Fancy Party Look
How to Apply Makeup for a Fancy Party
Getting ready for a fancy party isn’t just about the dress and hair — your makeup is one of the key components to
achieving your fancy look. Applying makeup for a fancy party is
much like applying everyday makeup, except you can go bolder
on the colors and more dramatic. You’ll also want to do extra prep
on your face so that your makeup lasts throughout the event.
1 Preparing Your Face
- Cleanse your face. Before you apply makeup to
your face, you’ll want to wash it and remove any excess oils or
dirt. Use a gentle cleanser and wash your face with warm water
and then pat it dry with a towel. If you are going to a party at night
and have makeup on from the day, remove the makeup with
makeup remover cloths or solutions before you wash your face. - Moisturize your face. Moisturizer is important to
apply before makeup because it restores the natural oils to your
face and keeps your face from drying out or becoming flaky. Use
a moisturizer suited for your skin type and one that is oil-free and noncomedogenic, so that it won’t clog
pores. Apply a quarter size drop of moisturizer to your face and blend it in.
- Apply primer. Primer goes on before the rest of your makeup and helps your makeup last longer. If
you are going to be up late, or at a party where there will be a lot of dancing, primer will prevent you
from having to continually reapply your makeup. It also creates a more matte look on your face, which
will remove any shininess. Apply a few small dots of primer across your forehead, nose, and cheeks and
then blend it in with your fingers or a sponge.[2]
● A little goes a long way with primer — don’t apply too much as it’s only supposed to be
a light application. Try to avoid the eye area as you will later apply an eyelid primer.
Make sure you allow your moisturizer to dry before you apply your primer.
● After you have applied your primer, let it sit for a few minutes before you apply your
foundation.
● 4. Use a foundation. After your primer has dried, apply foundation to your skin, blending it in
with a foam sponge, your fingers, or a foundation brush. Use a foundation that is suited for your
skin type and try to choose a foundation that matches your color. If you aren’t sure, first test it on
your jawline and then look at your skin in the light, making sure the color blends in.
○ To adequately blend your foundation, start by applying foundation to the center points of
your face (your forehead, nose, cheeks, and chin). Then, blend
the foundation outwards, going from the center of your face, to the
outside of your face.
○ Make sure to compare the shade of your neck
and jaw before you move onto the next step. You want the colors
to blend together — you don’t want your face to be a different
shade than your neck, so blend it in well.
- Conceal blemishes or dark circles. Using a concealer that
also matches your skin color, dab your blemish areas with a small dot of
concealer. Then, blend it in softly with your middle finger. As you blend,
you don’t want to press too hard or blend it in too much as this can create redness or even remove the
concealer. This is why using your middle finger is better, because with your index finger you may apply more
pressure.
● You can also highlight your eyes with concealer by applying it underneath your lower
eyelid and blending it in just a little. You want these highlights to look natural, so blend
your concealer in until you have a lighter area underneath your eyes. - Set your makeup with powder. Powder also helps your makeup stay, and keeps your face from
looking extra oily. Use a powder brush and dip it into loose powder. Then gently swipe the powder across your
face, blending it in by making small swirls with the brush. Finish using downward strokes. This will keep the tiny
hairs on your face from being unnaturally squished in a weird direction. Make sure you choose a powder that
also matches your skin color. - Apply bronzer to contour. To add a bit of color and contouring to your face, apply a bronzer one to
two shades darker than your skin color. Use a sweeping motion with a brush across your face and create a
three, starting at your forehead, moving to your cheeks, and then ending at your chin. The bronzer should be
along your hairline/upper forehead, below your cheekbone, and just below your jawline. Blend it in with your
brush.[3]
● If you have pale skin, you may want to skip the bronzer. However, don’t be afraid to
use a little bit of bronzer. You can follow the same steps, but use less bronzer as you
don’t want to darken up your face unnaturally. Bronzer will just help add some color
and depth to your face.
● Bronzer is often used for contouring, but it’s usually used to simply warm a
complexion. In order to fully explore contour, a shadow color is needed, such as a
light brown or gray-brown color depending on your skin tone. The point of contouring
is to play with the light and shadows of your face, so when darkening under the
cheekbones to provide shadow, you’ll want a color that will look just a few shades
darker, like a real shadow on your face.
● The fluffier the brush and the more blending you do, the better it looks so that you can
achieve a more even tone.
2 . Accentuating the Eyes - Apply an eyelid primer. Dip your finger into the
primer and apply a thin layer on your upper eyelid, below
the crease. This primer will help your eyeshadow last
longer, just like the other primer you applied. Allow the
primer to absorb into your skin and sit for a minute or so
before you apply the rest of your makeup. - Choose your colors. There are so many different
color combinations you can do for fancy makeup. If you are
going to a more formal event you may want to stick to browns and grays. If you are going to a fun event
you may choose to use a shimmery eyeshadow. If you aren’t sure what looks best on you, try out some
different shades before your party. It is really your personal preference, but here are some guidelines for
eyeshadow colors:[4]
● For brown eyes: Because brown is a neutral color, you have a lot of options for your
eyeshadow. You can go with coppers, purples, and blues. Really, brown eyes can get
away with most colors, but usually darker shades look better.
