Why Cranberry Makeup Should Be On Your Thanksgiving Palette – Essence

From brands making you hungry for their product—like Rhode Peptide Lip Tint campaigns on a spread with cherries and wine—to (almost) edible makeup trends, like hot chocolate nails and martini makeup, our hunger for beauty is increasingly comparable to our deepest cravings for food. 

Now, with Thanksgiving dinner a week away, our beauty looks are akin to how we dress our plate—and cranberry makeup is the main course. 

“The history [behind cranberry makeup] comes from old Hollywood glamor 1920s,” celebrity makeup artist Wendi Tolkin San George tells ESSENCE. “If you even look at the black and white movies and see how dark and smoky the lips and eyes were because they were using those colors.” 

This season, Golden Age cranberry tones return to add a new depth to classic red holiday shades. “The cranberry trend works great for the holidays because it has those fall colors,” Tolkin San George says. Like cranberry sauce, purple grapes, or a rich, Bordeaux wine, color-matching makeup to our meal is the ultimate holiday beauty trend. 

And, according to celebrity makeup artist Ashley Stewart, you can achieve the full look with just a single product. “My tip would be to use a creamy universal burgundy blush to achieve this look,” Stewart says. Her recommendation? Huda Beauty’s Blush Filter Liquid Blush in the “Black Cherry” shade. “I would use that one product for eyes, cheeks and as a lip stain with a clear gloss on top.” 

If you prefer a longer, “dopamine menu” makeup routine (or have been gifted new products to try), Tolkin San George has a few extra steps to offer. “I like to take the blush color right on the cheekbone and then bring it into a seat above the eyebrow,” she says. Pointing out a deep velvet purple NYX lip liner pencil, “you could even use your lip pencil on your eye as a little bit of liner. Bring it all the way down and around and smoke it out.”

Some would argue that your beauty look is just as important as your holiday dinner is, so why not give way to cranberry tones this season. After all, as Stewart says, “this trend is perfect for the fall and winter months because it adds warmth to the skin for a more vibrant look especially fit the holiday seasons.”