From minimalist to maximalist, here’s how to nail glittery make-up this party season

This is the perfect time of year to elevate your look with a bit of sparkle and shine, says Prudence Wade.

Christmas party make-up means one thing and one thing only: sparkles, and lots of them.

The great thing about glittery make-up is you can tailor it to your personality or how you’re feeling on the night. For one party, you might fancy a low-key shimmer, but the next, you could be looking for sparkly lips, eyes and cheeks – the whole shebang.

Luckily, the autumn/winter catwalk shows were full of disco-inspired make-up, providing plenty of beauty inspiration for the upcoming festive season. Here’s how you can apply glittery make-up that’s both perfectly Christmassy and bang on trend. Either pick an area to emphasise – like your lips or eyes – or go all-out and artfully glitter your whole face.

The lips…

If you want the AW19 look, take inspiration from the Ashish fashion show, which accentuated models’ lips with a lot of red sparkles. It’s a bold look, but if you’re used to wearing a red lip, adding glitter is the perfect way to level up, even if it’s just for Christmas Day.

If red isn’t your style, ease yourself into the trend with a paler shade that has a subtler shimmer.

Nyx Lip Lingerie Glitter in Nude Pink Glitter, £7

Haus Laboratories by Lady Gaga Le Riot Lip Gloss in Venus, £17, Amazon

Beauty Blvd Glitter Lips in Ruby Slippers, £8.99

The eyes…

Luckily, you need don’t to be a pro make-up artist to nail the glitter trend on your eyes, as the fashion is for fairly indiscriminate sparkles all over your lids.

Many of us are scared of applying red eyeshadow – after all, you don’t want to look like you have a rash – but adding sparkles is the perfect solution. Make like the models in the Rodarte show and pile a festive fire-engine red glitter onto your lids, with no danger of looking like you’ve got a skin condition.

Gold eyeshadow is appropriately festive and can be taken up or down in intensity, depending on your preference. And for those who want the minimalist version of the trend, opt for lighter, pearlier shades, which will still be festive and subtly different from your day-to-day make-up.

Milani Gilded Noir Eyeshadow Palette, £28.25, Boots

Huda Beauty Matte & Metal Liquid Eyeshadows in Limelight & Gold Chains, £22, Harvey Nichols

MAC Spellbinder Shadow/Starring You in Stairs To The Stars, £19

The skin…

It’s not just your eyes and lips which can be the star of the show, you can also get in on the shimmery trend by being liberal with highlighter along your cheekbones.

Or, if you want to step it up a notch and really get into the Christmas spirit, you can dot glitter artfully around your face. If you’re going to go all out in sparkles, now is undoubtedly the time of year to do it – after all, it is party season.

NARS Mosaic Glow Blush, £31

Fenty Beauty Killawatt Foil Freestyle Highlighter Duo, £28, Harvey Nichols

Fantasy Glitter Gold Glitter Pot & Fixing Gel, £2, Superdrug