Must-haves for your party night makeup bag

November is filled with so much excitement and anticipation as we prepare to say farewell to the past and hello to the new. Long summer days are beginning, the kids are nearly finished the school year, and Christmas trees and sparkly decorations are adorning all of the shipping malls already to the tune of festive music favourites.

While gift-giving and family dinners are being planned, there are also tons of year-end events and parties to attend. These parties come with added pressure to look and feel our best. Looking in the mirror after a year full of work, both at the office and being a mom, you might notice that perhaps your skin is a little dull and the bags under your eyes resemble a cheap knock-off instead of a brand-new Louis Vuitton.

This is where glam party makeup comes in. It has the power to transform anyone into a glowing, vibrant, confident and powerful woman. Follow my tips below and I’ll have you ready to own the room you walk into!

1. Keep your foundation natural. When it comes to a glam look, the first thing to do is create a flawless canvas to work with. Keeping in mind that looking glamorous is all about healthy, dewy and glowing skin, it’s important to keep your foundation as natural as possible. We want it to melt into the skin, not sit on top of it.
2. Bronze it up. Bronzer has the power to change an entire makeup look. Make sure you’re using one with a warm tone, that’s not too orange. Use a big fluffy brush, tap off the excess product and apply in a 3-shape around the face, starting in the centre of the forehead. Start off slow and build it up. I also love applying bronzer by sweeping it across my entire face including my nose and cheeks, as well as my décolletage.
3. Play with colour on the eyes. When you’re using colour in a bronzed glam look, choose where the burst of colour is coming from: the eyes, cheeks or lips? If it’s the eyes, then play around with vibrant lid shades and colourful eye pencils for the bottom lash line. If you’re making the top lid colourful, keep the bottom natural, and vice versa. Don’t be afraid of glitters and pigments. They are so much fun to work with and you can mix and match them creatively.
4. Contour is key. Contouring and shaping the face gives more power to the glam look. Contouring isn’t difficult and is all about carving out a shadow and depth, even though it can be pretty intimidating for the first few times. You want to use a smaller, tapered brush than your bronzer brush so that you really get into those areas. You can shape your cheekbones, nose, eyes, and décolletage just with powder.
5. Highlight the high points. My favourite step is to add highlighter to enhance all of the areas that natural light touches, so when you move your face around, you’ll see it show up beautifully. I like a blinding, while still natural-looking sheen. I love to apply either a cream or liquid highlighter to my high points first i.e. tops of cheekbones, bridge of the nose, forehead, brow area, inner corner of the eyes, Cupid’s bow and décolletage. I then like to go over it with a powder highlight for a more intense finish. If you really want to amplify your highlighter, wet your brush with a setting spray and watch the magic happen.
6. Blush it up. When it comes to choosing a blush for a party look, it all depends on the lipstick you’re using. For nudes, you can play around with pinks and adventurous shades; for a bolder lip, keep your blush naturally flushed with a peach, mauve blush.
7. Lips for days. Anyone who knows me knows that my obsession with lipstick and colour is real. Don’t be afraid to be bold! Nothing says glam quite like a classic red lip, but be sure to keep the eyes natural with the focus being the lips. If the focal point is your eyes, then go for a stunning peachy nude lipstick with an extra glossy lip.