Holiday Makeup Trends: Tinsel Eyes, Coal Liner and More
It’s party time.
Between office-wide white elephant swaps and New Year’s Eve blowout bashes, the December calendar can book up quickly, with one social obligation after another, all with the same dress code: festive. In fashion terms, this can mean anything from velvet minidresses to fur-trimmed pantsuits and sequin halter-neck tops. Beauty-wise, this calls for icy eye shadow, dark lips and rosy cheeks (so rosy they look like they’ve been pinched by the cold).
“Holiday makeup feels special because it gives you permission to go bigger, bolder and more intentional than any other time of year. It’s a mix of mood, lighting, textures and the whole festive atmosphere,” Georgie Eisdell — makeup artist to Gwyneth Paltrow, Dakota Johnson and Jennifer Aniston — told WWD.
Artist Etienne Ortega — whose client list includes Christina Aguilera, Lana Del Rey and Becky G — told WWD the holidays are a “return to soft, romantic glamour.”
“Think frosty, light-reflective eyes paired with flushed, rosy cheeks that feel fresh and youthful, finished with a high-shine, glossy lip. It’s less about heavy contour and more about luminosity — skin that looks healthy, hydrated, and glowing,” he continued.
Ahead, WWD breaks down five makeup trends synonymous with the season.
Cherry Lips
Taylor Swift is seen with red lipstick outside “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Dec. 10.
Once a signal of status and power, red lipstick can elevate any look, like a high-fashion accessory for the face. During the holidays, specifically, when the streets are lined with red velvet ribbon and crimson-colored garland, the darker lip reigns supreme. With only a single coat, the spirit of the season is captured.
The bold color can be worn with an extravagant eye or no makeup at all; its eye-catching effect is the same. In fact, many celebrities have opted for the statement-making lip and a no-makeup makeup complexion this year. Take, for example, Alba Rohrwacher at the Cannes Film Festival in May and Paltrow at the Los Angeles premiere of “Marty Supreme.” Here, both actresses kept their bases bare, while the rich hue dressed their lips.
If anyone’s known for wearing a bold lip, it’s Taylor Swift. She’s been known to favor both the Nars Cosmetics Original Lipstick in shade Morocco and Pat McGrath’s LiquiLUST: Legendary Wear Matte Lipstick in shade Elson 4. But Louis Vuitton’s LV Rouge is also a great option, according to Eisdell.
Sugarplum Blush
Sabrina Carpenter performs with purple-hued blush during her “Short n’ Sweet” tour at Madison Square Garden.
Sun-kissed summer cheeks have faded and frozen over, inviting colder, darker hues to the surface. This year, purple-pinched cheeks are all the rage. Just ask Sabrina Carpenter, who was seen layering shimmery highlight over a dark, sugarplum blush shade during her “Short n’ Sweet” concert stop in New York City.
The color is less clean girl and more Old Hollywood ingenue, doe-y and doll-like. To achieve the proper sugarplum flush, start with a fuschia shade (Glossier’s Cloud Paint, Armani Beauty’s Cheek Tint Longwear Lightweight Liquid Blush or Summer Friday’s Butter Balm will do). Move the product over the cheeks and up next to the eyes. For the flocked gumdrop effect, go in with a silver or white highlighter next, blending it along the cheekbones. Then, set everything with a mulberry powder blush.
Tinsel Shadow
FKA Twigs with silver shadow at the 2025 Mercury Music Awards in October.
Getty Images
Winter party season is like a never ending parade of sequins and sparkles, and this year, many are saving some shimmer for their lids. The festive equivalent of summer’s wet eye look, tinsel shadow is being stamped and smoked out over the eyes and up into the brow bone for some added drama. Some, like FKA Twigs, are using the product to accent their inner corners and brighten up their undereyes.
For the shimmer-shy, Merit’s Solo Shadow Cream Eyeshadow offers a subtle yet flattering amount of sparkle. The shimmer-obsessed should try the Hourglass Scattered Light Glitter Eye Shadow or Urban Decay’s Moondust collection. And to ensure the sparkles won’t travel south down the face, add some of the MAC Cosmetics Lipglass Lip Gloss on top to lock them in.
Button Nose
Ariana Grande opts for her signature button nose at the “Wicked: For Good” New York premiere in November.
Popularized by Ariana Grande, the button nose is this year’s “cold girl makeup” fixation. While many double-downed on the frosty pink blush of it all last year, the contouring technique has now taken the lead in winter glam trends. With a tap of highlighter on the tip, the nose appears small and pointy. The idea is to draw attention to that one spot on the face for a soft and ultra-feminine aesthetic. It’s like a nose job without the surgery…and the bruising.
Grande uses her R.e.m. Beauty Interstellar Highlighter Topper, but other options include Benefit Cosmetics’ Cookie and Tickle Shimmer Finish Powder Highlighters, Charlotte Tilbury’s Hollywood Glow Glide Face Architect Highlighter and Armani Beauty’s Fluid Sheer Glow Enhancer Highlighter.
Coal-coated Eyes
Gabriette Bechtel with charcoal liner at the Saint Laurent menswear spring 2026 show.
WireImage
Coal might get a bad wrap around Christmas time, but the TikTok beauty mecca is loving it this year, specifically for their eyes. Amid the burgeoning siren aesthetic — led by “It” girls Charli XCX, Gabbriette Bechtel, Alex Consani and Rachel Sennott — bottom black eyeliner has made a comeback. Women are, once again, drawing thin charcoal lines along their lids and in their waterline. Some are also smoking the product out into a narrow baby wing on the inner and outer corners of the eyes.
To achieve that stringent line, opt for an eyeliner with an angled brush on the other end, like YSL’s Lines Liberated 24H Waterproof Eyeliner and Makeup By Mario’s Master Pigment Pro Eyeliner Pencil. The other option is to use an angled brush and black eye shadow.
