Ho, ho, hot looks for the holidays

Party time is here again, and with their holiday releases, beauty companies are ensuring that you’re going to twinkle like a superstar. Vibrant colors and copious amounts of shimmer and shine seem geared towards shaking us all out of our recessionista doldrums, and with such cute, clever packaging, who can resist? Makeup, after all, is our most affordable luxury. As Anna Wintour recently said on Letterman, got $20 to spend? “You can always buy a tube of lipstick.”

La Mer: The Immaculate Complexion

How to get it: La Mer has done it again. Earlier this year they launched Skincolor Collection, a line of treatment foundations and loose powder so remarkable that whenever I wear it, people comment on my “glowing skin.” This month they’ve added a powder foundation and under-eye concealer practically guaranteed to earn you non-stop compliments: “The foundation and concealer are incredibly lightweight and optically erase imperfections,” say the La Mer marketing team of Sandra Lacson and Ina Casas. “The best part of it is it complements the benefits of Crème de la Mer.”

Wish list:

• The Treatment Powder Foundation SPF 15 – Women who dislike wearing makeup will appreciate this single step towards radiant skin. To the anti-aging marine extracts discovered by its Max Huber Research Labs, La Mer has added an infusion of gemstones like tourmaline and malachite to capture light and direct it towards your face. Air-spun and translucent, apply this powder lightly and you’ll get an oh-so-natural look. Build it up with the accompanying puff and you’ll feel secure in your full, flawless coverage.

• The Radiant Concealer SPF 25 – We forget that our eye area is even more prone to aging, so I appreciate the high SPF. A tiny dab of this goes a long way, spreading like a cream and drying to a crease-resistant powder. While the gemstone infusion conceals dark circles and blemishes, chamomile extract and the Asian mushroom viapure poria soothe skin, deflate puffiness and reduce redness.

(La Mer is available at Rustan’s. The Radiant Concealer SPF 25 will be available in December.)

Estee Lauder: Ultimate Red

How to get it: For sexy bronze eyes, apply the upper right shade in the Signature Eyeshadow Quad in 17 from inner corner to middle of lid. Line upper and lower lashes with gel eyeliner in black, then softly smudge. Add the lower right shade from the eyeshadow quad over liner, from middle of lid to outer corner, from lash to crease. Blend. Highlight inner corner and brow bone with upper left shade. Apply black mascara, then new TurboLash mascara in Gold Effects. Coat lips with Estee Lauder Signature lipstick in Simply. Follow with new Opulent Shimmer gloss in Cranberry.

Wish list:

• Solid perfume or powder compact – In addition to skincare and makeup, Estee Lauder is famous for its beautiful, collectible, jeweled compacts issued every year since 1963. World-renowned artists are enlisted to design these limited-edition, Swarovski crystal-encrusted compacts: this year it’s Queen of the Jeweled Clutch Judith Leiber and celebrated American designer Jay Strongwater, who were inspired by exotic destinations. Thus, featured fragrances Beautiful, White Linen, Sensuous, Youth Dew, Pure White Linen and Estee’s top seller, Pleasures; and featured pressed powders Lucidity Translucent and Re-Nutriv Intensive Comfort, are housed in the most cunning golden containers. You’ll never believe a one-horse open sleigh, a jukebox, or a fierce feline (in honor of the upcoming Year of the Tiger) is an actual compact with a lid you can lift. This is one gift sure to take your recipient’s breath away.

• Estee Lauder makeup or fragrance set – Another Lauder specialty is the gift set, and you’re sure to find one to suit your special lady, or just keep for yourself. Highlights include the lipstick collection, eyeshadow palette and Pen Pals, portable atomizers of three bestselling Estee scents.

(Estee Lauder is available at Rustan’s.)

Bobbi Brown: Cool Chrome

How to get it: Using the Chrome Palette, sweep white eyeshadow from lid to brow bone. Apply Polar Ice Shimmer Wash to inner corners. Smoke out eyes with Iron for a matte look, or Cyber Grey Shimmer Wash for a metallic one. Line upper and lower lashes with Charcoal Haze shadow. Curl lashes and apply Extreme Party Mascara. Sweep a tawny blush on the apples of the cheeks, then on lips, slick on Chrome Metallic lip color.