● For hazel eyes: Pastels and metallics look best for this eye color because they help
make light brown eyes sparkle. Heavy shadows can hide the subtle green and gold in
your eyes.
● For blue eyes: Soft tones like coral and champagne often look best on blue eyes. Very
dark, smoky looks can distract from your eye color, so sticking to the lighter shades
will draw attention to your eyes without distracting from your eye color.
● For green eyes: Because your eyes have so much color, you don’t have to use much
color for your eyeshadow to make your eyes pop. Choose eyeshadows in shimmery
browns or even a muted purple.
● Using a color wheel to find your eye color’s opposite is a great way to make sure your
eyes stand out. For example, orange is blue’s opposite, so eye shadows with orange
tones will help blue eyes pop, etc
● 3. Apply eyeshadow. Start by applying a light,
neutral shade of eyeshadow to your upper eyelid, below
the crease, and then blend it into the crease with an
eyebrow brush. Then, apply a light, shimmery eyeshadow
like cream or white to the inner corners of your eyes for
an extra highlight. Then, blend a darker shade into the
crease of your eye — you want the color to be one or two
shades darker than your eyelid color. Finally, add a dark
color right above your crease and blend it into your
crease with an eyeshadow brush.
○ For blue eyes, you might consider using a light champagne color for your eyelid, a peach,
coral color for your crease, and a light brown, gold, or darker peach above your crease.
○ For brown eyes, you have a lot of flexibility. Basically, choose a light color for your eyelids
and go darker as you move your way up. Try to stay in the same shades,
though (don’t use a purple on your crease and a brown above your
crease).
○ For hazel eyes, you can do a light smokey eye, by
using a light, shimmery gray above the crease of your eye, or you can do
a purple eye. Use a light color on your eyelid, move to a pale or pastel
purple on your crease, and then apply a rich purple above your crease
(don’t go as dark as plum though).
○ For green eyes, go for a shimmery brown look. Choose
a light champagne for your eyelid, fill in your crease with a golden or
beige eyeshadow, and then use a shimmery bronze above your crease.
○ Make sure that your eyeshadow doesn’t meet your eyebrow. You want your eyeshadow
to end a little bit above the crease of your eye and not any higher.
○ To achieve a smokey eye look for events especially fancy, start with the lightest tone of
eyeshadow in your inner eye (usually shiny whites, peaches, or very light browns), then
move across the eye (towards the ears) with every shade getting progressively darker.
For example, on a blue eye, you could start with a light white on the inner corners of your
eyes, then cover most of your lid with a peach color shadow, and finally adding a darker
peach/gold/bronze (or whichever darker color matches the shadows you’ve used) on the
outer corners of your eyes, blending into the outer portion of your crease and around the
edges of the outer eye.- Highlight your eyes with eyeliner. You can use a liquid or pencil eyeliner on your eyelids. Draw a
thin line of eyeliner on your top eyelid above your lash line, starting from the corner of your eye and moving to
the end of your eyelid. For a more dramatic line, you can create a wing or cat eye with your eyeliner, drawing
the line out past your eyelid half an inch or so.
● When doing top eyeliner, it can be helpful to
place a piece of tape next to your eye, so that your eyeliner has a
nice boundary. Take a piece of scotch tape one inch long, and line it
up with the outer edge of your lower eyelid. Place it at an angle so
that extends away from your upper eyelid towards the end of your
eyebrow.
● The color you choose for your eyeliner is up to
you. Black is good for a fancy party, but if you have naturally light
lashes, a light or dark brown may be better suited for you. You can
also choose a fun color like a shimmery bronze or blue if you want
to add some glitter to your eyes.
● You can use eyeliner on your lower lash line as well, but this often makes people’s
eyes look smaller. Using eyeliner above your lash line and then accentuating your
lower lash with eyeshadow will make your eyes look bigger.
● A thin slanted eyeshadow/eyebrow brush can be used to help smooth out any eyeliner
bumps and perfect that fierce wing. Simply place a small bit of eyeliner onto the tip of
the brush and carefully touch up any issues.- Apply eyeshadow under your eye. This is in place of your
under eye eyeliner, or in addition to it. Use a medium shadow (not a
white but not a dark gray.. something like a beige or brown) and apply a
thin line of eyeshadow from the outer corner of your eye to the middle of
your eye with a thin eyeshadow brush. Then, smudge and blend it in with
your finger or with an eyeshadow brush
● It is really your personal preference what you
want to do under your eyes. Start by applying your upper eye
makeup, and if you feel like you need something more, add under
eye eyeliner or eyeshadow. If you like the way you look without
something under your eye, then leave it at that. You could also choose a fun color for
under your eye like a light blue or purple.
