Do you ramp up your makeup during the Christmas period?

I love an excuse to dress up, spending a week trying on dresses from my wardrobe and then sitting down for a good hour or so to do my makeup and hair.

Christmas is certainly a time when I do this more often, as there are plenty of parties and things going on.

During the festive season, women are actually expected to wear three times the normal amount of makeup, according to a new study from Debenhams' Beauty Hall.

A poll from the department store has found that we wear an average of four pieces of makeup during a normal day, and these tend to be mascara, foundation, blusher and lip gloss.

However, when it comes to a night out this tends to double to eight products, as eyeliner, lipstick, eyeshadow and bronzer are all used.

When the festive season hits, the number of makeup items we rely on skyrockets, and most women tend to wear an average of 12 beauty products.

This includes false lashes, glitter and highlighter to help doll us up and keep us looking our best at Christmas parties, drinks and dinners.

And it's not just the number of makeup products we increase either, as to create the perfect Christmas face we spend an extra 40 minutes preening ourselves in front of the mirror before heading out.

Commenting on the results, beauty trading director at Debenhams, Sara Stern, said: "Making sure you have the essential Christmas beauty products is as important as remembering the turkey and sprouts at Christmas dinner.

"Even women who don't normally wear makeup are getting into the festive spirit by embracing glitter eyeshadows and false lashes to impress at the Christmas party."

This is certainly the case at my office do next week, as I can foresee plenty of flirting going on!

Thankfully I'll be spared this as I'm happily married but I'll certainly try out a little matchmaking!

How much more effort do you put into your festive makeup?

Posted by Elsa Pienaar