Glitter Liner Should Be Your Go-To Holiday Makeup

From my observations, Korean styles of makeup tend to favor dewy skin and glowing eyes. One perennial favorite look is bold white eyeliner, applied in the waterline to make your eyes look bigger and brighter. And one makeup product that plays on this classic Korean look is white glitter liquid eyeliner, which, I admit, sounds a bit aggressive. But if you've been looking for fun, festive holiday makeup looks, white glitter eyeliner might quickly become your new best friend.

It is possible to wear glittery makeup without looking gaudy, and if you've been looking for an excuse to add a bit of glitz to your life and your face, the holiday season is the perfect time to start experimenting. Adding some glitter is a quick way to brighten your holiday makeup, and testing out some looks with white glitter liquid liner is a great place to start. It's much more forgiving to apply than it looks. Plus it builds up well, so you can easily add as much or as little sparkle as you want.

If you're not totally convinced, I put together three different looks to prove that this seemingly niche product is actually quite versatile. In all of these, I used Etude House's Tear Eye Liner and tried to prove that throwing on some white glitter eyeliner might be the easiest way to transform even the most simple makeup looks into something more festive.

1. Teary Eyes

This look was actually fairly simple to put together and not significantly more complicated than my regular makeup routine. I basically did my everyday, neutral makeup and threw on some liquid glitter eyeliner. That one simple step totally transforms the look into something way more fun; it would be the perfect thing to do if you have to run to a holiday party right after work and don't have time or energy to change your makeup.

I've heard this style of makeup referred to as "teary eyes" because the white glitter, when applied properly, makes it look like you've been crying giant glitter teardrops. (Can you imagine if I actually cried glitter? Dreams.)

Smash Box Full Exposer Travel Palette Mini, $25, Sephora

I started with the eyes, using the metallic taupe from the top row of my Smashbox Full Exposure Travel Palette on the lid and mixing the shimmery bronze and brown shadows together for the crease. To really get the teary-eyed look, I didn't fully line my lower lash line with the liquid glitter liner. Instead, I only used it from the inner corner of my eye to about a third of the way in.

If you want a super glittery look, try dabbing the eyeliner instead of drawing a straight line. I ended up having to go over that same line a few times to get the super bright, defined white glitter line. Just be careful not to let the glitter clump up along your lash line, because then it'll look like weird eye boogers.

Once I was done with the eyeliner, I curled my lashes and went HAM with the mascara to get some mod lashes that would make Twiggy envious. I dabbed on some highlighter on my cheekbones for a dewy strobe effect, followed by some cream blush.

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick, $2, Ulta

I've been loving Too Cool For School's Dinoplatz Pearl Bay Invasion Highlighter in Mother Of Pearl, and the cool purple tones were perfect for this icy look. I finished off with a pale, nearly nude lip, using Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss in 113, and felt ready to channel my inner ice princess (or K-pop star).

2. Silver Smoky Eye

I wanted to do something a bit more dramatic but still totally wearable for the second look. I also wanted to showcase the product's much-lauded ability to open up and brighten my eyes. So I figured the best look would be something with a smudged, smoky eye, which can sometimes make eyes appear larger.

I used a heavily pigmented silver eyeshadow on my lid, followed up with the metallic dark gray from the Smashbox palette in the crease, and blended aggressively. I then applied a cat-eye with black liquid eyeliner on my top lash line to add a bit of definition and shape.

Unlike the first look, I lined my full lower lash line with the white liquid glitter eyeliner with less concern about getting a heavily pigmented line. The goal here was to let the glitter shine... Literally. In the final look, you can see how some of the flecks of glitter underneath my eyes picked up the light, making my eyes appear brighter and more open.

MAC Lipstick in Velvet Teddy, $17, MAC Cosmetics

To keep the focus on my eyes, I kept the rest of my makeup really simple, with some light strobing and cream blush, followed by MAC Lipstick in Velvet Teddy, one of my favorite matte nude lipsticks.

3. Hollywood Glam

White glitter eyeliner works just as well with warm, gold tones as it does with snowy, silver-y looks, and I wanted to highlight that versatility with this final look. Besides, I don't think this would really be a holiday makeup tutorial without one red lipped look.

The white glitter eyeliner adds a nice, relatively subtle glow to an already glam look, and is proof that sometimes more really is more.

Starting with the eyes, I used the lightest matte shade from the Smashbox palette as a base, followed by the copper metallic shade from the top row on the lid. I applied a bronze, high-shine, and super metallic eyeshadow from Etude House in the crease and blended together. I lined both my upper and lower lash lines with a dark brown eyeliner pencil, also from Etude House, and slightly smudged them to make the look less severe.

I packed on the white glitter liquid eyeliner in the inside corners of my eyes to help open them up, and then applied a thin line of the liquid eyeliner along the lower lash line. I tried to focus on the outside corner of the eyes, as close to the waterline without getting flecks of glitter lodged into my pupil. I even put on false eyelashes at the end, in order to really open up my eyes and to help balance out the relatively heavy eye makeup.

I applied highlighter and blush, as in the other two looks, and finished off with my go-to retro red lipstick, MAC's Ruby Woo. This look would be great for a holiday cocktail party or if you're looking to jazz up an ugly sweater with something a bit more glam.

With a little bit of white glitter eyeliner, you'll be ready for whatever events the holiday season might throw at you!

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Images: Maxine Builder