“Chrome is cool and icy — it’s a very modern, but still pretty way to illuminate the skin,” says Bobbi Brown about her holiday look.

Wish list:

• Chrome Palette – Not just biker chicks but social butterflies everywhere will be yearning for this new, limited-edition fold-out palette containing (count ’em) 10 eyeshadow shades, four lip colors, and mini eyeshadow and lip brushes to create countless party-ready looks. Just toss this palette in your bag and you’re good to go from office to event.

• Chrome Lips – Limited-edition Port, Chrome Metallic or Plum Pearl Metallic lip colors will take your holiday look from dull to divine in one swipe.

• Chrome Mini Brush Set – Brown downsized three of her must-have brushes for women on the go. The zip-up chrome faux-leather case will protect the palm-sized face blender, angle eyeshadow and eyeliner brushes for years.

(Bobbi Brown is exclusively available at Rustan’s Makati.)

Stila: All Doll’d Up

How to get it: Using the lower left pan of the Barbie Loves Stila eyeshadow kit, brush the light blue shade over your lids. Sweep the gray shade into the crease. Dip a liner brush into the navy shade and smudge into upper and lower lash lines. For instant glamour , finish with Stila’s Stay All Day waterproof liquid eyeliner (the easiest-to-draw-on liner I’ve ever used), and kick it up at the outer corners for a cat’s-eye effect. On lips, apply a liberal coat of Barbie Loves Stila lip glaze in Sugar Lips.

Wish list:

• Barbie Loves Stila eyeshadow kit – If you love Barbie, you’ll die for this palette, which contains 12 doll-pretty hues that have already been color-coordinated in four pans for you. All boast Stila’s professional-quality pigments and feather-light texture, encased in a hot-pink compact with Barbie’s holographic image on the lid. Flip it up to open and she winks at you.

• Barbie Loves Stila lip enamel trio – With names like Joy (red), Happiness (light pink) and Tickled Pink (the bright pink exclusive to Barbie); the addition of rhodolea rosea (an ingredient that improves one’s mood and helps alleviate depression); and cute stiletto charms dangling from the caps, these richly pigmented, mega-watt glosses are literally happiness in a tube.

• Barbie Loves Stila Smudge Pots – These multi-taskers aren’t just gel eyeliners, they can also be used as longwearing eyeshadows that won’t flake off. There’s classic black, of course, but try the other, of-the-moment shades — electric blue and purple — all dosed with shimmer and designed to make your whites look whiter and dark eyes look brighter. 

(Stila is available at Rustan’s Essenses.)

Mac: Magic, Mirth & Mischief

How to get it: Brush Devil-May-Care, a rich light violet from the MAC Mineralize eyeshadow duo, on your eyelids and under lower lash line. Line your eyes with Softsparkle eye pencil in Nightsky, a true black with silver pearls. Curl lashes and apply Pro Lash mascara in Coal Black. Smile and brush the apples of your cheeks with Mineralize blush in Conjure Up, a frosty plum. Slick lips with Cremesheen Glass in Ever So Rich, a sheer lilac.

Wish list:

• Lip, Eye and Face Kits – Eight new holiday kits packaged in true downtown New York style. Each eye kit contains six shadows — there are sets of warm and cool colors to suit your skin tone (consult a MAC Pro about which one you are). Tri-colored lip kits come either in safe, neutral shades or fun pinks. Each face kit features a beauty powder, shimmer powder and/or bronzing powder to light up fair or golden girls.

• Lip and Eye Bags – These are a different kind of eye bags, one that’s a treat. Is your giftee an eye or lip gal? If she’s the former, the eye bag comes with everything she needs to make eyes at her special someone: MAC Pigment, Fluidline, Zoom Lash mascara and an eyeliner brush. If she’s obsessed with her pucker, the lip bag offers a festive lipstick, Dazzleglass lip gloss and matching lip pencil she’ll be smacking her lips over.

• Brush bags – Ever dreamed of being a MAC Pro? For the budding makeup artist in your midst, these three bags contain all the tools to buff and line, sweep and define or simply use every day in your work tote.

(MAC is available at Rustan’s.)