Eid al-Fitr is one of Islam’s most important festivals as women in the Middle East and around the world aim to look their best as they gather with their family and friends to celebrate. With Menka Nihalani’s signature Eid makeup look, you can up your beauty game when the end of Ramadan is announced.

This Arab Fashion Week makeup artist knows a thing or two about making heads turn and how to showcase a woman’s eyes. In this Eid makeup look, the eyes take centre stage and the lips remain soft to highlight the intensity of the look. Here’s a step-by-step guide to achieving the beauty look in the comfort of your home this Eid. From our family at the Gaggler to yours, Eid Mubarak!

WATCH THE VIDEO: GLAM EID MAKEUP LOOK

Scroll down for a step-by-step guide on how to achieve this Glam Eid Makeup look and the products we have used in our video tutorial:

THE EYES

Contrary to your typical makeup application, here you start with the eyes first so that it’s easier to clean up any fallout — especially when working with the bright and deep eye shadow colours in this makeup look. By starting with a focus on the eyes first, you don’t have to worry about touching your face and possibly ruining your foundation base during the process.

STEP 1: Apply a coat of concealer as an eyeshadow base

Applying Tarte Contour Shape Tape Concealer allows the shadows to stick to a base so that it lasts longer. Also, the concealer covers the veins and darkness on the eyelids, which provides a clean slate for the eyeshadows to pop.

Shape Tape™ Contour Concealer, PRP AED 125, available at sephora.ae

STEP 2: Use a circular motion to build colour in the crease

Use a gentle circular motion to blend the Intense shade, from the Natasha Denona Love Palette, as you build the intensity of the colour into the crease of your eye. It’s important to avoid a harsh swiping motion, as this would lift the concealer that we have just applied.

STEP 3: Use a lighter shade to blend out the top of the crease

Using the lighter but similar toned eye shade Valentine from the same eye palette, blend the first colour to soften out any harsh lines. You want to focus Valentine just above Intense going upwards with your brush for a seamless blend.

Natasha Denona Love Palette, Covetable, Limited-Edition, PRP AED 300, available at lookfantastic.ae

STEP 4: Clean up your lid with concealer

Use the same Tarte concealer that you started with clean-up your eye. This allows for the bright shade to pop on a clean lid and will last longer if it is applied to a cream base.

STEP 5: Pack on the bright shade using your finger

The warmth in your finger will help to press down the pigmented Dream shade from the Natasha Denona Love Palette onto your eyelid.

STEP 6: Add a deeper shade to the outer corner

Sometimes bright colours, especially purples, are harder to blend. You should try deeper shades like Trust and Heartbeat from the same colour family to help blend that purple lid and the pink crease to create a harmonious transition. Blend the crease with Soul and Valentine eye shades from the same eye palette

STEP 7: Add a winged liner

Add a winged liner of your choice. If you choose a thinner winged liner as shown in the video tutorial, the eyeshadow application will be the focal point of this eye makeup look.

Amc Eyeliner Gel 77 – Black, PRP AED 99, available at en-ae.namshi.com

STEP 8: Clean up under the eyes

Use a cotton pad and Garnier Micellar Water Oil Infused Facial Cleanser to clean up any fallout from the eye shadow application and move onto final touches to your eye makeup.

Water Oil Infused Facial Cleanser And Makeup Remover, 400ml, PRP AED 29.95, available at amazon.ae

STEP 9: Tightline with black kohl

Apply a tightline to your eyes with Makeup Forever Aqua XL Eye Pencil in M-10 to ensure no skin peeks through which will make the lashes look fuller.

Aqua XL Eye Pencil, PRP AED 100, available at makeupforever.ae

THE COMPLEXION

With the eyes done, you are now ready to move onto prepping the rest of your face. Let’s get started with primer.

STEP 1: Add a primer

Apply your primer with your fingers as the warmth will allow the product to be worked into your skin, especially if you have any large pores. We use Farsali Skintune Blur Perfecting Primer Serum here.  

Skintune Blur – Primer Serum, PRP AED 236, available at namshi.com

STEP 2: Contour

For a natural look you want to use a cream-based contouring product on your face and any other places where you need more definition or want to appear smaller. These areas include under the cheekbones and lip to give the appearance of a fuller cheek and lip, under the jawline to minimize your double chin, sides of the nose to make it more defined and lastly the temples to make your forehead appear smaller. We use Nude Stix Nudies in Bondi Bae.

