Rose-Marie Swift's Holiday Party Makeup Tips

The holiday season is the perfect time to elevate your makeup game—think radiant skin, bold lips, and eyes that captivate under twinkling lights. To help you create party-ready looks with ease, we sat down with our founder and master makeup artist, Rose-Marie Swift, for her expert tips on achieving effortless glamour.

From her secrets to long-lasting eyeshadow and glowing skin to her favorite products for a festive touch, Rose-Marie shares her go-to tricks to help you look luminous all night long. Whether you’re prepping for a cozy holiday gathering or a sparkling New Year’s bash, these tips will ensure you shine brighter than ever.

Read on for Rose-Marie’s insights into creating holiday magic with makeup, including her must-have products and signature techniques for radiant beauty.

What is your favorite way to make eye colors pop during the holidays?

• "My trick for making eye colors pop is dimension. Adding luminosity and dimension to your lids makes your eyes pop, no matter the color you choose. Our Eyelights have this dimension and luminosity in the formula so you don’t even have to mix colors—just swipe it across your lid and it’s good to go. They dry fast, but they stay all day without creasing." 

• "When you know you're going to be using shadow, avoid putting moisturizer or other skincare products on your lids. Just apply a little setting powder on your lids and under your eyes after eyeshadow, and before you apply your mascara to help keep everything in place and prevent transfer." 

• "When it comes to prepping the skin before makeup—less is more. The more you pile on, the more likely your product will slip away. First, I avoid what I call barrier products which are silicones, synthetic sunscreens, and hyaluronic acid as they leave a tacky film on top of the skin... nasty. That's why I love our ReEvolve Radiance Locking Primer (NewBeauty awarded it 'Best Hydrating Primer' of 2023) because it's a light moisturizer and primer in one. A lot of primers try to mattify the skin but ours keeps skin glowing with a non sticky/tacky finish that grips and holds makeup for up to 8 hours and hydrates skin for 24 hours." 

• "You can wear anything you want together, the key is making sure that they aren’t competing with each other. You don’t want your eyes and lips to fight for the drama. For the holidays, I love a soft smoky eye and a red lip—it’s classic."

• Legendary Serum Lipstick in Ruby Moon: A red lip is classic, always. 
• Lip2Cheek in Beloved: This is trending on social right now because it gives the most natural flushed cheeks—much more so than pink. 
• ReDimension Hydra Powder Blush in Crystal Slipper: This buff, neutral shade is loved by everyone who tries it. 

• "I like to just make your everyday look a little bolder—so a little extra color on the brows, a little heavier on the eyeliner—directly into the lash line—for a sexy smudge, and a red lip." 

Best ways to add shimmer to a make-up look without going overboard?

• "I’m not a fan of shimmer, but I’m all about adding radiance and luminosity—that’s my MO. I coined the term “luminizer” when I launched Living Luminizer back in 2009 and it’s the quintessential addition to giving any makeup a boost. You’ll get compliments on your glowing skin—the best compliment of all."

• "Luminizer! Whether it’s our original Living Luminizer or the Hydra Dew Luminizer. They’re so versatile and they just add this luminescence that gives you this holiday glow and they can be used in so many different ways—on your cheek bones, in the corners of your eyes, on your cupid’s bow, on your shoulders, and even your knuckles so your hands look gorgeous while you’re holding your holiday cocktail."

Ready to glow? Reach out to our incredible Artist Experts—all trained by Rose-Marie—for a free consultation! They’ll help you with everything from shade selection to application tips.