Party Like It’s 2020
We’re staying home this year, but our makeup looks are going all out.

It’s safe to say this holiday season won’t be a typical one. Between a pandemic in the midst of its third wave and a less-than-smooth presidential transition (opens in new tab), attending a typical holiday party would be a sweet slice of normalcy we’re just not going to be granted this year. When you think about it—at least, when I think about it—half the fun of the obligatory office party or yuletide reunion is the season-specific glam: The glitter is flashier, the eyeshadow is smokier, and the lipsticks are bolder. All the beauty rules are blurred by snowflake flurries and the spilled applesauce next to the latkes.
Since we can’t indulge in the usual festivities this season, the Marie Claire team is fantasizing about crashing the most extravagant soirées in history—real and imaginary. Here, the makeup looks we’d wear to the parties of our dreams, with the help of a favorite new mascara (opens in new tab). Welcome to our ultimate house party!
Taylore Glynn, Associate Beauty and Health Editor
It’s me, the disco queen. House of Harlow x Revolve dress (opens in new tab), $228. Nickho Rey earrings (opens in new tab), $350.
The Party: Bianca Jagger’s 30th Birthday Bash
Sure, I miss the joie de vivre of the typical holiday soirée: the obligatory red lipstick, tipsy hugging coworkers, and even battling over a cheap vibrator during a white-elephant exchange. But the one thing I’m longing for most this season—hell, every second of every passing day lately—is dancing. Like, the “jumping around under a frenetic strobe light while the bass rips through my chest and I’m covered in strangers’ sweat and screaming wordless screams” kind of dancing. And if there’s one party I know will satisfy that craving, it’s a disco at NYC’s legendary Studio 54, circa 1977. I mean, come on...the birthday girl rode on a white horse inside while Andy Warhol looked on. It was, to say the least, a vibe.
The Look:
A hypothetical disco ball was my North Star for this makeup; anything that would glitter and shine in its reflection was fair game. Chunky gilded eyeshadow, bronzy blush, a bushy brow, and a few slicks of hot-pink lipstick captured the mood I was aiming for. Alexa, play “I Feel Love.”
Shop Taylore’s ’70s makeup:
IT Cosmetics Your Skin But Better Foundation + Skincare
Kosas The Sun Show Moisturizing Baked Bronzer
Maybelline New York Cheek Heat Gel-Cream Blush in Nude Burn
Marc Jacobs Beauty Brow Wow Duo Brow Powder Pencil and Tinted Gel + Refill
Stila Shimmer & Glow Liquid Eyeshadow in Starlight
Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long-Lasting Eyeliner in Noir Intense
Hourglass Unlocked Instant Extensions Lengthening Mascara
Dior Backstage Glow Face Palette
Pat McGrath Labs Lip Fetish Divinyl Lip Shine in Love Interest
Chelsea Hall, Assistant Beauty and Fashion Editor
One night in Harlem. BHLDN shrug (opens in new tab) (shop similar), $200. Lara Heems earrings (opens in new tab), $227.
The Party: Friday Night at Club Sugar Ray
Right now, I wish I were experiencing a lavish night out at the fictional but fabulous Club Sugar Ray from the 1989 film Harlem Nights. Despite the tension surrounding the club throughout the movie (due to the ongoing feud between Sugar Ray and rival club owner Bugsy Calhoune), the 1930s speakeasy was the place to be in Harlem. It was swarming with immaculately dressed patrons in upscale fashion: tailored suits, floor-length gowns, feathered necklines, and elaborate headdresses.
The Look:
My inspiration? The subtle smoky eye and bold red lip worn by Calhoune’s mistress, Dominique La Rue (played by actress Jasmine Guy), when she meets up with Sugar Ray’s adopted son in an effort to seduce him. For my take, I combined shimmering gold and mahogany shadows to create a fresh smoky eye and added a dramatic wine-colored lip.
Shop Chelsea’s 1930s look:
Bobbi Brown Vitamin Enriched Eye Base
Fenty Beauty by Rihanna Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Concealer
Laura Mercier Translucent Loose Setting Powder Glow
Too Faced Cocoa Contour Contouring and Highlighting Palette
Pat McGrath Labs Mega Mothership: Celestial Divinity Eyeshadow Palette
MAC Cosmetics Eye Kohl in Smolder
Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz
MAC Cosmetics Powder Kiss Liquid Lipcolour in Make Love to the Camera
Tatjana Freund, Beauty Assistant
The Party: Euphoria’s Homecoming Dance
It’s no secret that this year has been, to be blunt, the worst. The only party I really want to go to is one where I’d be able to fully destress, without worrying about looking perfect or playing it low-key. The Euphoria homecoming dance is exactly that kind of party: glitter-heavy looks to die for, some NSFW fun, and, perhaps best of all, high school drama instead of real-world drama. I’m swapping a champagne flute for a champagne bottle and throwing on some eye crystals. There’s no such thing as overdoing it.
The Look:
Anyone who binged Euphoria can tell you that Maddy Perez, cheerleader and deliverer of sassy lines and snide comments, is iconic. She’s a scene stealer for everything from her attitude to her outfits to her beauty looks. There are no no-makeup makeup looks here; she goes hard, whether that’s bedazzling her eyes with chains and crystals or shaping winged eyeliner so sharp, it could cut you. The look I created was a mix-and-match of some of her best work: floating liner, cat-eyes, and of course jewels.
Shop Tatjana’s bedazzled look:
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush Collection in At Night
Haus Laboratories Eye-Dentify Gel Pencil Eyeliner in Punk
L'Oréal Infallible Flash Cat Eye Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner
Huda Beauty Naughty Nude Eyeshadow Palette
Colourpop Individual Crystal Face Jewels
Hourglass Unlocked Instant Extensions Lengthening Mascara
Marc Jacobs Beauty Poutliner Longwear Lip Liner Pencil in Cream and Sugar
Mented Cosmetics Semi-Matte Lipstick in Peach Please
Wanyi Jiang, Design Director
Meow. 16Arlington dress (opens in new tab), $1,300. Mounser earrings (opens in new tab), $180.
The Party: Batman Returns’s Masquerade Ball
I’ve always loved this masked affair, when Selina Kyle (Catwoman) and Bruce Wayne (Batman) show up to the party sans costume. The implication is that their masks are actually their human selves and the way people see them is their disguise—not unlike my makeup’s effect. It has a very sparkling, festive, dark irony to it, which is exactly my personality.
The Look:
Would “feline wiles” suffice? Obviously, I was influenced by Michelle Pfeiffer’s makeup in the soirée scene, which paired classic neutrals with a bold red lip. The eyes needed to be as catlike as possible and involved extended eyeliner at both the inner and outer corners.
Shop Wanyi’s sultry makeup:
Koh Gen Do Maifanshi Moisture Foundation
Koh Gen Do Natural Lighting Powder
Kevyn Aucoin The Sculpting Contour Powder
Mented Cosmetics Everyday Eyeshadow Palette
Pat McGrath Labs Perma Precision Liquid Eyeliner
Pat McGrath Labs Mothership V Eyeshadow Palette in Bronze Seduction
Kevyn Aucoin The Flesh Tone Lip Pencil in Cerise
Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture the Slim Matte Lipstick in Rouge Paradoxe
Click here to read more from our Holiday issue. (opens in new tab)
Taylore Glynn is the Beauty and Health Editor at Marie Claire, covering skincare, makeup, fragrance, wellness, and more. If you need her, she’s probably roasting a chicken, flying solo at the movies, or drinking a bad Negroni at JFK.
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