Nudies All Over Face Color Matte 7g (Various Shades), PRP AED 140, available at lookfantastic.ae

STEP 3: Apply foundation

When you work the foundation on top of the cream contour you obtain definition with a natural finish. You should use a low to medium coverage foundation so that the contour can peek through the foundation layer.  We use Makeup Forever Ultra HD Foundation in our video tutorial. If you have any acne or blemishes, you should spot-conceal after applying your foundation layer to avoid building up the foundation into a cakey finish. You will want to tap or buff the foundation into your skin rather than blending it with a swiping motion so that the contour is not lifted in the process.

Ultra HD Foundation, PRP AED 215, available at makeupforever.ae

STEP 4: Apply concealer under the eyes

Apply the concealer under your eyes and then bronze the face next before blending the concealer. When the concealer sits for a few seconds over the dark areas of your eyes, the pigment in the concealer is retained longer leaving an even-toned finish. Whilst you wait for the concealer to set in, apply your bronzer from Makeup Forever Glitzy Palette in Sepia to add a bit more warmth to your face. Then blend out the edges of the concealer for a smooth finish.

Professional Make-Up Palette Multicolour, PRP AED 83.5, available at noon.com

STEP 5: Draw a line parallel to your winged liner

This is to achieve a double liner/winged effect to elongate the eyes further and also adds for a cool effect if you want to change up your everyday liner to something special for Eid. We use KVD Vegan Beauty Tattoo Liner to complete our double liner look.

Tattoo Liner, High-Pigment, Waterproof, PRP AED 105, available at sephora.ae

STEP 6: Connect the line to the lower lash using kohl

STEP 7: Use the crease Intense eye shadow shade to blend

This is to connect the eye look with the lower lash line by using the same shades that you used on the lid and crease.

STEP 8: Clean up the second line with concealer

This is to get a sharper line.

STEP 9: Add an inner-eye corner highlight

This brightens up the eye. To achieve this you want to use the Limecrime Venus Palette Aura Eye shadow which is white-based and even though it has some gold in it, it doesn’t overpower and goes with any warm, neutral or cool toned eyeshadows.

Eyeshadow Palette Venus, PRP AED 187, available at namshi.com

THE CHEEKS

STEP 1: Apply the crease Intense eyeshadow shade as blush

This is a personal hack to really pull the look together and allow you to use your eyeshadow in a different way.

STEP 2: Highlight the top of your cheekbones

Apply your highlighter from the same Makeup Forever Glitzy Palette in Pink Gold and Golden Taupe on the highest points of your cheekbones. This should be a gentle application to obtain a soft effect.

THE LIPS

STEP 1: Line your lips

Your eyes are bright with feminine pops of pinks and purples so you definitely want to opt for a muted pink lip to retain the eyes as a focal point. Start by lining your lips with MAC Lip Pencil in Soar.

LIP PENCIL, SOAR, 1.45g, PRP AED 80, available at maccosmetics.ae

STEP 2: Apply a matte liquid lipstick

Lip Lingerie Push-Up, Long Lasting Lipstick, Bedtime, PRP AED 46, available at namshi.com

Menka’s note to viewers and readers: All the brushes used are from Morphe and part of the James Charles x Morphe collection. Other useful brushes used in this video tutorial include: 

X James Charles the Eye Brush Set, PRP AED 217, available at Amazon.ze

Sigma E30 Pencil Brush, PRP AED 58, available to lookfantastic.ae

Expert Face Brush, PRP AED 44.95, available at realtechniques.com

Flawless Base Brush Set, PRP AED 99.95, available at realtechniques.com

VARIATIONS FOR SKIN TONES

FOR LIGHTER SKIN TONES:

Using the same Natasha Denona Love Palette, you would be able to achieve a similar look by using the Valentine shade in the crease and blending it out first. Then for the purples,  apply the Dream shade on the eyelid with a brush (not your fingers) to get a less intense colour. Alternatively, you could use the Pastel Purple shade from the Huda Beauty Pastel Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette. For lighter skin tones, it is not recommended to add any deeper colours than the ones suggested. You can keep the rest of the face and lip muted as shown in the video tutorial.

Pastel Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette, PRP AED 135, available at ae.tejar.com

FOR DARKER SKIN TONES:

Here, you should first use a lighter eyeshadow base (at least 2-3 shades lighter) and apply it from the crease to the brow to allow the pink colour to pop against your skin. Then apply the Intense and Soul shades from the Natasha Denona Love Palette into your crease with a final layer of Trust and Commitment shades to deepen the crease colour. You can still add the shade on the eyelid but use a purple eye base like the P.Louse Dream base in Vivid Violet.

For the cheeks, you can use the Soul and a hint of the Intense shade as a blush. For your highlighter, you can use a mix of Lifetime and a hint of Transparent shades from the same eye palette.

Pastel Base – Vivid Violet, PRP AED 45, available at plouise.co.uk