Christmas Party Makeup with Clarins AW14 Collection

Hey kittens, hope you’re all okay and getting in the festive spirit! (I sure am). As it’s ‘that’ time of year again, where all the Christmas parties are popping up and you’re sorting out your LBD for your big night out of the year, I thought it was the perfect time to share with you my Christmas Party make-up favourites: Clarin’s Autumn Winter 2014 collection.

I want to start with my favourites of the collection – the eyeshadows. Now, Clarins are mostly known for their skincare, but when I think of their cosmetics I always think of the beautiful shimmery eyeshadow palettes they roll out at Christmas, and this lovely lot are no exception. All three of these stunning nude shades are from the Clarins Matte Ombre collection*, in colours 05 Sparkle Grey, 03 Taupe and 01 Nude Beige (pictured: left, right, bottom). The consistency of these eyeshadows is gorgeous and so unusual: they are a cream-to-powder matte consistency, which are easy to blend and perfect for creating a festive smokey eye. At £19 each, they’re only slightly more expensive than the Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow – which I bought this year for £15.50 and dried up after one use (argh!) but that’s another story – and are way more pigmented.

To brighten your under-eyes after a heavy Christmas party the night before, try the Clarins Instant Light Eye Perfecting Base*. This is Clarin’s version of the number 1 best selling beauty product, Touche Eclat by YSL, yet is different enough that it won’t be considered a ‘dupe’ or imitation. I find this to have a higher coverage than Touche Eclat, and is less of a highlighter and more of a concealer. I’m actually really impressed with this. At £22 I reckon it’s reasonable compared to other highlighters and concealers from high end brands, I will be using this throughout winter to conceal dark circles (Lord knows I’m gonna need it!).

Finally, I will be using the Clarins True Radiance Foundation* to create that perfect party face base (that’s a bit of a mouthful!). Mine is in the colour 102.5 Porcelain, which (surprise surprise) is the palest shade. When first applying this to my face, I was concerned it may even be a little too warm for me – I have ghostly skin, trust me – but after around 10 minutes it started to almost change shade to fit my skintone. I’m not sure if this is the light-reflecting properties coming in, but by the time I had completed the rest of my makeup it had moulded to the perfect shade. Clarins claim this ‘boosts luminosity’ and I can definitely vouch for that – despite having a medium to high coverage, it leaves a dewy finish which I find to be an unusual property, but I really like this. It didn’t make my skin break out (y’all know I have sensitive skin that often screams if I use a new face product) and it lasted for at least 12 hours before I removed my makeup. At £27 I am highly impressed – it’s a standard cost for a high end foundation, and for a luxury product (which I would regard this as) it’s actually cheaper than most designer makeup bases. I’m hooked.

So kittens, I hope that gives you a little insight into the new Clarins Autumn Winter 2014 Make-Up Collection, and some products I will definitely be using on my face throughout the party season.