye area.

Updated October 27, 2026

When do people look for holiday makeup?

In the United States, Google searches for holiday makeup climb from late November and peak in mid December: over the last year, interest stood at about 40 to 47 percent of its peak through late November and early December, reached its peak in the week of December 14, and was back to about a quarter of it by the last week of December. Most people plan the look in the two weeks before their first party, which is the right time to try it once at home.

What makes a look festive?

Usually one element with more shine or contrast than you wear in the day. Pinterest's 2026 beauty trend report shows where that element is heading this season: searches for frosted makeup up 286 percent, metallic lips up 52 percent, silver eyeliner makeup up 48 percent, and on the cheeks dusty rose blush up 189 percent. A trend tells you the family; the version you wear should still suit your features.

Where does the shimmer go on your eye shape?

Placement follows what is visible with your eyes open, because that is how people see you at a party. These are working rules from make-up practice, not measurements; check them in a mirror at arm's length.

How to do holiday party makeup in six steps

1. Start from your everyday faceSkin, brows and cheeks at their usual level. The festive change only reads as festive against a calm base.
2. Choose one festive elementA metallic or frosted lid, a sharper or silver liner, or a deep red or berry lip. Two at once compete in photos.
3. Place it for your eye shapeCheck with your eyes open in a mirror at arm’s length: on hooded eyes the colour must show above the crease, on monolids it can sit wider.
4. Use eye area products near the eyesGlitter and shimmer on the lids must be labelled for the eye area. A body or craft glitter is not.
5. Do the lip lastA deep lip shifts how the eyes read. Put it on after the eyes and adjust the eyes down if the face now feels busy.
6. Check under warm light and with a phone flashParty light is warm and low; a flash bounces off shimmer. If it reads as a flat white patch with flash, use less.

Is glitter safe near your eyes?

Only glitter made and labelled for the eye area. In the United States, colour additives have to be approved for the place they are used, and the FDA notes that some colour additives approved for cosmetics in general are not approved for use around the eyes. Craft glitter and body glitter are the common mistakes. Holiday parties add two more: the FDA advises against sharing eye cosmetics, testers included, and against applying or removing eye make-up in a moving vehicle, which rules out finishing your liner in the car on the way.

How does Tressaly pick a festive look for you?

From one selfie it writes three looks, and the Evening look is the one built for a party: selectively stronger contrast and longer wear where a change earns it, one richer element rather than every element richer. It is drawn on your own photo with your face left as it was, so you see the festive lid or the deep lip on you before the night. The Everyday look is part of the free read; Evening and Work come with a subscription. How the three looks differ.

Tools for the look

• ToolPencil eyeshadow brush

  A small, dense, pointed brush that places shimmer exactly along the lash line or the outer corner and smudges liner softly.

• ToolFluffy blending brush

  Softens the top edge of a metallic lid so it fades instead of stopping in a line, which matters most on hooded eyes.

• ToolFine angled liner brush

  Draws a short, sharp wing or a silver line with gel or wet shadow; easier to control than a felt pen for an upward angle.

• ToolLip brush

  Lays a deep red or berry lip with a clean edge that keeps your own outline, then fits in a clutch for touch ups.

Pieces for the look

• 
  LipsLip liner pencil

  For the deep berry lip: a matte liquid colour with a liner at the other end. Line along your own outline first, fill, and put it on last, after the eyes.

  View on AliExpress ↗
• 
  EyesBlack eyeliner pencil

  For the sharper liner: a black pencil made for the eyes. Draw the short wing angled up, and keep the lid matte or bare beside it.

  View on AliExpress ↗

Listings Tressaly links through the AliExpress affiliate program. They are sold and shipped by AliExpress sellers, not by Tressaly, and Tressaly earns a commission on purchases made through these links. Shades and stock change, so check the listing before you buy.

Guides describe styling choices, not medical or dermatological advice. Tressaly reads one selfie and shows these choices on your own photo. How a read works.