Red, beige-gold and pale bronze are the perfect colors for this festive season.

So you’ve got yourself a great outfit, the right jewellery and even the perfect pair of shoes. All you need now, then, is the face to go with it. Makeup, just like apparel, needs to be suitable for the occasion. Makeup that may seem perfect at work may be too understated for a festive occasion or a wedding. And considering that people tend to favor traditional outfits for weddings and festive occasions, the makeup needs to be a little more dramatic to accentuate and complement the whole look.

Taking inspiration from the fireworks that are such an integral part of this festive season, I’ve created a look that uses red, beige-gold and pale bronze.

Here’s what you need to do:

To begin with: Use a foundation and concealer (if you have any blemishes) that complements your skin tone before apply your makeup. Apply loose or pressed powder to seal in the foundation. After this you can start with the eyes.

The eyes

Use a beige-gold highlighter evenly on the entire eyelid. Accentuate the outer corners of the eye with a pale bronze eye shadow (You can do this by drawing a horizontal ‘V’ like this > on the outer corner of the eyelid to emphasise its crease). Blend the eye shadow well, taking care not to let any obvious lines show. Now, use a jet black kohl pencil and line the area close to the upper lashes and under the lower lashes too - literally drawing the shape of the eye. Make sure that the line is as close to the lashes as possible. Now smudge the eyeliner gently. Doing this gives it a softer appearance.

For a more dramatic look, use liquid eyeliner within the smudged line. After this, add two coats of mascara to open up the eye and make the lashes look thicker. Finally, comb your eyebrows out with a dash of gel, so that they look groomed and define the eye better.

The cheeks

Lightly dust a gold-bronze blush-on under the cheekbones with a brush and use the gold-beige eye shadow highlighter just above to give the cheeks some glow and definition.

The lips

Lips always take centrestage in a well made-up face. So remember to play them up well. Red is the hot color of the season, so use a shade that suits your skin tone. A shade of red that is closer to pink looks very good on fair to olive skin tones. Shades of orange to brick-red are perfect for wheatish to deep olive skin tones. Dusky skin toned women should use brownish-reds.

Matt and creme reds look more attractive and subtle compared to glossy ones. Too much of shine can look tarty. So, if you are experimenting with red for the first time, go for a matt brick-red shade. Red lipsticks tend to feather and bleed, so dab a little powder on the lips before you begin. Outline the lips with a pale red lip liner, and fill in the lined area with lipstick. It’s best to use a brush to do this as it gives the lipstick an even finish.

And you’re ready to put your best face forward this season !