50 Holiday Party Makeup Ideas to Steal From the Red Carpet

If there's a time to experiment with your makeup, then THIS IS IT, you guys. The holidays not only present the perfect excuse to try out a bolder look, but chances are, you'll also have plenty of opportunities to show it off, what with party season now in full swing. 

Personally, I get the most inspiration from gawking at close-ups of celebs (as you might've guessed!) and then trying to recreate their makeup on myself. In fact, today's post came about as a result of my own research purposes. I was looking for a holiday makeup idea, and then I ended up finding soooo many looks I loved that I knew I had to share them all. (For the record, what I ended up going with was the Kate Hudson eyes with the Ashley Madekwe mouth.)

There are 50 celebrity photos in this post, all from 2014 red carpet events. (If I crash your computer, I'm sorry!) I've grouped them into six key holiday makeup categories: red lips; shimmer/glitter shadow; berry lips; smoky eyes; eyeliner; and fuchsia lips. Do I think all of these are perfect? No. (Emma Stone's faux eyebrow tail is bugging, for example, and Emma Watson might attend to her moustache.) But I think each general idea is awesome, so Pin your faves, give 'em a try at home... and have FUN!

Red Lipstick Ideas

Nothing is more classic, festive and simple than a red lip. I'm really digging the idea of emphasizing the eyes at the same time (a la Kate Upton, with smudgy soft liner). Also a perfect pairing: a clean swipe of black liquid liner or shimmery shadow on the upper lids only.

Kate Upton's deep red lips and smudgy black waterlines:

Emma Watson's red lips, flushed cheeks and defined lashes:

Ashley Madekwe's matte red lips, black liquid liner and fresh skin:

Anne Hathaway's red lips, black liquid liner and flushed cheeks:

Keke Palmer's red lips and shimmery-smoky eyes:

Christina Hendricks' creamy-matte red lips and luminous skin:

Sarah Hyland's red lips with soft shine and shimmer around the eyes:

Taylor Schilling's red-orange lips and graphic winged liner:

Reese Witherspoon's red lips with bright silver eyeshadow:

Diane Kruger's matte red lips, strong brows and illuminated inner corners:

Kate Bosworth's vivid red-orange lips with matching cheeks:

Shimmer and Glitter Makeup Ideas

There is SO much you can do with shimmer, and I love it all! For big drama take it all the way up to the brows, and in a colour (like Hailee Steinfeld's copper), or just do a 360-degree rim of the lash lines in purple like Olivia Wilde. One of my favourite ideas is Bella Thorne's touch of gold at the inner corners.

Taylor Swift's grey smoky eyes with shimmery inner corners and pink lips:

Olivia Wilde's glittery purple all the way around the eyes with nude lips:

Hailee Steinfeld's glittery copper shadow with dramatic cat's eye liner:

Rita Ora's green and gold shimmery-smoky eyes with nude lips:

Bella Thorne's gold inner corners with feathery lashes and nude lips:

Lupita Nyong'o's green metallic cat eyes with copper shadow and shimmery red lips:

Liana Liberato's shimmering rose under the eyes:

Kate Hudson's champagne shimmer lids with peach lips and cheeks:

Chanel Iman's silver shadow all the way around the eyes:

Allison Williams' silver shimmer and heavy black waterlines with clear lip gloss:

Maddie Hasson's gold shimmer at the inner corners with bold brows and bare lips:

Emma Roberts' bold copper shadow and black waterlines:

Leighton Meester's shimmering bronze shadow with defined waterlines and fresh skin:

Berry Lipstick Ideas

If you're not down with red lips, these berry ones are great to play with. They can go deep and vampy, like Chrissy Teigen's, or scale back to a subtle stain like Jamie Chung's. Even though matte textures are becoming more popular, I think Amy Adams' glossy finish is really pretty.

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Lucy Hale's deep berry lips with long lashes:

Jamie Chung's berry stain with warm brown shadow and subtle liner:

Chrissy Teigen's deep berry lips with subtly shimmery shadow:

Amy Adams' long lashes and glossy berry lips:

Salma Hayek's berry lips with matching shadow:

Léa Seydoux's glossy berry lips with silver shadow:

Stana Katic's berry lips with gold eyeshadow:

Olivia Munn's berry lips with flushed cheeks and natural lashes:

Smoky Eye Ideas

Smoky eyes will never go out of style, but what's interesting me more right now is the smoky eye with a twist—like Camilla Belle's blue and brown combo, Emma Stone's monochromatic green, and Emily Blunt's cat eyes done in shadow. Think about reinterpreting it in different textures, colours and shapes.

Camilla Belle's blue and brown smoky eyes with peach lips:

Emma Stone's green smoky eyes with stained lips:

Kristen Stewart's smoky eyes with bright highlights at the inner corners:

Selena Gomez's charcoal smoky eyes with subtle shimmer and opaque peach gloss:

Olivia Palermo's charcoal smoky eyes with shimmery inner corners:

Adèle Exarchopoulos' brown smoky eyes:

Lizzy Caplan's matte black shadow and black waterlines:

Debby Ryan's subtle grey smoky eyes with peach lip gloss and blush:

Emily Blunt's charcoal shadow in a cat's eye shape:

Keira Knightley's silvery-grey smoky eyes with nude lips:

Eyeliner Ideas

Some of us aren't big eyeshadow fans, so this section is for you! The cat eye is never wrong, for any occasion, and I just love it against bare, fresh skin. Also check out Margot Robbie's tightlining job—simple but oh-so-stunning.

Anna Kendrick's winged liner with fresh skin and medium-pink lips:

Margot Robbie's black waterlines with nude lips and cheeks:

Elle Fanning's extended cat eyes, full brows and shimmery gloss:

Lily Collins' winged liner on both the upper and lower lash lines:

Bright Lipstick Ideas

Last up we have one more lipstick colour—fuchsia. We see it more often in the summertime, but I like the surprise of pink in the winter season, and love how it wakes up a face. Padma Lakshmi has a GREAT idea of pairing it with some gold eyeshadow.

Padma Lakshmi's fuchsia lips and gold shadow at the tear ducts:

Julianna Margulies' glossy fuchsia lips with rosy cheeks:

Lea Michele's hot pink lips with strong brows:

Rashida Jones' iridescent fuchsia lips with rosy cheeks:

Have Your Say

Which of these looks are your favourites? And which ones will you be wearing this party season?