Mariah Carey will always be the queen of Christmas, but this holiday season, Sabrina Carpenter seems to be gunning for the role of rightful heir. On Dec. 5, the Short n’ Sweet singer strolled into the premiere of her Netflix special—fittingly dubbed A Nonsense Christmas—wearing her most festive look yet.
Beneath a cascade of golden ringlets, the pop star wore a 1994 Karl Lagerfeld-era vintage Chanel mini dress covered in stripes of black and white faux fur. It was yet another show-stopping vintage pull from Carpenter's savvy stylist Jared Ellner, who accessorized the fuzzy frock with a matching pair of fur-trimmed pumps. Her best accessory, though, was her pitch-perfect holiday glam.
The "Espresso" hitmaker's ruby red lipstick and blinding highlighter combination felt decidedly Taylor Swift-coded, which makes sense given their close friendship and the sheer amount of time they spent on the road together during the first international leg of the Eras Tour. Swift even wore an ultra-frosty cheekbone highlight to dinner with Gigi Hadid earlier this week. Could it be that Carpenter managed to get her hands on an early restock of Pat McGrath's "Elson" liquid lipstick—the cool-toned matte red Swift famously wore on every stop of her Eras Tour? Perhaps so.
Then again, I'm of the opinion that there is no universally flattering red lipstick—an opinion I know Camille Bell, CEO and co-founder of indie beauty line Pound Cake, shares. That's why Bell set out to develop her genius range of red liquid lipsticks with a shade to flatter every skin and lip tone. But if you're looking for a great place to start in the realm of ruby and crimson, Maed Beauty recently released a luxurious three-step lip ritual designed to help you create and maintain a perfect red pout.
As for Carpenter's icy highlighter, I have a very good guess regarding the exact she's wearing. On Instagram, her go-to makeup artist Carolina Gonzalez revealed the "Juno" singer's signature cheek combo is a mix of Armani Beauty's Luminous Silk Cheek Tint in the shades 53 and 62. So it's not hard to imagine her reaching for the brand's Fluid Sheer Glow Enhancer Highlighter in shade 7, a pearly light pink, to finish the job.
Given her recent breakup with Barry Keoghan, it's unclear whether Carpenter will smooching anyone under the mistletoe in the coming weeks. But if I was a global sensation trying to make my ex rue the day he ever crossed me, this is exactly the kind of sexy-cute cold girl makeup I'd be wearing all over town. As Carpenter herself once crooned, "Break my heart and I swear I'm movin' on with your favorite athlete."
