Holiday Party Makeup: How to Wear Metallic Tattoos for a Gold Foil-Inspired Look

This eye makeup will take your look to the next level

Correct us if we're wrong, but the holidays are high time to zhush it up.

Celebs like Emma Watson (who was ahead of the curve, rocking the current trend a few years back) aren't ones to shy away from a gleaming, gold eye. But let's be honest: The red carpet look might be a bit too dramatic, even for special occasions. Besides, real gold-leaf foil is expensive and ridiculously difficult to apply (trust us, we tried).

For the same effect, and for a no-hassle application, we asked celeb makeup artist Suzie Kim to show us a surprisingly simple way to get the look with metallic tattoos for the holidays.

Keep the Rest of Makeup Fresh: For a glitzy, gold eye that isn't over the top, keep everything else super simple. "I like to use a light highlighter over the high points of the face for a nice, natural-looking holiday glow," recommended the pro. Also for the lips, stick with a subdued, nude color. 

Line the Eye: Worn alone without a trace around the lash line, a gold bar or dot can read as shapeless. Oppositely, "too much eye shadow can make it look costume-y," said the pro. As a resolve, make the metallic pop and define the eye shape with a trace of jet-black liner. "The key is to opt for a creamy consistency that you can smudge for a smoky effect," said Suzie. Just take a black shadow and blend out the color for an easy-to-do smoke effect.

Stick to Simple Shapes: Rather than going all-out with an arrow or another festival-inspired design, lean toward simple, geometric shapes. While plain lines, dots and triangles might have been too boring for Coachella, they're put to good use for the holidays. 

The Look: For this effect, Suzie cut a long gold strip down to about an inch in length. Next, she placed it along the middle of the bottom lash line, right over the eyeliner. "Something this small is all you need to make an impact—it's modern but still classy," noted the artist. If you opt for another shape, say a teeny triangle, you can dot the inner or outer corners of your eye. You can even measure out a longer strip if you want to trace the entire length of your upper or lower lash line.

The Application:

1. Cut out temporary tattoo as close to the design as possible, so that there isn't any dead space.
2. Using tweezers place the shape in the desired area around your eye.
3. Take a wet cotton tip and firmly dab the design into place—the same as you would a temporary tattoo.
4. Once the backing starts to slip away, gently remove the paper to reveal the design.