The winter season is a whirlwind of festivities, from Christmas parties to cozy family gatherings. It’s a time when our makeup needs to be as resilient and versatile as our schedules. Whether you’re raising a glass on Christmas Eve, braving the Boxing Day sales, or traveling across the UK to reunite with loved ones, your makeup should not just complement your style but also withstand the winter chill.
The right products can ensure you look effortlessly chic for every snapshot and soiree. This season, it’s all about creating a flawless look that captures the magic of winter while offering the durability to last through every event in your diary.
Amidst the twinkling lights and festive cheer, our makeup becomes an extension of the holiday spirit. The need for a beauty routine that transitions smoothly from day to night is more important than ever.
As we navigate through the busy season, from office parties to intimate dinners, the demand for high-performing, versatile makeup rises. It’s not just about looking good; it’s about feeling confident and radiant in every setting. The winter season challenges us to find products that not only enhance our features but also protect our skin from the harsh winter elements.
The festive season in the UK brings its own unique set of beauty challenges. The brisk weather calls for products that provide hydration and longevity, while the various social events require a touch of glamour.
This is the time to experiment with bolder colours, richer textures, and luminous finishes that reflect the joy and opulence of the season. Your makeup bag becomes your secret weapon, holding all the essentials to transform your look from the office to an evening gala, ensuring you remain the epitome of winter chic.
What the professional make-up artists say about winter chic make up
Makeup Artist Tips
Ella James, London-based makeup artist who specialises in wedding and special events make-up gave the following tips.
“Layering is key during the winter months. Start with a hydrating primer to keep your skin supple, and then build your look with long-wear products that can withstand the cold weather. Don’t forget to set your makeup with a good setting spray; it’s a game changer for longevity, especially when you’re hopping from one event to another.”
Oliver Smith is a make-up artist to the stars and his winter-makeup tips are
“Embrace the season’s colours. Winter is the perfect time to experiment with deeper shades and metallics. A plum lipstick or a gold eyeshadow can elevate your look instantly. But remember, balance is key. If you’re going bold on the lips, keep your eyes more neutral, and vice versa.”
Our Experts Top Make Up Picks for that Winter Chic Look
1. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream – £78.99 Amazon
Charlotte Tilbury’s Magic Cream is a treasure in the beauty world, renowned for its luxurious texture and immediate effects. Its rich formula, infused with a blend of vitamins C and E, hyaluronic acid, and rosehip oil, intensely hydrates the skin, making it an indispensable ally against the harsh winter elements.
The cream’s ability to quickly absorb into the skin without leaving any greasy residue makes it an excellent primer for makeup. Skin feels rejuvenated and plumped, providing an ideal canvas for a smooth makeup application.
Regular users often rave about its skin-transforming qualities, noting an improvement in skin texture and luminosity with continued use. This cream not only prepares your skin for makeup but also nurtures it throughout the day, making it a vital component of both your morning and evening routines.
2. NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer – £25.00 Boots
The NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer is a versatile tool in any makeup arsenal. Its creamy, luxurious formula offers medium to high coverage while remaining undetectable on the skin.
This concealer excels in covering imperfections such as dark circles, redness, and blemishes, offering a natural, radiant finish that doesn’t settle into fine lines. The extensive shade range caters to a wide spectrum of skin tones, ensuring a perfect match for everyone.
Users appreciate its blendability, often highlighting its use in both contouring and highlighting techniques. Its long-wearing formula, fortified with hydrating ingredients, ensures that your look stays fresh and flawless throughout the day, making it a reliable choice for both everyday wear and special occasions.
3. Estée Lauder Double Wear Foundation – £31.60 Look Fantastic
Estée Lauder’s Double Wear Foundation is celebrated for its exceptional longevity and impeccable coverage. This foundation stands up to the rigors of a busy day, maintaining a flawless, natural matte finish without the need for frequent touch-ups.
Its oil-free formula is particularly suited to withstand the UK’s unpredictable weather, resisting sweat, humidity, and even light rain. Despite its impressive staying power, the foundation feels lightweight on the skin, avoiding the cakey appearance often associated with long-wear makeup.
The comprehensive shade range is a testament to Estée Lauder’s commitment to inclusivity, ensuring that everyone can find their perfect match. The foundation’s ability to control shine while still providing hydration makes it a favorite among those with combination skin types.
4. Benefit Hoola Bronzer – £30.00 Boots
Benefit’s Hoola Bronzer has achieved iconic status for its universally flattering shade and matte finish. The finely milled powder blends seamlessly into the skin, allowing for a natural, buildable application that can be adjusted from a light, sun-kissed effect to a deeper, contoured look. Its versatility extends beyond just bronzing; it’s frequently used for contouring due to its ability to create natural shadows without any orange undertones.
