MANILA, Philippines – Red, green and gold are the colors of the season but when and where — or if you’re smart about it, how — to incorporate it into a beauty look that is actually appropriate or otherwise takes on a new confounding significance this time of year. If you’ve taken the time to figure out your sartorial choices per gathering, complete the look with hair and makeup, too.
I was schooled about the do’s and don’ts of beauty etiquette as soon as I picked up my first black eyeliner, a precocious teenager attempting to debut my newfangled skills with a soot-black smoky eye. It was around the same time this year, too, at the only occasion that was close by — a family reunion, no less.
“These gatherings are about strengthening family ties,” my mother reasoned, so I didn’t make it past my bedroom door until the only cosmetic product on my face was baby powder. In retrospect, jokes about my raccoon look could have severed such ties. For your family gatherings, low-key is key. Unfortunately, a skincare product to generate patience at a cellular level for all the awkward small talk and the occasional unsolicited comment had yet to be invented. In the mean time, L:A Bruket Hand Cream is comforting to the touch.
If you’ve been sweet-talked — or perhaps upgraded your relationship — into meeting your significant other’s family over Noche Buena, a chic yet understated nude-blush look on your cheeks, lips and tips (try Zoya Naked Manicure Perfector in Lavender layered with Satin for a my-nails-but-better look) is highly advisable because you want a masterful balance of wit and parent-pleasing charm to be the focal point. An on-point hostess gift in chic giftwrapping for the future mother-in-law is a preferred finishing touch, apart from a light sweep of a lit-from-within highlighter like the Becca Champagne Glow Palette in collaboration with makeup artist Jaclyn Hill applied with the chameleon of makeup tools, The One Perfecting Brush, 3.5 inches of densely-packed dye-free bristles.
The office Christmas party is one such occasion to break out that trendy pop-of-color statement look like a vampy plum lippie. May we suggest Chanel Rouge Allure Rouge Noir? Again, this isn’t the time for bedroom eyes. Your office crush will be making an appearance — fingers crossed with you under the mistletoe — but your boss will also be in the same room. Get the message across with a scent that spells sexy like Hermes Hermessence Ambre Narguile, described by its perfumer as an “almost carnal” smell.
Among the virtues of the holiday is catching up with friends and loved ones. For that token unofficial school reunion with people you only see once a year, you always want to look like you’ve been doing great. With two drops of Kiehl’s Daily Reviving Concentrate, you create a lovely dewy look, and with regular use, encourage suppleness by strengthening the skin’s barrier. Spray on Aveda’s Volumizing Tonic before you blow-dry your hair for weightless volume and shine that makes you look eternally young. You can do a black smoky eye or a red lip — never and. Nobody wants to look like they tried too hard, and it is especially true in cases where you’ll be beheld by people who knew you when you still had a bowl cut or wore fluttering butterfly clips.
Do not forget to unwind: double cleanse nightly, and recharge with the luxurious dark circle-busting eye cream Dior’s 360° Light-Up Open-Up Replenishing Eye Serum and a sheet mask as indulgent as Givenchy Le Soin Noir face masks, made of black “haute couture lace,” so the dossier says, infused with two algae. The blush tones on your cheeks and lips should come naturally the morning after, when you recall the events that took place. Gear up: it’s going to be a crazy month!