The end of 2025 approaches, bringing the familiar question: What beauty look should you choose for New Year's Eve? Here, we ask makeup mastermind Alice Linnea to break down three foolproof looks guaranteed to impress when the clock strikes midnight
New Year’s Eve has a way of exposing our ever prevalent beauty indecision. Do you play it safe, or finally lean in? According to Swedish content creator Alice Linnea, restraint is officially out. “The clean girl era is over,” she says, welcoming a return to colour, glitter, and makeup with a bit of personality. "I really love the resurgence of colour and playfulness when it comes to makeup," she says.
Focusing on these fun elements, the makeup maven has exclusively created three New Year's Eve makeup looks for Vogue Scandinavia: soft champagne glam, '90s supermodel, and the classic red lip.
Soft champagne glam
Photo: Alice Linnea
"You can never go wrong with glitter, especially for New Year's, and I truly feel that this is just perfect in that sense. It’s glam but not over the top, just this sort of sparkly and festive vibe that I’m all here for."
What inspired this look? "Champagne (it’s New Year's after all) and just the general vibe of New Year's: it’s supposed to be bubbly and exciting. Something I feel as though this look truly channels."
What product or technique is essential for this look? "The glitter! It’s truly what makes or breaks the entire look. Finding the perfect one can be tricky, but once you do, you’re basically all set."
'90s supermodel
Photo: Alice Linnea
"It’s sharp, it’s cool-toned and just the right amount of messy just like the '90s It-girls were. I love adding a bit of an edge to my looks, a bit of attitude if you will, and wearing something like this for New Year's truly sets the tone for the upcoming year in my opinion."
What inspired this look? "A good smoky eye will forever and always be a party essential (and what bigger party is there than New Year's Eve?). That, combined with the cool '90s tones and smudged effortlessness, just seemed like the perfect match."
What product or technique is essential for this look? "Both the lip and the eyes take centre stage in this look, which is why the complexion is quite stripped back. The perfect cool-toned lip combo really pulls the entire look together, and in some sense, I feel that is what truly gives the look the vintage vibe"
Related: Alice Linnea talks us through personalised skincare, multi-use products and her best beauty buys
Classic red lip
Photo: Alice Linnea
"A true classic in my eyes and for good reason: it looks good on everyone, and there’s something so sexy about wearing just a statement lip and not much else. A red lip is something that brings attitude, maybe in a more sophisticated way than the other looks on this list."
What inspired this look? "Even though it is party season, and you most definitely could go all out with glitter or a smoky eye, I feel like it’s always a good idea to have a slightly more polished, “safer” choice, which is the reasoning behind this look. Maybe you’re not partying but rather going for a dinner or something more formal – some place where a red lip is just the right aswer to whatever the situation might be."
What product or technique is essential for this look? "The red lipstick, of course. I take it to the next level by using both a lipliner and a bronzer or blush to add more depth to the look. It’s truly such a simple thing, but a complete game-changer if you’re not a big fan of just a solid red lip