The compact comes with a soft, natural-bristle brush, making application on-the-go a breeze. Users love its long-lasting formula, which stays put throughout the day, ensuring a consistently warm and radiant complexion.
This bronzer is often recommended for its ability to bring life and dimension to the face, especially in the winter months when skin can appear more flat and pale.
5. MAC Strobe Cream – £32.00 Look Fantastic
MAC’s Strobe Cream is a multi-faceted product that doubles as a skincare item and a makeup enhancer. Infused with potent botanicals, nutritious vitamins, and a subtle iridescent sheen, this cream not only illuminates the skin but also improves clarity and texture over time.
The lightweight formula can be worn alone for a natural glow or mixed with foundation for added luminosity. Its hydrating properties make it ideal for winter use, as it helps to keep the skin moisturized and glowing in the face of cold, drying weather.
The cream is available in various shades, allowing for customisation according to skin tone and desired effect. Users often comment on its ability to create a “lit-from-within” look, which is both subtle and stunning, suitable for both day and night looks. The versatility and skin-friendly ingredients make MAC Strobe Cream a must-have in any beauty enthusiast’s collection.
6. Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette – £36.75 Look Fantastic
The Urban Decay Naked Heat Palette is a true gem for those who love to experiment with warm, vibrant eyeshadows. This palette is a harmonious blend of amber-hued neutrals — from warm browns to burnt oranges and rich siennas.
Each shade is richly pigmented, providing intense color payoff that can be built up or blended out, depending on the desired intensity. The velvety texture of the eyeshadows is a standout feature, allowing them to glide onto the eyelids smoothly and blend with ease.
This palette is incredibly versatile, capable of creating a multitude of looks from a subtle, matte daytime appearance to a sultry, smoky eye perfect for evening events. The longevity of these shadows is impressive, with minimal fallout and fading, ensuring your eye makeup remains impeccable throughout your winter activities.
7. Kat Von D BtOF Tattoo Pencil Liner – £11.00 Look Fantastic
Kat Von D’s Tattoo Liner is a holy grail product for those seeking precision and longevity in their eyeliner. The brush tip is exceptionally fine, allowing for the utmost control in creating everything from a thin, subtle line to a bold, dramatic wing.
The formula is where this liner truly shines; it’s intensely pigmented, delivering a deep, consistent black with a single swipe. Its staying power is unparalleled, resisting smudging, fading, and flaking, even in the most challenging weather conditions. This makes it a perfect choice for long days and nights when you need your eyeliner to stay put without the need for touch-ups.
Additionally, the liner is vegan and cruelty-free, catering to the ethical concerns of many beauty enthusiasts. Whether you’re a makeup novice or a seasoned pro, the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner is an essential tool for achieving precise, long-lasting eye looks.
8. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara – £28.00 Boots
Too Faced’s Better Than Sex Mascara has gained a cult following for its transformative effect on lashes. The unique hourglass-shaped brush is designed to capture and coat every lash, from root to tip, providing incredible volume and length.
The formula is enriched with collagen, giving the lashes a fuller, more dramatic appearance without the clumpiness often associated with volumising mascaras. The intense black pigment creates a striking effect, making it a go-to for both everyday wear and special occasions.
The mascara’s staying power is commendable, maintaining its curl and volume throughout the day, even in humid or wet conditions. Its ease of application and dramatic results make it a favourite among those looking to enhance their lashes with minimal effort.
9. Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow Pomade – £15.20 Amazon
Anastasia Beverly Hills’ Dipbrow Pomade is a revolutionary product in the realm of eyebrow cosmetics. This highly-pigmented, creamy formula allows for smooth application, enabling both subtle filling and more defined shaping of the brows.
The pomade’s waterproof nature ensures it stays in place all day, resisting rain, sweat, and humidity — a must-have feature during the winter months. It’s available in a wide range of shades, catering to all hair colors and skin tones, and the color intensity can be easily adjusted by varying the amount of product used.
The product’s versatility is also a significant plus; it can be used for a natural look or built up for more dramatic brows. This pomade is particularly loved for its ability to mimic hair-like strokes, making it an excellent choice for those with sparse brows seeking a natural yet defined look.
10. Bobbi Brown Luxe Lip Colour – £35.00 Look Fantastic
Bobbi Brown’s Luxe Lip Colour is a standout in the realm of lipsticks, offering a balance of vivid colour and nourishing ingredients. The formula is enriched with vitamins C and E, providing a burst of hydration that is especially beneficial during the dry winter months. The lipstick glides on with a creamy texture, offering full coverage in a single swipe.
