The Ultimate New Year's Eve Makeup Tutorial

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Pop the champagne—2026 is almost here! Whether you're dancing the night away at a glamorous soirée or toasting with your besties at an intimate gathering, your makeup needs to work as hard as you party. This year, we're going all-in on a look that's equal parts sophisticated and show-stopping: think luminous skin, eyes that catch every light, and lips that mean business. We've crafted a step-by-step guide that'll have you looking absolutely chef's kiss from the countdown to the afterparty. Ready to glow into the new year? Let's get gorgeous!

Prep Work: Start Your Makeup Look with the Right Skincare

Here's the tea: great makeup starts with great skin! Think of your skincare routine as the foundation of your foundation (see what we did there?). We're creating the perfect canvas, so don't skip these crucial prep steps—even if you're running fashionably late.

Cleanse: Start with a gentle facial cleanser to remove any daytime makeup, oil, or impurities. Pat dry with a clean towel—no rubbing!
Tone: Swipe on a hydrating face toner with a cotton pad or pat it in with your hands. This helps preps your skin for the next steps.
Moisturize: Apply a lightweight, fast-absorbing hydrating moisturizer. If you're oily, go for a gel moisturizer. Dry skin? Opt for something creamier. Wait 2-3 minutes for full absorption.
Eye cream: Gently tap eye cream around your orbital bone using your ring finger (it's the gentlest!). This helps prevent concealer from settling into fine lines.
Lip balm: Slick on a nourishing lip balm now so your lips are perfectly prepped when it's time for lipstick later.

Pro Tip: Do your skincare 10-15 minutes before starting makeup. This gives everything time to sink in and prevents pilling when you apply foundation.

Prime Time: Apply Face Primer

Pump a pea-sized amount of mattifying face primer onto the back of your hand. Using your fingertips, apply it to your entire face, focusing extra attention on your T-zone, around your nose, and anywhere you tend to get oily. Use gentle pressing motions rather than rubbing—this helps the primer grip your skin better. Don't forget to bring it down your neck for a seamless finish!

Wait 60 seconds before moving to foundation to let your facial primer dry down—patience is a virtue, and your makeup will thank you.

Why it matters: Face primer helps create a smooth, even-looking base that helps foundation glide on beautifully and stay put through all your party festivities. Think of it as double-sided tape for your makeup!

Conceal and Correct: Apply Color Corrector and Concealer

Time to brighten and perfect! Apply concealer in an inverted triangle shape under your eyes—the base of the triangle sits right under your eye, and the point extends down toward your cheek. This technique helps lift and brighten the appearance of under-eyes like magic. For blemishes or redness, dab a small amount of green color corrector directly on the spot and tap the edges to blend seamlessly.

Gently blend with a damp makeup sponge using tiny tapping motions. Never drag or swipe! Set your under-eye area with a light dusting of translucent powder using a fluffy brush. This can help prevent creasing throughout the night.

Flawless Base: Apply Foundation

Using a damp beauty sponge or dense foundation brush, apply a hydrating skin tint to the center of your face first—forehead, nose, chin, and cheeks. Then blend outward toward your hairline and jawline using bouncing or stippling motions.

Build coverage gradually! Start with a thin layer and add more where needed rather than applying too much at once. Blend, blend, blend into your hairline and jawline so there are no visible lines. A common mistake? Over-applying foundation everywhere when you really only need extra coverage in specific spots.

Application Tip: For extra dewiness, mix a drop of a dewy complexion booster into your foundation before applying. Your skin will look like you're lit from within!

Sculpt and Define: Apply Contour and Bronzer

Let's give your face some gorgeous dimension! Using a contour makeup brush, apply liquid contour in the hollows of your cheeks (suck in your cheeks to find them), along your hairline, down the sides of your nose, and along your jawline.

Blend everything seamlessly using circular motions—there should be no harsh lines, just subtle definition. Build the intensity gradually.

Sweep powder bronzer across areas where the sun naturally hits: the high points of your cheeks, across your nose bridge, and on your forehead near your hairline. This helps add warmth to your complexion.

Add Color and Glow: Apply Blush and Highlight

Smile at yourself in the mirror (you're about to look amazing!) and apply a cheek stain to the apples of your cheeks, blending back toward your temples with a blush tint blending brush. Use a light hand and build up the color—it's easier to add more than to take away.

Now for the fun part: highlighter! Use a highlight wand and apply to the high points of your cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose, on your cupid's bow, and in your inner corners. You can also add a touch to your brow bone. For New Year's Eve, don't be shy—a little extra glow never hurt anyone! Use a fan brush or your fingertip for the most natural application.

Layer your highlighter for extra impact: applying a layer of cream highlighter over liquid products creates a seriously stunning, multi-dimensional glow.

Perfect Your Brows: Use a Brow Pencil to Help Fill in Any Sparse Areas

Brush your brows upward with a spoolie to see their natural shape. Using a brow pen or brow cream that matches your hair color (or is slightly lighter), fill in any sparse areas with light, hair-like strokes. Focus on the tail of your brow and any gaps.

Set everything in place with a brow laminating gel, brushing upward and outward for a feathery, lifted look. Well-groomed brows frame your entire face and pull the whole look together!

Set It and Forget It: Apply Setting Powder and Setting Spray

Using light sweeping motions, apply setting powder to your T-zone, under eyes, and anywhere you tend to get shiny. The goal is to set your base without looking powdery.

For a more natural finish, try "baking" your under-eye area: pack on a generous amount of powder, wait 5-7 minutes while you do your brows or pick a playlist, then dust away the excess. Your under-eyes will be crease-free and flawless!

Less is more with face powder—you want your skin to still look like skin, just perfected.

Lip Perfection: Apply Lip Liner, Lipstick, and Lip Gloss to Create the Ultimate Lip Combo

Line your lips slightly outside your natural lip line using a berry or mauve lip liner. This helps create the illusion of fuller-looking lips and prevents your lipstick from feathering. Fill in your entire lip with the lip liner—this creates a base that makes your lipstick last even longer.

Apply your berry lipstick directly from the bullet or with a lip brush for precision. Blot with a tissue, then apply a second layer for seriously staying power.

Optional but fabulous: Dab a tiny bit of plumping lip oil in the center of your bottom lip for a plump, dimensional effect. This catches the light beautifully in photos!