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Christmas is just around the corner, and now Halloween and bonfire night are out of the way, it's officially acceptable to get into the festive spirit. With the Boots Christmas advert getting us in the festive mood, fairy lights starting to pop up all around, and people (yes, I mean me) placing orders for their real trees to be delivered, it's safe to say it's time to get prepared for the sparkliest season of the year.
With the holidays looming, it's never too early to start trying out festive makeup looks, which is why, in preparation, we've tried out a super-easy look that's the perfect mix of glam and edgy. Perfect for parties and get-togethers, this look combines glowing skin with rock ’n’ roll eyes.
The look: This week we're trying out the GLAMOUR X BOOTS UK: The Purple Smoky Eye.
The products: Our testers had a choice of two different palettes this week – the Urban Decay Prince Let's Go Crazy Eyeshadow Palette, or the Huda Beauty Haze Obsessions Palette Purple. Both palettes are packed with shimmering purple hues – perfect for making an impact during the festive season.
Kit used:
- No7 Radiance Brightening Moisturiser
- No7 Skin Illuminator
- Collection Lasting Perfection Glow Foundation
- Real Techniques Expert Face Brush
- Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer
- Benefit 24-HR Brow Setter Clear Brow Gel
- Collection Gorgeous Glow Stick
- Urban Decay Prince Let's Go Crazy Eyeshadow Palette or Huda Beauty Haze Obsessions Palette Purple
- MAC Eye Kohl Pencil
- Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara
- NYX Professional Makeup Highlight & Contour Pro Palette
- Collection Lasting Perfection Matte Liquid Lipstick
The verdict: Here's what we honestly thought of the festive purple smoky eye look…
Shei Mamona, GLAMOUR’s Beauty & Entertainment Assistant
My favourite holiday calls for my favourite type of makeup. Party makeup is one thing, but Christmas makeup is a whole other ball game. There will be lots of eyes and lots of pictures this Christmas Party season, so my priority is to feel comfortable and confident.
Usually, I’m sporting a red power lip with a subtle but glittery lid, or the opposite, a glittery lip with a more subtle eye look during the festive season, so going down the purple route has taken me out of my comfort zone. Which is a good thing, of course. So I channelled my inner Prince and did a negative space liner with purple on the inner and outer corners of my eyes.
I used the Urban Decay Purple palette and blended the shade Alphabet St all over the lid, before layering the shades Funknroll and Get Yo Groove on the inner corner and the same in the outer, plus a sprinkle of the D.M.S.R shade for an extra hit of sparkle – emphasising that twinkle in the eye. For the eyeliner I used NYX’s Epic Ink Liner (CAUTION: you must let the ink dry, otherwise the fine line on the crease of your lid will quickly turn into a smudge). I then finished the eye look using Maybelline’s Sky High Mascara (by the way, who needs false lashes when you’ve got Sky High?).
As for the lips, I went with the multi-purpose Collection Gorgeous Glow Stick in Blush 1, before contouring them using MAC’s Eye Kohl Pencil (I feel like they last longer than lip liners).
I think I should take risks more often.
Rating: 9/10
Nitasha Dhiri, Conde Nast’s Corporate Strategy Director
I love a good bronze smokey eye – but if I have to try anything outside of a brown/gold colour palette, I panic. When I opened up the Huda Beauty Haze Obsessions Palette Purple, I was definitely a little out of my comfort zone but ended up loving the end result – and the versatility of this palette. You get nine shades, in both warm and cool tones, and a mix of matte and glitter shadows. I decided to try out a warm plum look and applied the light brown shade in the crease of my eye and the dark purple glitter shade all over my lids. I finished the look by defining my lash line with the MAC Eye Kohl Pencill in Costa Riche brown. As a long-standing MAC fan, I’m not surprised I loved this pencil, and how easily the colour glides off. For my cheeks I used the Collection Gorgeous Glow Stick, which was a bubblegum pink and ended up being a lot more pigmented than it looks, so I wasn’t initially a fan but once blended out it looked pretty natural. I can honestly say l’ll be wearing this look a lot more often this winter. The colours are super fun, without being overpowering, and the purple shade really brings out brown eyes. Give this a go this festive season – I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Huda Beauty Haze Obsessions Palette Purple: 10/10
MAC Eye Kohl Pencil: 9/10
Collection Gorgeous Glow Stick: 6/10
Sally Hunter, GLAMOUR’s Office Manager & PA to the Editor-in-Chief
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I'm the kinda gal who wears very subtle makeup day to day, so when asked to try out Urban Decay’s new Urban Decay Prince Let's Go Crazy Eyeshadow Palette I literally did what it says on the tin – I went a bit wild. I must admit, the final look above was take number two. I accidentally kept creating a 'black eye’ rather than a ‘smokey eye’! This pallete is heavy on the darker tones in comparison to the lighter ones, so it’s easy to get carried away. This look worked best for me when I limited myself to two lighter tones and two darker tones. Then… blend, blend, blend! The NYX Epic Ink Liner is exactly what I would look for when creating a winged liner look. If you’re like me and prefer a thinner pen to allow for more precision, then this product is for you. I was, however, slightly disappointed with the Maybelline Sky High Mascara. After seeing and hearing the great reviews on social, I was excited to get my hands on this product. However, the lasting impression wasn't great. The wand was too bendy and the product itself made my lashes clump rather than flutter.
Rating: 6/10
Luca Wetherby-Matthews, GLAMOUR’s Social Media Assistant
I am so excited for party season to come back around because with party season becomes the excuse to experiment with any and all exciting makeup looks. My go-to eyeshadow look is usually quite simple and I'm not really one to opt for elaborate cut creases or bright shadows, so in this instance, I went for a subtle shimmery purple smokey eye. I used the Urban Decay Prince Let's Go Crazy Eyeshadow Palette, starting with the shade Alphabet St (a matte pink) to act as a base to make the colours pop. I then applied Get Yo Groove On all over my lids and up above my crease for a Euphoria-esque shimmer. I applied the darker purple, Delirious, to my upper and lower lash line and blended out for more smoke, and then added a lighter pop of D.M.S.R to my inner corner. To add some more depth, I ran the MAC Eye Kohl Pencil in my waterline and added a small wing, which I defined with the NYX Epic Ink Liner – one of the easiest liners I've ever used. To finish the look I used the Maybelline Sky High Mascara (you have to believe the TikTok hype behind this mascara because it's insane!).
I'm super pleased with how it turned out and it took under 10 mins, which makes it the perfect last-minute party look.
Rating: 9/10
Lottie Winter, GLAMOUR’s Beauty Editor
I always get stuck in a rut when it comes to festive makeup, defaulting to a brown smoky eye for every occasion. There’s nothing wrong with it, but it does get a little monotonous. While the idea of a purple eyeshadow made me slightly nervous (it’s not a colour I’ve explored much when it comes to makeup), I was intrigued to give it a try – and I’m glad I did.
I used the Huda Beauty Haze Obsessions Palette Purple, which offered the perfect selection of base shades to sweep all over, and dark shades to apply to the lash line and crease. It also has some incredible shimmers and sparkly pigments, which I used as an accent in the centre of my lids and to brighten the inner corners. I even dusted one of the shimmers on my lips to tie the look together. The key with a purple eye look is to keep skin bright and healthy-looking with a glowing rosy cheek (the Collection Gorgeous Glow Stick was the perfect formula), a great mascara (I used Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High Mascara) and a luminous base (which was easily achieved with the No7 Radiance Brightening Moisturiser and the No7 Skin Illuminator).
The result? A fabulous alternative festive look made easy.
Rating: 9/10
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