Kate Middleton’s ‘dazzling’ berry lip and smokey eyeshadow combo is the perfect Christmas party makeup look

Recreating Kate's 'picture-perfect' makeup is easier than you might think

kate middleton at the royal caroling service
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The stunning deep, smokey eyeshadow look and rich berry lipstick shade Kate Middleton opted for during the King's Coronation celebrations earlier this year is the perfect makeup look for Christmas party season and it's super easy to recreate. 

It's always nice to spend time with the family over the holiday season. But when it comes down to it, let's be honest, we all want to blow off some steam with a huge party. And while one person in the family will be searching out essential Christmas hosting tips to make the day a resounding success, without any stress, the rest of us are focusing on finding Christmas makeup looks to try out this party season.

And where better to look for makeup inspiration than straight to Kate Middleton? We still can't get her stunning Coronation look out of our minds and, luckily for us, Laura Kay, a makeup specialist and owner of the award-winning cosmetics business Laura Key London, has revealed how to recreate the makeup for this party season. 

Kate Middleton at Coronation

(Image credit: Anwar Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)

"Kate looked picture-perfect at the King’s Coronation. This [was] undeniably her most regal and dazzling look yet," Laura told The Express before adding that her makeup 'exuded Royal opulence and elegance.'

The dramatic eye makeup was a deviation from Kate's usual fresh-faced appearance and gave her look a subtle intensity that makes it perfect for special occasions. To recreate the smoked-out shadow, Laura recommends using 'a mixture of heavily smudged eye shadow' and a cat-eye eyeliner drawn on with a 'dark brown liquid eyeliner' to make the eyes stand out more.

She explained, “You use a soft brush to blend the desired eye shadow colours to create the shape, and smudge outwards to extend the eyes so they appear wider. The eyeliner is a lot more prominent than we normally see from Kate and she has used smouldering earthy browns to achieve her look.”

Kate balanced out the heavy eyeshadow with a subtle yet 'rich berry shade of lip,' Laura explained, matching the lip colour to the tapestry on her royal robes for consistency throughout her look. 

Kate Middleton at King's Coronation

(Image credit: UK Press Pool/UK Press via Getty Images)

While both the eyeshadow and lip colour were bold choices for The Princess of Wales, Laura believes that the 'most noticeable feature' of Kate's Coronation makeup look was, in fact, her eyebrows! 

"Her brows have also been elongated with a pencil or quality brow tool, which you can visibly notice," she explained. According to the expert, the 'brushed up' brows had been defined 'to perfection' and were heavily filled in so 'each single hair stroke' could be seen.

The brows were further defined by applying a liquid highlighter under Kate's brow, Laura said, to highlight the natural arch and shape of the brow. This not only reflected the light and added a stunning glow, but, according to Laura, also 'strategically matched' Kate's jewellery and pulled the entire look together.

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse
Freelance news writer

Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is royal news and entertainment writer. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with Good To, BBC Good Food and The Independent.