With the holidays just around the corner, many people will be going out to more functions that require looking nice. Events like that for a lot of us mean that we need to wear more makeup than usual. Luckily for you if you aren't so makeup inclined you have me to help you out in this article. I love makeup and have several suggestions abut the perfect makeup to wear during the holidays and for all the holiday parties you will be attending.

I'm going to structure this by talking about different types of products while giving you an option of a higher end version or a more comfortable drugstore priced item. So let's get started and dive right into all the makeup you need for that perfect party look this holiday season.

Starting off with the base for your makeup, your face. For primer, my personal favorite is the Too Faced Hangover RX primer. Made with coconut water, this primer is lightweight and makeup goes on smoothly after it dries. On the less expensive side I also really like elf's line of primers. I personally use the green one to cancel out redness as I naturally have a very pink/red face that needs to be corrected. All versions of the primer are really good.

After you have the base of primer, you need foundation to correct the overall color of your face. I usually reach for my Makeup Forever HD foundation. It's a foundation line that has a large range so it has a shade for my ghost white face and those with darker skin tones as well. It's also formulated to not have a lot of shine so it looks fabulous in pictures, hence the HD part of the name. If you can't bear to shell out the $50 for the HD foundation, L'Oreal's reformulated Infallible lines are great. The Pro-Matte line gives that great flat look, giving you a great canvas to work with. Or you could choose the Pro-Glow line which has a dewy finish to give you that perfect shining from the inside out look. It just depends on which finish you would prefer.

After foundation, I usually move onto concealer to get rid of my dark circles from studying late at night. From what I've heard and tried in store, the NARS radiant creamy concealer is a dream. It's a full coverage concealer without being thick or caking on the skin, which is exactly what you want out of a concealer to cover all those little blemishes. But the concealer I use on a regular basis is a drugstore concealer, Maybelline's Instant Age Rewind concealer. It has a sponge tip that you just have to twist the product on and put on. It's easy to use and quick to put on, which is why I love it. It also has some really great coverage as well.

Now you need to give your face a little dimension with bronzer and highlighter. For bronzer, I would either use the Benefit Hoola bronzer or the NYC Sunny bronzer. The Hoola bronzer is nice in that it's light enough where you can build it to the desired color. If you're fair like me you can only put on a couple coats. If you're darker skinned you can build it up until it's a perfect shadow. The NYC bronzer is very similar to the Hoola one but is more orange toned. But it still works on fair skin which is the big selling point.

For highlighter, everyone raves about the Becca highlighters. They are ridiculously pigmented and shine so beautifully on the skin. The line also has multiple shades, so depending on what type of glow you're going for, there is a Becca highlight to match it. I have a small sample size of the Opal highlighter which is a great golden highlighter. But if I want something a little icier, I reach for the Moonstone highlighter instead. For a drugstore priced highlighter, I recently found the brand Makeup Revolution which you can find at your local Ulta. They have three amazing shades of highlight, I personally use the radiant lights shade. It's a light pink color which is perfect for those of us with pink undertones. They also have a peach lights color and a golden lights color depending on which one you want to use.

With bronzer and highlight on your face, the next logical step is to move to blush. The tarte Amazonian Clay blushes are magical. They are very pigmented and blend out easily which is the real test in blush. It has to blend well, otherwise blush can be pretty rough. But with a blush like the Amazonian Clay you won't even have to think about it. From the drugstore, you can always pick up Wet and Wild's ombre blushes that have been out since this summer. For a similar look at a quarter of the price, these two-toned blushes blend well and look fantastic on the skin. You do have to use a bit more of these blushes, but it's worth it when you see it on your cheeks.

Most of the face is done, so from here we move to the eyes and the most important part of that is the brows. The company known for brows, Benefit just came out with a brand new line of brow products. They have several great products to choose from. I personally use the Goof Proof Brow Pencil which has a diamond shaped applicator that makes it easy to fill in the shape of your brows. On the less expensive side is the Maybelline Brow Precise Micro Pencil. It has a smaller tip so you can get that fine definition that makes your brows look natural.

Now the eyes themselves. I'm going to be recommending pallets here instead of individual shadows due to pallets being able to give you a complete eye look. The best pallet for the holidays to me is the original Lorac Pro pallet. It has the perfect mix of matte and shimmer shadows to create incredible holiday looks. It's also my favorite pallet to use for a smokey eye, both a matte and shimmer smokey eye. You'll be able to come up with any look using the Lorac Pro. If you're looking in the drugstore it may be a bit harder to find as good of a pallet. But I would look to the elf prismatic pallets that they have. Usually they're a shimmer shadow pallet which is great for holiday parties and they come in some fun colors so you can really play with your look.

From there you can choose what you would like to do next. For parties I usually add some liner to my eyes. You don't have to do this step if it isn't your thing, but I enjoy the look I get from eyeliner. Now you have to choose what type of eyeliner you want to use. I double mine up by first using a cream pencil eyeliner and then a liquid eyeliner to make the wing. The liquid eyeliner I like is the Kat Von D tattoo liner in Trooper. It's ridiculously black and absolutely doesn't budge. It's perfect to use for that wing so sharp it could cut someone. NYX also has an incredible liquid eyeliner that is almost identical to the Kat Von D one for a fraction of the cost, so that's worth checking out. Now for the creme pencil I use the Rimmel Exaggerate liner which is drugstore. Urban Decay has some nice ones on the higher end. They are another liner that just doesn't move once put on.

The last thing you need to do for the eyes is put on a couple coats of mascara. I usually reach for the Too Faced Better than Sex mascara. It makes your eyelashes super long and look incredibly full. The nice thing is that it doesn't change from the regular formula to the waterproof one. Both formulas look exactly the same. Now for drugstore mascara, I always used to use the Maybelline Mega Plush mascara. It's actually a gel mascara that gives a lot of volume and length, which is always what I look for in a mascara because it's the perfect double whammy.

The only thing left is your lips. I will only be recommending lipsticks here because I don't really wear glosses. But if you have some great lip glosses, let me know in the comments! I'd love to hear your recommendations. For lipstick nothing beats a perfect red during the holidays. And the company famous world wide for their red lipsticks is of course MAC. You can't go wrong throwing on either Russian Red or Ruby Woo. Both are classics that will stand the test of time. But if you're looking for that perfect dupe, I'd recommend the Kate Moss line of lipsticks with Rimmel. The red shade I grab is 111 or Kiss of Life. It's actually supposed to be a pretty good dupe for MAC's Ruby Woo and the lipstick smells like watermelons which is even better.

Now you have a full face of holiday ready makeup on! Yay! From here you can either put on a setting spray or head out the door. Both the Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray and the NYX Matte setting spray work perfectly. And now your all ready to go and look fabulous at your multitude of holiday parties. I hope I was able to help you find some good new makeup pieces to add to your collection.

If you think I missed any essential makeup products that one must have let me know. I always love finding new makeup products as I bet most people do. Now have a great time at those parties and enjoy the holiday season!