Margot Robbie’s Makeup Artist Reveals How to Master Your Holiday Makeup

Enhancing – not over-hauling – is a successful strategy for approaching makeup, and that goes double for the holiday season. Before creating shimmering eyes and statement lips, makeup artist Pati Dubroff starts with a warm-up session. “As I’ve aged, I’ve noticed that I need to spend more time on myself, and clients are getting the same skin-prep treatment,” says Dubroff, a beauty spokesperson for Winners who counts Margot Robbie, Laura Dern and Priyanka Chopra among her celebrity faces.

“In my youth, a client would sit down and I’d apply moisturizer and start with foundation,” she says. “Now, I massage her face for 20 minutes and apply a mask.” Dubroff relies on a jade roller or gua sha stone to stimulate the skin. “I get circulation pumping, get skin oxygenated, move fluids around and drain the lymphatic system,” she says. “All of a sudden, the face looks more alive and needs less base makeup.”

With rejuvenation achieved, merry and bright is the pro’s MO.

“Gold just feels right and is such an awesome accessory to add to the face,” she says. “It is brightening and feels rich.” For eyes, Dubroff pays attention to the brows (“They’re always important”) and uses jewel tones like sapphire, emerald and amethyst to instantly enliven a sallow mid-winter complexion. Customizing the outcome to your comfort level is easy. “If you’re shy, try just a touch of colour at the lash line,” she says. “If you’re a bit bolder, try a bright expression across the lid.”

To put a spotlight on lips, a winning red shade must look good and feel good. “I like a creamy formula with a little life to it, so it doesn’t look like death,” says Dubroff. “If it’s very matte, I use sheer layers. I like to apply the majority of product in the centre of the mouth, with less at the corners – it wears better that way and doesn’t look as severe.” To achieve clean lines and fix asymmetries, a lip pencil with a light hand helps. Use feathery strokes, placed within the body of the lips, to avoid harsh lines.

Feeling a cosmetic roadblock? Experiment to overcome it. “Sometimes I think ‘What would a kid do if they had this?’” says Dubroff, who has adorned her eyes with stick-on stars. “Don’t think you have to be mature and safe all the time. Just play around – it comes right off. That’s the great thing about makeup: It’s not a tattoo.”

Want to shine bright this holiday season? We’ve rounded up some of our favourite products for gorgeous, glowing skin.

Photo Credit: Shiseido

This hydrating, vitamin-rich gel blend of yuzu seed and botanical plankton extracts recharges the skin.

Shiseido Waso Beauty Sleeping Mask, $53, Sephora

Photo Credit: Winners

Classic holiday glam works for all! A blue-based red lipstick is universally flattering. (Want to know your correct shade? Here are the reds that will best suit your complexion.)

Lipstick and Lip Pencil Set, $7, Winners

Photo Credit: Charlotte Tilbury

Dusted on your cheekbones or décolletage, this powder delivers soft, champagne-gold radiance everywhere it goes.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Star Highlighter, $50, charlottetilbury.com

Photo Credit: Revlon

Rock on with amethyst eyeshadow! Try layering a shimmering texture over a matte finish.

Revlon Colorstay Looks Book Eye Shadow Palette in Enigma, $16, Shoppers Drug Mart

Photo Credit: Fenty Beauty

Thanks to an ultra-fine brow pencil with a unique brush, precision work meets flawless blending for ideal arch support.

Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Brow MVP Ultra Fine Brow Pencil & Styler in Dark Brown, $26, Sephora

For more holiday makeup tips, let these popular beauty trends from 2019 inspire your festive makeup looks for the party season.