7 Quick & Easy Holiday Looks

P&G Beauty challenged me to come up with seven different holiday looks/combinations, and here are the seven I came up with! I really went from a quick, easy, and on-the-go perspective. These are looks that can start off work appropriate and then changed up in the evening by adding drama in select ways.

A Few Tips & Tricks

• FIND A WAY TO SPARKLE! Whether it’s your hair, lips, eyes, or skin, shimmer, sparkle, glitter, and the like are often on hand for holiday parties.
• QUICK STEPS FOR DRAMATIC CHANGE include swapping out eyeliner, adding liquid eyeliner, going for a darker/bolder lip color, putting hair up (or letting it down), and changing clothes/accessories. You can easily wear something casual, and then put on a dressier top and red lip, and you’ll look polished and elegant in minutes.
• RE-HYDRATE: After all the blow drying, styling, and products, I followed up with Aussie Moist 3 Minute Miracle Deeeeep Conditioner (which I’ve given two Editor’s Choice Awards for best conditioner before here, because it’s such a great hydrator for hair).
• COLORED HAIR? Temporary hair color is best used the day before an event, while semi-permanent hair color, such as Clairol Natural Instincts, can be used a few days prior to your big holiday party. Permanent hair color can be done a couple of weeks prior. Remember, if you’re trying a brand new hair color, you may want to test-drive it a few days to a week before any big events!

Check out the looks! 

#1 — Office and Daytime Friendly

Whether you’re going holiday shopping or heading into the office, this is an easy, wearable look that can easily be changed up to be more dramatic for evening get-togethers after work or a holiday party. If you have a cooler complexion, opt for cooler-toned beiges and browns.

1. HAIR: Began by washing and conditioning hair with Head & Shoulders Green Apple Shampoo/Conditioner, followed by smoothing Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Anti-Frizz Crème, which is supposed to help minimize frizz, through wet strands. I then applied Pantene Silky Moisture Whip to protect against heat damage. I blow dried hair with a round brush for ten minutes and used Aussie Miraculously Smooth Smoothing Serum to finish.
2. SKIN: Applied Olay Age Defy Day Serum as moisturizer. As base, applied Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting CC Cream in Medium to Deep lightly all over skin as a sheer tint and for SPF, and then set with CoverGirl + Olay Pressed Powder in Medium. Lightly tapped CoverGirl Cheekers Blush in Golden Pink, a dark coral, on cheeks to add color.
3. EYES: Applied CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eye Shadow in Champagne, a warm beige, all over the lid to brighten and open up eyes, and darkened the crease with a dark brown from CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Quad in Major Distraction to define them.  To line the eyes, I used CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Brown, which glides on smoothly (and was reviewed here) and then I defined lashes with COVERGIRL LashBlast Volume.
4. LIPS: Applied CoverGirl Outlast Lip Color in My Papaya, a pink-coral, to add healthy color to the lips. It’s designed to be a long-wearing lipstick, and for evenings out, especially ones when you’ll be chatting away, you want a longer-wearing lip color.
5. BODY: Lathered from head to toe with Simply Olay Body Wash, using it to help make it easier to shave legs and underarms with Venus Embrace. Slicked Secret Outlast Deodorant on underarms.

#2 — Just Add Red for Drama

This look changes up Look #1 by simply altering the lip color to something much more dramatic. I applied CoverGirl Outlast Lip Color in Eternal Flame, a muted red, but I kept everything else the same. This is also a good time to touch-up eyeliner, lightly powder/blot to freshen up the face, and the like.  Red lips are very festive for the holiday season, so they are perfect for an assortment of holiday events, from after-work parties to gift exchanges with friends and family.  An added bonus with a deeper color like red is they tend to last longer on the lips.

#3 — Up for Elegance

Building on Look #1 and #2, we altered the overall presence and feel of the look by sweeping hair up into a high bun. I pulled all my hair into a high ponytail, and then I twisted the ponytail and wrapped it around the base of the ponytail, then secured with a truckload of bobby pins. I smoothed hair into place with Aussie Miraculously Smooth Smoothing Serum, and then I sprayed a generous amount of Pantene Pro-V Stylers Shaping Extra Hold Hairspray to help hold everything in place.  With hair up and off your face, it can work well to highlight the natural bone structure of your face, and it often works well in situations where you’ll be photographed.  And if you have hair as long as mine, it’s so much easier to deal with when you’re eating a holiday meal.

