Makeup Essentials That Will Get You Through the Holiday Party Circuit

MAC Strobe Cream ($39)

Over your skin care, you can use an illuminating moisturizer to add a dewy glow to your complexion before concealer or foundation. If you start here, you'll use less makeup overall because your skin will already look radiant — no need to cover it up.

Armani Beauty Luminous Silk Natural Glow Foundation ($69)

This is one foundation every single makeup artist uses. It's beloved, and really, the perfect formula: lightweight, blurring, blendable, glowy, and makes skin look naturally airbrushed in pictures and in person. If you snag it now, you'll use it through the holidays, then for every wedding or special occasion you have next year.

Natasha Denona Hy-Glam Concealer ($30)

When you're working with under-eye circles (hello, Q4), you want a concealer that will hydrate and brighten without looking cakey by the end of the night, after a lot of smiling and a few cocktails. This option is an amazing weightless serum concealer. You can use it under your eyes or blend it over your entire face — wherever you need coverage — and skip foundation altogether.

MAKEUP BY MARIO SoftSculpt Transforming Skin Enhancer ($34)

There are very few makeup products — especially contouring products — that are actually mistake-proof, but this is one of them. You can use a brush (any brush, it's that flexible) to blend the skin enhancer across your cheeks and forehead for a little color and dimension. You won't believe you've gone so long without this.

Benefit Cosmetics Hoola WaveMaker Brush ($35)

If you're buying new makeup, a new brush may be a great add as well. This one is dense and soft, making it one of the best picks. You can use it to buff your foundation, contour, blush — all of it. Plus, the short handle means it tucks easily into any makeup bag. Perfect for holiday travel.

CHANEL LES 4 OMBRES Multi-Effect Quadra Eyeshadow ($72)

The easiest way to elevate your makeup around the holidays is to add a little definition to your eyes. Consider this one, which features multiple wearable shades — from blush pink to soft browns. The formula is blendable enough to be layered for intensity or worn more subtly with just a light wash of champagne shadow.

Shiseido Eyelash Curler ($28)

If your eyelash curler has seen better days — as in, you're not sure it's doing anything anymore — now's a great time to order a replacement. While most eyelash curlers look the same (tiny little torture devices), this one is best in class. You'll use it and will immediately impress yourself with how long your lashes look.

Yves Saint Laurent Lash Clash Extreme Volume Mascara ($34)

Over the top of your just-curled lashes, you'll want a mascara that's lengthening and slightly plumping, but not clumpy. This one is a great pick. Its skinny brush prevents clumping, and the formula is one of the more lengthening on the market. It comes in multiple colors: classic black, green, blue, and brown.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz® Skinny Brow ($26)

If you need to fill in your eyebrows, but don't want them to look obviously filled-in, you need a super skinny, soft pencil that's inconspicuous. This one makes it easy to pencil in color where you need some filling, but when you step back from the mirror, it looks like you just have great brows.

Fenty Beauty Invisimatte Instant Setting + Blotting Powder ($39)

For the girls who hate powder but want their makeup to last 16 hours, there's this option. You can layer it under your eyes and across your T-zone, and even in the dead of winter (read: dry skin central), you'll never look cakey or like your skin's lost its glow. It's kind of magic.

m.ph beauty by Mary Phillips Lip Ciggy ($26)

The final step is a lip color, and during this season, you want ease of use, hydration, and pigment. Our recommendation is this tinted balm: it's skinny and precise, almost like a chubby lip liner that adds weightless color and shine to your lips. It will quickly become an essential in your makeup bag or purse.