The range of shades is impressive, encompassing everything from nudes and pinks to reds and plums, ensuring there’s a colour to match every mood and occasion. The colour payoff is long-lasting, maintaining its intensity for hours without the need for constant reapplication. Users also appreciate the luxurious packaging and the comfortable, weightless feel of the lipstick on their lips.
Whether you’re looking for a bold statement lip or a subtle enhancement of your natural lip colour, Bobbi Brown’s Luxe Lip Colour provides both the aesthetic and practical qualities sought after in a winter lipstick.
11. NARS Blush in Orgasm – £28.35 Amazon
NARS Blush in Orgasm has achieved iconic status in the beauty industry, and for good reason. This universally flattering shade provides a natural, peachy-pink flush with a hint of golden shimmer, which mimics a natural glow and enlivens the complexion.
The formula is finely milled and silky to the touch, allowing for smooth application and easy blending. Its sheer, buildable coverage makes it suitable for a range of skin tones and makeup looks, from a subtle hint of colour to a more pronounced blush.
The staying power is commendable, with the blush lasting several hours without fading. Users often comment on its ability to impart a healthy-looking radiance, making it particularly appealing during the winter months when skin can appear dull. The versatility and flattering hue of Orgasm make it a staple in many makeup bags.
12. Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder – £36.50 Boots
Laura Mercier’s Translucent Loose Setting Powder is revered for its ability to set makeup effortlessly while providing a natural, matte finish. The lightweight, finely milled powder is invisible on the skin, avoiding any alteration of your foundation or concealer’s color. Its oil-absorbing properties are ideal for controlling shine throughout the day, making it a must-have for those with oily or combination skin.
The powder also helps in blurring imperfections and fine lines, creating a smooth, flawless complexion. It’s particularly useful for setting under-eye concealer, preventing creasing and ensuring a long-lasting, impeccable finish.
The translucent nature of the powder makes it suitable for a wide range of skin tones. Many users appreciate its non-drying formula, which sets makeup without making the skin feel tight or uncomfortable, a common concern in colder weather.
13. Fenty Beauty Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter – £28.00 Boots
Fenty Beauty’s Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter has made a significant impact with its high-impact shimmer and inclusive shade range. The formula is a unique cream-powder hybrid, allowing it to glide onto the skin with the creaminess of a liquid and set with the staying power of a powder.
This highlighter is incredibly versatile, suitable for both a subtle, everyday glow and a more intense, luminous effect for special occasions. The finely milled shimmer particles create a reflective sheen without being glittery, resulting in a sophisticated radiance.
Users love the blendability of the product, noting how it can be seamlessly integrated into any makeup look. The range of shades, from subtle champagnes to bold colours, ensures there is an option for every skin tone and personal preference.
14. Stila Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner – £14.05 Look Fantastic
Stila’s Stay All Day Waterproof Liquid Eye Liner is a favorite for those seeking a reliable, high-performing eyeliner. Its marker-like tip provides precise application, making it easy to achieve everything from a thin, subtle line to a bold, dramatic wing.
The formula is highly pigmented, offering rich, consistent color that dries quickly to a smudge-proof and waterproof finish. This eyeliner is particularly well-suited for long wear, withstanding the rigors of a full day and evening without smudging, feathering, or fading.
Its waterproof quality makes it ideal for the rainy UK weather, ensuring your eyeliner stays intact regardless of the elements. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, this eyeliner’s ease of use and durability make it a valuable addition to any makeup collection.
15. Tarte Shape Tape Concealer – £29.00 Amazon
Tarte’s Shape Tape Concealer has gained a loyal following for its full coverage and flawless finish. This concealer excels at covering a range of skin imperfections, from dark circles to blemishes and redness, without settling into fine lines or appearing cakey. Its creamy formula is easy to blend and provides a matte finish that lasts throughout the day.
The concealer is also infused with skin-loving ingredients like shea butter, mango seed butter, and licorice root extract, which help to nourish and brighten the skin. The wide range of shades ensures a perfect match for every skin tone, making it a versatile choice for highlighting and contouring as well.
Users appreciate its high pigmentation, meaning a little goes a long way, and its ability to stay put without creasing or fading, making it an essential item for achieving a flawless complexion, especially during the demanding winter months.
By incorporating these 15 essentials into your makeup routine, you’ll be well-equipped to face the winter season with style and grace. Each product has been selected for its ability to enhance beauty and withstand the demands of the festive period.
So embrace the season with confidence, knowing you have everything you need to look and feel your best. Remember, winter is not just a season, it’s a celebration of style.
