i love the holidays!!!!!

A Fancy Gold Eye for the Holidays

How to look 24-karat.

Sportmax coat, $3,890 at sportmax.com. Ellery earrings, $450 at ellery.com. Photo: Heather Hazzan
Sportmax coat, $3,890 at sportmax.com. Ellery earrings, $450 at ellery.com. Photo: Heather Hazzan

In December, sprucing doesn’t just have to be for Christmas trees. The holidays are a great time to experiment with one of the many unused eye-shadow palettes you might have around the house. It’s an over-the-top time of year — why not have eyes to match?

To show us how it’s done, the Cut turned to makeup artist Romy Soleimani, who has the coolest platinum pixie cut and whose clients include Tracee Ellis Ross and Alicia Vikander. She says you don’t have to do a smoky eye to make a statement. For a cooler approach, aim for something a little atypical, a little bit surprising, but still beautiful.

Soleimani said she’s really feeling a pretty, hint-of-gold copper eye: “I’ve just been loving it lately.” Plus, it was bound to magnify our model Charli’s green eyes.

With that color focus in mind, Soleimani turned to the Sunset palette from cult makeup artist Natasha Denona, who’s known for her intensely saturated, highly luxurious eye shadows. (In the beauty world, using a Natasha Denona palette is like a chef pulling out a Miyabi knife — a sign you’re serious about your craft.)

She began with a sheer wash of burgundy that she feathered out just beyond the crease, then added about three to four shades in the same color family to make the color look more rich and full, including copper in the middle. “I like it when it looks like you don’t know exactly what’s going on, and the eye doesn’t follow a formula,” she said. A touch of gold from the same palette painted along the tear ducts opened up the eye.

As a final step, Soleimani used a bit of dark-brown liner (Charlotte Tilbury in Barbarella Brown) to emphasize the top and bottom lash line. She also added a light coating of Bobbi Brown’s Luxe Lipstick in Pale Mauve, which was almost the same shade as Charli’s lips.

You don’t have to copy the look exactly, but the lesson here is to smush together a few shades in the same color family and add a little inner highlight. Your eyes will sparkle, and your holiday party will instantly be more fun.

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A Fancy Gold Eye for the Holidays