6.. Apply mascara. For the final touches to your eye, choose a mascara suited for your hair color. Dip your
mascara brush in your bottle (making sure you don’t pump it as this can dry out the mascara) and start at the
base of your top lashes, underneath them. Then, wiggle your mascara brush through your lashes. After you have
applied one coat, apply one or two more coats until you have your desired color.
● Repeat this step on your lower lashes, but apply the mascara to the top of the lashes
instead of underneath them.
● If you have dark hair, use a black mascara. If you have light hair, try a dark brown or
brown mascara. It will still look mostly black on your eyelashes, but won’t make your
lashes look spidery.
● Before you apply your mascara you can use an eyelash curler to add definition to your
eyelashes. - Adding Final Touches
- Apply blush. If you plan on taking a lot of pictures at your party, blush is important because it can
help highlight your cheekbones and prevent your face from looking pale or washed out. Smile to locate the apple
of your cheeks and then swipe on blush with a blush brush,
blending it in until you get your desired color. Choose a blush
color suited for your skin tone:
○ Fair/ivory skin: Choose a
baby pink or pale pink for your blush color. This is the most
natural look for very fair skin as other shades can look
orangey. For fair skin that is a little bit darker you can use a
peach blush in a satin or sheer texture. If you want to go a
little more dramatic for a night out, you can use a plum
colored blush in a translucent shade. Choose a plum
colored blush that is a shade or two darker than your lip
color.
○ Medium skin: Wear a blush that is an apricot shade, as this will bring out the
natural warm colors in your skin. You can also wear a pinky-berry color;
because a pale pink looks good on fair skin, a medium pink will look good on
medium skin. For a more dramatic look, choose a muted mauve (pale purple)
color that has a hint of plum.
○ Olive skin: Look for warm tones like an orangey-peach, that will hide the
green undertones in the skin. Wear a rose or bronze colored blush for a
more dramatic look that will add warmth to your skin and help boost the olive
color. If you have fair olive skin you can use these same colors, just don’t
apply as much blush.
○ Dark skin: Go for bold, highly pigmented shades like raisin, brick, and
cranberry. For a dramatic look, choose a bright tangerine that will be pretty
and subtle on dark skin.- Moisturize your lips. This step is beneficial when you know you are going to be wearing your lipstick a
long time. Moisturizing your lips helps prep them for your lipstick by removing any dryness. Apply a sugar or
exfoliating scrub to your lips. Then,
rinse it off and apply a layer of lip balm. Allow the lip balm to sit on your lips for a few minutes, then blot it off - Use a lip liner to line your lips. Choose a lip
pencil or liner that closely resembles your natural lip color. This
will help prevent your lipstick from bleeding past your lips. To
keep the color from fading from your lips you can also color in
your lips with your lip liner. - Apply a bold lipstick color. Because you are
going to a fancy party, you have the opportunity to wear a fun or
bold lipstick color. Start from the center of your top lip and swipe a
thin layer of lipstick outwards, trying to stay inside your lips. Then,
apply lipstick to your bottom lip and rub lips together to evenly
coat. You can choose a bright red, dark red, pink, or if you want
something simple choose
a neutral color. Once again, it is your personal preference. Here
are some ideas for lip colors:
● For fair skin: Berry colors or blue-based shades
of reds and purples; light pinks like candy pinks and
sugars; nudes like pearl, honey, and peachy coral;
honey browns; deep plums for a dramatic look
Medium/tan skin: Bright, orange based reds;
bright or berry colored pinks; shimmery peaches
and corals; gold based browns; and deep berries.
● Olive skin: Bricks or rusty reds; light, glossy pinks; brown based shades of peach
and tan; berry browns with hints of pink; medium shades of plum or berry
● Dark skin: Ruby, candy apple, and garnet reds; punch and fuchsia pinks; coppery
peach nudes; deep, rich browns; mulberry and deep plum - Blot your lips with a tissue. Once you have applied your lipstick, you may want to remove some
of the color or any excess lipstick. Take a tissue and fold it in half, and then place it between your lips.
Press your lips down firmly over the tissue a few times until no more lipstick comes off of your lips when
applied to the tissue. Then, touch up the edge or outside of your lips with tissue and concealer.
● Another way to blot lipstick is to carefully hold a tissue over your lips, and dab at your
lips with a big fluffy brush (like a blush brush). This takes the excess lip color evenly
off of your lips, without getting any on your face or the brush (as long as you only dab
your lips and don’t dab too hard, that is!). - Set makeup with makeup setting spray. After you have applied all your makeup, you can spritz a
setting spray to your face so that your makeup will last longer. Hold the spray a foot or so away from
your face and spray a light layer across your face. Then, allow it to dry.
● This spray is suitable for all skin types, but if you have sensitive or dry skin try to avoid
sprays with alcohol as they can dry out your skin.
