Get Your Skin, Makeup, Hair & Limbs Party Ready

New Years Eve Beauty - Amour Ophelia — Prep the limbs with strokes of glistening body oil, enhance your skins existing glow with a spritz of streak free and easy fake tan, boost hairs life with a dose of heavenly texture spray by the one and only Sam Mcknight, brighten your eyes in the morning, give your skin an at home instant facial and lastly, create a striking makeup look with a bold lip. All using the best tools and products in the trade because it is NYE after all…

Glistening, sun-kissed LIMBS

If you’re revealing limbs this New Years Eve then look no further than this fool proof guide that will ensure your skin has never looked smoother, your legs and arms are gorgeously sun-kissed and your décolletage is shimmering from that faux but natural looking tan and good layer of body oil. Party prep can sometimes feel like a chore and I used to think I need to set hours aside to paint my nails, sort my tan out the night before, spend ages in-front of the mirror with straighteners to get the perfect ‘undone wave’ but with these new tools in the trade, party prep has never been easier with most of it being able to be done the day of…

Before any beauti-fying begins, it’s time to slough away at any dead skin cells that may be dulling your skin all over. I love the Ameliorate Skin Smoothing Body Polish* for it’s super fine texture that feels nice and gritty on the skin without being harsh and it’s Lactic Acid formula that guarantees to break down those pesky dead skin cells and reveal a ultra smooth, glowy skin surface. Post scrub, I’ll rid of any unwanted hair so my skin is super smooth and ready for the next step of tanning.

The luxurious and new Oskia Adaptive Tan Mist* couldn’t make fauxing that glow and tan any easier. With it’s 100% natural and adaptive trip phase formula, this fine mist lightly covers the body with an all over golden tint of colour that deepens as the evening goes on. Spray on before your dress or a couple of hours before. Quick, easy and no fake tan smell - everything you want for NYE and last minute party prep.

One of my favourite steps for feeling extra glammed up and glossy is going in with body oil over my limbs on show before the party begins. Once the tan has sunk in and settled, spritz on some of the best body oil for super model looking limbs from Nuxe. Incredibly light and dry in texture this multipurpose oil doesn’t make skin feel too thick or sticky before a party, it simply enhances your skin and will carry your glow through to midnight.

Get smooth, glowing SKIN

The key to a radiant complexion, makeup going on smoothly and the ultimate glow all starts with the skin, making the next few steps vital in your pre party routine. Skin must be hydrated to the max, fresh and dewy looking, eyes looking bright and most of all skin must have a smooth surface to enable makeup to be applied evenly on top. Below are the 4 products I’ll be using today to ensure my skin is looking the best it can be for tonight…

First things first and before any other product is applied to the skin, it’s time to enter the masks. Using something that is as full to the brim with incredibly radiance revealing active ingredients as the Zelens Tranformer Instant Renewal Mask* will give your skin an at home facial and ensure it’s looking as bright as ever. This thick, pearlescent mask drenches the skin in moisture, instantly improves skins texture and radiance levels. To add a shot of hydration and youthfulness to the eye area, apply some eye gels (put in the fridge for 15 minutes for even better effects) whilst you’re having a drink, prancing around listening to your favourite song. The Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Hydra Gel Eye* are my favourites at the moment - super cooling, hydrating from the hyaluronic acid and straight away make my eyes look more awake. Smooth lips are just as important as a smooth complexion when it comes to applying makeup, especially if you’re going for a bold red lip. Smooth, exfoliated and plump lips are everything you want for a striking lip look and the Patchology Hydrating Lip Gels* are the perfect way to amp up your pamper routine that little further.

Once everything has been masked, you’ve slathered your skin in all kinds of goodness and it’s neatly time to apply the makeup, ensure you are using a super hydrating and light in texture moisturiser that will allow makeup to sit evenly on top of. Something that contains Hyaluronic Acid is a step in the right direction here and my new favourite is the Peter Thomas Roth Water Drench Cloud Cream*. Using a cream with a gel like texture will enable your skin to drink it up so you haven’t got anything too heavy sitting on the surface that could disrupt your makeup.

Glam and bold MAKEUP

NYE makeup for me is all about being bold, trying something a little different to normal, wearing a bold lip or a striking eye but most of all, keeping skin looking as glowy as possible. On top of all of this, makeup must be long wearing and last until the early hours of the morning so using the right products is key and by the time your makeup look has finished, layering formulas, buffing and re-applying will be your new art.

Prep the skin with a glow boosting primer such as the Kiehl’s Glow Formula* which has a lovely golden tint to it, which will help to enhance your sun-kissed complexion and for the base, use something light-weight with a build-able coverage and a dewy finish. The Becca Aqua Luminous Perfecting Foundation* and Vita Liberata Beauty Blur* are my two top picks for this evening. Pinpointing concealer is your best friend for NYE as it allows you to add any extra coverage where needed such as pesky spots and areas of redness that need a little extra TLC. The Maybelline Instant Eye Eraser doubles up as a good dark circle diminisher and an anti-redness agent but for more precise work, use something like the Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer.

For killer cheekbones you want to be using a cool toned contour be it cream or powder, buff buff buff with a flat top blender for the most natural looking shading. My all time favourite is the Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Powder in Medium as it’s the perfect earthy, cool toned brown that perfectly defines the cheek bones without looking over the top or fake. To bronze the rest of the face and to add to the sun-kissed face, apply a light dusting of something like the NARS Laguna Bronzer which is a versatile shade, fit for all. If you’re opting for a bold lip and/or eye this NYE then a muted blush is best, something that lifts the face but doesn’t take the attention away from the colour on the eyes and lips. I love cream formulas for the cheeks and will always reach for my Becca Cheek Tint in Fig that is mega long wearing, easy to blend and allows you to build the colour up to the desired intensity. There’s nothing more fabulous than a damn good highlighter and to take this makeup look even more luxury, I’ll be using the Charlotte Tilbury Bar of Gold Highlighter Palette* to light up my face. I blend all three together on a tapered brush and dust over the all the high points of my face. The key to ensuring this looks natural and part of the skin is to get that ‘lit from within look’ (easier to achieve from creams) but if you really work this into the face and continue to blend and push in with a damp beauty blender, you’re highlighter will look as though it’s apart of your skin and not a product sitting on top.

What better a time to go all out on the eyes than NYE… The Cover FX Shimmer Veil* are the perfect metallic eye companion but any alternative with an intense pigment will do the job well. To keep with the bronze and golden theme I’m going for this year, Soleil is my shade of choice. A high shine terracotta that lights the eyes and creates the perfect party metallic finish. For a little more definition, a fine smudged line of black eye liner like this one from Gucci will add something a little more smoky to your look. Finish the eye with a good layer of volumising mascara such as Dior Show and you are nearly ready to go… Finish off your party look with a strong brushed up brow using the Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil for colour and shape and a stroke of the Brow Gel* brushed backwards for the ultimate boy brow.

HAIR with volume and style

Effortless hair always starts with the right products and there’s only one thing to shout about this year in the hair department that will give you the best texture and volume. It’s the mighty Cool Girl Texture Spray* from Sam Mcknight that really does give a ‘barely there’ finish by adding a sexy tousled look. It also holds a powerful perfume like scent of spices.