Here’s the make-up I wore with my Christmas Eve outfit. I wore the Dede Signature Jingle Bell Ruby palette on my eyes, and as you can see it was a perfect match for my outfit.
(Base: primer – e.l.f Cosmetics Power Grip primer + 4% Niacinamide, foundation – R.E.M. Beauty Sweetener foundation (shade: Fair 6 CN), concealers – e.l.f. Cosmetics Putty Color-Correcting Eye Brightener (shade: Fair) + Huda Beauty #FAUXFILTER Luminous Matte liquid concealer (shade: 1.3G Marshmellow), powders – Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder Tone Up in Rose + e.l.f. Cosmetics Halo Glow setting powder in Light. Face make-up: bronzer – Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Melting Bronzing & Contour Stick in Chocolate Mousse, blusher – MAC Skinfinish Metallic cream blush in Priceless Purple, highlighter – Colourpop Frosty the Snowman Super Shock highlighter in Winter Wonder. Eye make-up: base – MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly, eyeshadows – Essence eyeshadow in 20 Cream + Dede Signature Jingle Bell Ruby palette (shades: Rudolph Cookies + Snowman Cookies + Santa’s Tree + Frost Bite + Olive Penguins + Crispy Holidays) + MAC Shadeshifter Duochrome eyeshadow in Calling Your Bluff!, mascara – Maybelline Lash Sensational Sky High mascara (shade: Burgundy Haze), eyeliner – Catrice Festive Treasures metallic eye pencil in C01 Mistlegreen. Eyebrows: MAC Shape + Shade brow tint in Taupe + Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze. Lips: MAC Currant lip pencil + MAC Out With A Bang lipstick)
I hope everyone had a great start to 2025. Let’s begin the new year with a throwback to Christmas Eve, because this is what I wore. I bought this dress in H&M’s Cyber Monday sale, and I think it’s so pretty.
Happy New Year! 2024 was one of the toughest years of my life, but the year would have been even tougher, if I hadn’t had my amazing little family to help me get through the tough times. Luckily, I feel like things are looking up, and I’m hoping for a much better 2025. But first, let’s say goodbye to 2024 with some December favourites.
R.E.M. Beauty Sweetener foundation (shade: Fair 6 CN): I actually purchased the foundation the first time around the time of the launch, but I got a shade that was too light, so I obviously didn’t really use it. Last month, I decided to pick it up again in a different shade, and I’ve already gotten quite a lot of use out of it, because the formula and finish is actually very nice.
Catrice Multi-Chrome eye pencil in C01 (from advent calendar 2024): This is an unexpected favourite of mine. You never know, if you’re going to get much use out of products from advent calendars, but I’ve used this multi-chrome eye pencil from the Catrice The Great Christmas advent calender multiple times, and it’s been perfect with a lot of my Christmas make-up looks.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Liner in Cherry: I’ve featured the ABH lip liners in a favourites post before, but I had to shout out the shade Cherry, which has been my go-to red lip liner this Christmas season.
Laneige Lip Glowy Balm in Candy Cane: I love the scent and taste of candy canes, and this balm has been my go-to on days where I haven’t worn make-up. It smells so good.
Wicked (film): I didn’t know much about Wicked, before watching the film, but I knew some of the music, and I love musicals, so I was very interested in watching it. I watched it at the cinema with my boyfriend, and we both loved it! I’m very excited for part 2.
Here’s what I wore Monday December 23. We always have a little family get-together the day before Christmas Eve. I wanted to wear something cute and cozy, but still a bit dressy, and I really like how this look turned out.
(Jumper – H&M, skirt/kilt – second hand, bag – NA-KD, boots – Monki)
Here’s the make-up I wore with this outfit. I just love a classic (in my eyes) Christmas make-up look; green eye make-up (maybe with a hint of gold) and a red lip.
