Winter Beauty Essentials
As the days grow sharper and the light turns cool and blue, our makeup follows. We’re moving toward frosted tones, berry stains, soft metallics and shimmers that prepare us for the holiday season.
The looks:
Chanel: a colourful winter
Charlotte Tilbury: a glowy winter
YSL Beauty: an elegant winter
Merit: a clean winter
Sisley Paris: a winter of ease
Chanel:
a colourful winter
Chanel’s Les 9 Ombres palettes, created by the Comètes Collective, feel almost tailor-made for winter: cool light, deep colour, and a sense of cinematic mood. Each palette is a universe of nine shades designed to shift with the season — from soft opacity to sparkling dimension — making them some of the most versatile eye products Chanel has released in years. Daring Muse plays in jewel tones of blue, green, brown, and shimmering silver; shades that echo winter nights and metallic reflections but also cosy get togethers by the fire. Space Traveller leans cooler: icy blues, smoky mauves, pale moonlit shimmers. New Singular warms the spectrum with cranberry, rosewood, and gold, offering depth without heaviness. Together, they create a wardrobe of winter colour — bold enough for holiday evenings, subtle enough for daytime definition. The tones stay refined, diffused and wearable. It’s exactly what the season calls for.
Create this look
-
Chanel 9 Ombres Daring Muse
-
Chanel 9 Ombres New Singular
-
Chanel 9 Ombres Space Traveller
Charlotte Tilbury:
a glowy winter
For that holiday glow, you can always count on Charlotte TIlbury. Every glow starts with good prep, and Charlotte Tilbury’s Immediate Revival Eye Patches are the secret step that sets the tone — cooling, smoothing, and reviving tired eyes before makeup even begins. Think of them as the backstage ritual that turns fatigue into radiance.
From there, the Hollywood Instant Look in a Palette takes over — a curation of Tilbury’s most iconic glow-enhancers designed to bring warmth and light to winter skin. The Dreamy, Bronzed Beauty Palette, with a 3 eyeshadows, a bronzer, a blush, a blush topper and a finishing powder, sculpts and highlights with ease, delivering a soft, bronzed sheen that feels sunlit yet subtle. It’s all you will need in your makeup bag, really.
For the finishing touch, Pillow Talk Plumpgasm in Medium Deep adds a plush, rosewood glow to the lips — glossy and dimensional, the perfect contrast to cool December air. Together, these pieces create the ultimate holiday look: polished and effortless, glowing and glittery.
Create this look
-
Charlotte Tilbury Revival Under Eye Patches
-
Charlotte Tilbury Dreamy Bronzed Beauty Palette
-
Charlotte Tilbury Plumpgasm
YSL:
an elegant winter
For a more toned down sophisticated look, we turn to YSL Beauty.
Winter calls for a flawless base that still feels breathable, and YSL’s All Hours Foundation is exactly that — seamless coverage with a natural matte finish that lasts through long nights, warm rooms, and cold air. Set it lightly with the Hyper Blur Powder to achieve that perfected, velvety skin YSL does so well: matte, but never heavy; smooth, but never flat. It creates a canvas that feels like satin.
The Couture Mini Clutch in “Sunrise Safari” palette is all about elegance — shimmering golds, burnished browns, and soft rosy browns that sculpt the eye with effortless sophistication. Use the deeper brown to define the crease, sweep the gold across the lid for warmth, and blend the rosy brown at the edges for a soft finish. The tones feel winter-ready but sunset-warm.
A wash of Lash Clash Mascara finishes the eye: bold, voluminous, architectural. Finally, add the Liquid Blush and Rouge Pur Couture in a dark brown tone for a rich and refined finish.
Create this look
-
YSL All Hours Foundation
-
YSL Hyper Blush powder
-
YSL Couture Mini Clutch
-
YSL Lash Clash
-
YSL Liquid Blush
-
YSL Rouge Pur Couture
Merit:
a clean winter
After the richness of the holidays, skin craves simplicity, lightness, and a touch of renewal. Merit is built for exactly that. Their clean, minimalist beauty philosophy translates into a winter look that feels like fresh air on the skin: refined, uncomplicated, and deeply modern. And the most compelling looks are often the most quiet ones.
Start with the iconic Minimalist Complexion Stick: it glides on seamlessly, offering soft coverage that evens tone without erasing your natural texture. Paired with Brush No. 1, it blends into the skin effortlessly. Together they create a the clean, hydrated canvas that is perfect for January’s reset.
For warmth, tap the Flush Balm onto the apples of the cheeks to create a silky wash of colour. This brings back life to the skin, which is much needed in the deep winter. Then layer Day Glow on the high points for a dewy luminosity and a healthy glow to start the new year.
Keep eyes minimal but meaningful using Clean Lash, lifting and defining your lashes into long, natural lashes that brighten the entire face. And shape the brows with Brow 1980 to add a hint of tint and structure.
The perfect winter lip feels plush and nourished and is wearable everywhere. Apply the all time favorite Signature Lip to deliver colour — soft and beautifully diffused — and a dash of Shade Slick to add a glossy and hydrating layer. Together they create that “my-lips-but-better” finish for a clean winter aesthetic.
Create this look
-
Merit Minimalist Complexion Stick
-
Merit N°1 Brush
-
Merit Flush Balm
-
Merit Day Glow
-
Merit Signature Lip
-
Merit Shade Slick
-
Merit Clean Lash
-
Merit Brow 1980
Sisley Paris:
a winter of ease
Winter beauty is all about ease: skin that looks alive despite the cold and colour that feels effortless. This everyday look from Sisley Paris leans into exactly that. Perfect for women who long for a winter look in three simple steps.
No winter makeup look survives without a deeply prepped base, and Sisley’s iconic Black Rose Mask remains one of the best ways to bring life back into tired, winter-dry skin. In ten minutes, it restores bounce, smoothness and radiance, creating a cushiony canvas that makes every product glide.
For complexion, Phyto-Hydra Teint is everything winter skin secretly hopes for: skincare and foundation in one. Hydrating, brightening, and smoothing, it evens out the complexion while still allowing the skin to feel like skin. The finish is natural and lightweight — not matte, not shiny — just healthy.
Finally, add colour with the Berry Color Cloud. This shade is winter distilled: a matte pinkish berry that feels modern, wearable, and instantly chic. Press it onto the lips for a blurred, just-bitten flush, then tap what’s left onto the cheeks for an effortless monochrome look. No hard edges, no precision needed — just diffused colour that feels like warmth in the cold.
Create this look
-
Sisley Masque Rose Noire
-
Sisley Phyto Hydra Teint
-
Sisley Color Cloud Berry
Published
1 December 2025
Visuals
by Team Currant
Series
Beauty Essentials