15 Makeup Ideas Inspired By New Year's Traditions

If you’re a fan of pyrotechnics, try a burst of multiple colors across your lid for the New Year. 2013 saw punk come back into vogue, and the look is equally edgy in makeup and clothing. For an interpretation that isn’t quite as outlandish, use one bright, primary color and a neutral to anchor it, like cobalt blue and silver. Keep the rest of your makeup soft and natural so as to keep the focus on the vibrant colors displayed in your eye makeup.

Despite the myriad of diverse and peculiar New Year’s Eve traditions around the globe, Atlanta’s Peach Drop is still a uniquely intriguing mode of celebration. On December 31st, those looking to join in the fun engage in a number of state fair-esque festivities until midnight, when an 800 pound peach is dropped into the crowd. Those of you expecting an agricultural miracle are bound to be disappointed: it’s not a real peach. However, the party lasts until the early hours, and draws a crowd from every corner of the South.

Lucky, peach tones are universally flattering, especially in the dull winter months when skin needs a bit of warmth. Jessica Alba demonstrates the power of peach, choosing a juicy, punchy matte shade for her lips, a bronzy-peach tint to contour her cheeks, and a warm pink with a bit of shimmer for her eyes.

New Year’s Day in Greece is celebrated with a Vassilopita, a basil cake in which the baker has hidden a gold coin. The recipient of the coin is said to have an auspicious start to the New Year. Between the cake and the coin, Greece seems to have its bases covered for a very happy fête.

While elaborate, gilded foil designs have adorned the faces of models on the runway this year, there is such thing as too much bling. Because gold shadow can adopt a startling quality if you apply the shade with a heavy hand, it’s best to concentrate flaxen tones in one specific area. For an unexpected twist, try a touch of gold on the inner corner of the eye like actress Emma Roberts. The look is fresh and slightly avant-garde, with the added benefit of opening up the eye so you appear wide awake even as the party winds down.

New Year’s Eve is not the time for teetotaling, and the Netherlands shares the traditional champagne toast as one of its many commemorative traditions on the holiday. A sip of bubbly along with words of confidence in the coming year starts off January with a bang.

A champagne toast is the definitive way to ring in the new year, so let it go to your head — or face, that is. Champagne shades have the captivating quality of making the face appear subtly incandescent. When applied correctly, the tone adds a healthy, natural glow, which disguises evidence of winter-ravaged skin. Follow Emmy Rossum’s example and apply a slightly glossy champagne-nude lipstick, a touch of highlighter above the apples of the cheeks and on the cheekbones, and a dusting of illuminating shadow on the eyelid for an alluring New Year’s look.

You’ve probably seen the ball drop over Times Square at least once in your life on TV, but the real merriment happens after the clock strikes midnight. The confetti that rains down on revelers is no garden-variety party prop; each of the thousands of pieces contains a wish placed by someone on the Times Square Museum and Visitors Center Wishing Wall. So if you end up covered in the glittery stuff this New Year’s Eve, at least you’ll have the privilege of knowing you’ve been doused in good karma.

For a wearable interpretation of New Year’s Eve confetti, try a bold sweep of colored shadow with a bit of sparkle to liven up your look. Adopting an unusual shade with a vibrant sheen draws attention to the eye and instantly brightens up an ensemble, even if you’re simply wearing your little black dress.