#4 — Warm, Smoky Eye

What’s great about a smoky eye is that you can easily turn any look you’ve started with into something darker and more dramatic–smokier, sultrier.  Depending on the colors you’ve already used, you can add a dark black or brown to increase the definition of the outer crease and corner.  This is also an opportunity where you can add liquid eyeliner along the upper lash line and wing it outwards to create a cat eye effect.

1. HAIR: Began by washing and conditioning hair with Herbal Essences Honey I’m Strong Shampoo/Conditioner, followed by smoothing Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Mousse, which is supposed to help minimize frizz, through wet strands. I blow dried hair with a round brush for ten minutes and used Aussie Smoothing Serum to finish. I pulled hair back into a low ponytail and let part of the hair wrap around my ears.
2. SKIN: Applied Olay Age Defy Day Serum as moisturizer. As base, applied Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting CC Cream in Medium to Deep lightly all over skin, and then set with CoverGirl + Olay Pressed Powder in Medium. Lightly tapped CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush in Plush Peach, a dirty peach, on cheeks to add color, and then patted on CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eyeshadow in Champagne, a warm beige, as a highlighter on cheek bones.
3. EYES: Applied CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eye Shadow in Champagne, a warm beige, all over the lid and darkened the crease with CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eye Shadow in Shimmering Onyx, a dark black. To line the eyes, I used CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Blue, and then I defined lashes with COVERGIRL LashBlast Volume.
4. LIPS: Applied CoverGirl Outlast Lip Color in My Papaya, a pink coral.

#5 — Casual & Fun

To give this look some more color, I patted a dark teal from CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eyeshadow Quad in Major Distraction to the outer half of the lid, while keeping the rest of the makeup the same. I left my hair loose and lightly ran my fingers through it and put half in front, half in the back.   With big, sparkly earrings and my natural hair down and free, it has a very casual quality about it that is perfect for holiday parties with friends and family or just doing your holiday shopping.

#6 — Just a Touch of Color

Building on Look #5, I pulled all my hair into a high ponytail, and then I twisted the ponytail and wrapped it around the base of the ponytail, then secured with a truckload of bobby pins. I smoothed hair into place with Aussie Miraculously Smooth Smoothing Serum, and then I sprayed a generous amount of Pantene Pro-V Stylers Shaping Extra Hold Hairspray to help hold everything in place.  By putting the hair up, I think it creates a more sophisticated look overall, so it becomes more work-party appropriate or for dinner out at your favorite restaurant–but you still get to incorporate color in a noticeable, but still subtle, way.

#7 — Cool, Smoky Eye

This is almost like an ice princess-inspired look, but instead of icy blues, I used icy pinks and deep purples to give it a cool-toned, frosted feel.  I like hair up for this particular combination, because the strong lip stands out so much more when it is up (particularly because I have really dark and long hair).

1. HAIR: Began by washing and conditioning hair with Head & Shoulders Damage Rescue Shampoo/Conditioner, followed by smoothing Herbal Essences Touchably Smooth Anti-Frizz Crème through wet strands. I blow dried hair with a round brush for ten minutes and used Aussie Smoothing Serum to finish. I wanted to mimic the hair from Look #3, so I pulled all my hair into a high ponytail, and then I twisted the ponytail and wrapped it around the base of the ponytail, then secured with a truckload of bobby pins. I smoothed hair into place with Aussie Miraculously Smooth Smoothing Serum, and then I sprayed a generous amount of Pantene Pro-V Stylers Shaping Extra Hold Hairspray to help hold everything in place.
2. SKIN: Applied Olay Age Defy Day Serum as moisturizer. As base, applied Olay Total Effects Tone Correcting CC Cream in Medium to Deep lightly all over skin, and then set with CoverGirl + Olay Pressed Powder in Medium. Lightly tapped CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush in Lush Berry, a pinky-plum, on cheeks to add color, and then patted on CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eyeshadow in Pink Chiffon, an icy pink, as a highlighter on cheek bones.
3. EYES: Applied CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eye Shadow in Pink Chiffon, an icy pink, all over the lid and darkened the crease with CoverGirl Eye Enhancers Eye Shadow in Shimmering Onyx, a dark black, to add smokiness. To line the eyes, I used CoverGirl Liquiline Blast Eyeliner in Brown, and then I defined lashes with COVERGIRL LashBlast Volume.
4. LIPS: Applied CoverGirl Outlast Lip Color in Burgundy, a dark purple-plum, which will make lips the real focal point of the face.
5. BODY: Lathered from head to toe with Simply Olay Body Wash, using it to help make it easier to shave legs and underarms with Venus + Olay Razor. Slicked Secret Outlast Deodorant on underarms.