A NOTE TO LATESTBEAUTY FANS:

Welcome to the first installment in what will hopefully be a long series of posts contributed by our fellow beauty bloggers from around the Web! Our guest blogger today is Ms. DWJ from The Art of Accessories, who has written a piece on  how to jazz up your holiday beauty routine. For more holiday goodness from Dana, check out her 2009 Winter Gift Guide! Enjoy the post and feel free to leave your thoughts in a comment.

XOXO,

The LB Team

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During the holiday season I get asked a lot about how to jazz up your everyday beauty routine with a few hints of holiday appropriate sparkle. I’ll be honest, I use the holiday season as my excuse to get a bit wilder with my makeup. I love a great foil look on the eyes and added shimmer to my cheeks. So what are a few easy makeup pieces to add to your makeup bag?

Add an all-over glow:warm-radiance

I love Bare Escentuals Warm Radiance. This shimmering powder gives a soft golden shimmer to your skin. I apply it to my face like many would apply bronzer, adding a bit of shimmer and subtle sheen to any place that the sun would naturally hit my face. It gives me a warm glow that makes my skin look even more radiant than before I put my foundation on. If you think Warm Radiance is too much for you there are several other radiance options available to you based on your skin tone. Once you put it on, you’ll wonder how you got dressed without it.

stilaEmphasize your eyes:

You know that you’ll be eating at every open house, holiday party and celebration between now and New Year’s Eve. Instead of focusing on lips I focus on making sure I have fabulous eye makeup. A metallic smoky eye is so holiday chic and super simple to achieve with the Stila Smoky Eye Palette in Platinum. I like to think of it as makeup for dummies. The palette actually talks and tells you how and where to apply each shade. chrome-liner

Not up for a smoky eye? Then upgrade your liners with L’Oreal HIP Color Chrome Eyeliners in one of the chromed out shades like Gold Charge or Silver Lightening. The liners are super pigmented and pack a great metallic punch that will really make your eyes the focus (I’m obsessed with Silver Lightening and Black Shock.)

glitterlipbalmpaletteKeep the lips simple:

Since you’ll be sipping on hot toddies or popping petit fours stick with a nude gloss or a glitter infused lip balm like the Bobbi Brown Glitter Lip Balm Palette. These four shimmery shades are easy to apply and not only add a great sparkle to your pout but moisturize your lips like a balm.

No matter what you do with your holiday makeup, just make sure you have fun. It’s all about merriment and delight and your makeup should be as festive as your mood.

Happy Holidays!

dwj