How to Apply Makeup for a Fancy Party

Co-authored by Daniel Vann and Jessica Gibson

Last Updated: January 8, 2023 References

Face Prep

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Eye Makeup

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Final Touches

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Video

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Expert Q&A

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Tips

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 every day 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.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Face Prep

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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.
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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.^{[1]
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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]
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- A little goes a long way with primer -- don't apply too much as it's only supposed to be a light application. Try 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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]
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- 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 grey-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.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Eye Makeup

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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.
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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 greys. 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]
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- 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.
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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 smoky eye, by using a light, shimmery grey 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.
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Highlight your eyes with an 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.^{[5]
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- 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.
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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 grey.. 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.^{[6]
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- 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.
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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.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Final Touches

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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 you desired color. Choose a blush color suited for your skin tone:^{[7]
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- 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.
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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.^{[8]
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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.^{[9]
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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
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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!).
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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.
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Finished!

Expert Q&A

Question

How do you apply blush and bronzer like a professional?

Daniel Vann
Licensed Aesthetician
Daniel Vann is the Creative Director for Daredevil Cosmetics, a makeup studio in the Seattle Area. He has been working in the cosmetics industry for over 15 years and is currently a licensed aesthetician and makeup educator.

Daniel Vann

Licensed Aesthetician

Expert Answer

Use enough blush and bronzer to close the gap and appearance between the lightness of your foundation and the darkness of your eyebrows, lips, and lashes. You need to add medium tones that transition your face to your more defining features.
Question

How can tissue paper help with putting on lipstick?

Community Answer

Blotting your lipstick with tissue paper helps remove the excess and dries it a little, making it last on your lips longer. Wet or glossy lipstick or lip gloss won't last as long as matte or sticky lip gloss or lipstick.
Question

How can I do the look without eyeliner?

Cecilia Flores

Top Answerer

If you're doing a smoky eye, you don't have to do eyeliner. Eye shadow takes a while, and you may not feel like risking it with liner. It's also hard to take liner off at the end of the day.