(Base: primer – e.l.f. Cosmetics Liquid Poreless Putty primer, foundation – Rare Beauty Positive Light tinted moisturizer (shade: 14W), concealers – Rare Beauty Positive Light under eye brightener (shade: Light) + Huda Beauty #FAUXFILTER Luminous Matte liquid concealer (shade: 1.3G Marshmellow), powders – Essence Brighten Up! Banana powder in 10 Bababanana + Dior Backstage Face & Body Powder-No-Powder in 0 Neutral. Face make-up: bronzer – Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Melting Bronzing & Contour Stick in Chocolate Mousse, blusher – Cosmic Brushes Blush Butter in Merry, highlighter – MAC Flash Drops liquid highlighter in Flash Me Outside + Natasha Denona Flutter eyeshadow on nose (from Retro Glam palette). Eye make-up: base – MAC Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Painterly, eyeshadows – Cosmic Brushes ‘Tis The Season palette (shades: Ribbon + Garland + Holly + Festive + Candle Light + Cranberries) + Natasha Denona Flutter eyeshadow (from Retro Glam palette), mascaras – Glisten Cosmetics Spectra Lash mascara in Green + Pat McGrath Labs Dark Star mascara, eyeliner – Catrice Multi-Chrome eye pencil in C01 (from advent calendar 2024). Eyebrows: MAC Shape + Shade brow tint in Taupe + Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Freeze. Lips: Anastasia Beverly Hills Lip Liner in Cherry + Jeffree Star Cosmetics Velour liquid lipstick in Redrum Remix)
I bought the Essence advent calendar several years in a row, but skipped it last year, because I always ended up not really using the products in the calendars. I think it’s the first year Catrice has done an advent calendar with new limited products, and I thought the theme of the calendar looked really fun and pretty, so I decided to buy the Catrice The Great Christmas advent calendar this year, and I’m going to show you what was inside the calendar. I haven’t tried all of the products yet, but I’ll let you know, how I feel about the ones I have tried.
I’m going to talk about six products at a time, so let’s begin with the product that was behind the first six doors. They were a highlighter (gold), an under eye brightener, a Full Shine lipstick in C01, a lip liner in C01, hydrogel eye patches, and a Cream-To-Powder blush.
The only product I’ve worn of these first six is the highlighter. It was quite pretty, and a shade of gold that actually works on fair skin. I like the inclusion of an under eye brightener, but I don’t think it works on every skin tone; because it’s quite light. I’m sure it’ll work on me though. There’s another lipstick and lip liner coming up, which I have worn, and I liked both, so I’m sure I’ll like the formula of these ones as well. And I have a couple of blushes in the same packaging (and probably the same formula) as this one, but this shade look identical to one of the shades I have, which is a bit disappointing. I actually really like the cream-to-powder formula, so I would have loved to see another shade in the calendar.
The next six products were an eyeshadow shader brush, a matte liquid lipstick, a nail lacquer in C01, a lip liner in C02, a Full Shine lipstick in C02, and a 2in1 nail file.
The matte liquid lipstick is a deep red shade, and I’m actually planning on wearing it today. I really like Catrice brushes and nail polishes, so I’m excited to use those. And this is the lip liner and lipstick that I’ve worn, and they were very nice.
The second to last set of six products were face jewels, an eyeshadow blender brush, a hydrating lip mask, a multi-chrome eye pencil in C01, a nail lacquer in C02, and a hydrogel plumping lip patch.
I’ve never worn any of the face jewels I’ve gotten from Essence calendars, but I’m considering maybe using some for my New Year’s Eve make-up look. I think the lip mask is a fun addition, but my favourite product from the calendar that I’ve tried so far is the multi-chrome eye pencil in C01; it has a very nice warm orangy red/brown/green shift, and I’ve used it quite a few times already.
The last six products were glitter nail foils, a multi-chrome eye pencil in C02, an eyebrow brush, a hair clip, a nail lacquer in C03, and an eyeshadow palette.
I love that they included another shade of the multi-chrome eye pencils. I haven’t used this one yet, but it seems to be a pretty blue/pink shade. The third nail lacquer is probably my favourite by just looking at it (I haven’t worn any of the shades yet), and I think it’s very nice to see an eyeshadow palette in an advent calendar. I’m excited to see if the quality is any good.
Overall, I really like this advent calendar, and I think it’s better than any of the Essence advent calendars I’ve bought in the past.
Mucha-Lucha's 