Get Holiday-Ready With Jena Sims’s Glamorous Makeup Tips

Shop seven of the Swim Search co-winner’s favorite products.

Jena Sims.Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images

12 Days of Swimsuit has officially begun! Embark on a daily journey with us over the next 12 days, as we present exclusive features with your beloved SI Swimsuit models. Delve into a festive blend of holiday style, beauty insights, and invigorating workouts adaptable to any locale. Our SI Swimsuit models graciously share their top-notch advice tailored for the season. Stay tuned and celebrate the holidays in style with SI Swimsuit.

Swim Search co-winner Jena Sims knows more than a thing or two about putting together glamorous and festive looks, and the model and entrepreneur couldn’t be more excited to celebrate her first holiday season as a mom. Sims and her husband, pro golfer Brooks Koepka, welcomed their baby boy, Crew, in August, and Sims hasn’t slowed down slaying looks at galas, weddings and red carpets since. 

We recently caught up with Sims, who gushed about the holiday season and being named a 2024 rookie, as she got ready for a festive event. Sims opted for a super glowy, bronzed makeup look, including a glass skin base, smokey brown eyeshadow with a dash of gold glitter, and a matte nude lip. Read on for some of her best holiday makeup tips, and shop some of her favorite go-to holiday glam products below.

Jena Sims’s Favorite Holiday Makeup Products

Winky Lux Uni-Brow, $12.60 (ulta.com)

ulta.com

“I always start with my eyebrows because it kind of helps you gauge your eyeshadow,” Sims begins. “This is the Winky Lux pencil, I fell for it at the checkout line, you know how they get you.”

Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation, $49 (sephora.com)

sephora.com

Sims mixes two shades of the Estée Lauder foundation on the back of her hand to get her perfect shade, and applies it with a damp beauty blender.

“Do not forget to bring your foundation all the way down,” she notes. “Because I’m about to be 35—I cannot believe that—my neck is starting to age. So I wear foundation on my neck now.”

NARS Summer Solstice Eyeshadow Palette, $29.15 (amazon.com)

amazon.com

This gorgeous warm-toned palette is no longer sold in stores or online, but it’s still available on Amazon. Sims uses almost every shade in the “old, tried and true” palette to create the most stunning bronzed glamorous winter eye look.

“One thing about me, I love the smoky eye underneath. I’m not scared add some color. I think it makes my eyes look bigger,” she says about adding a bit of shadow to her lower lash line, as well.

DIBS Beauty GlowTour Duo, $38 (dibsbeauty.com)

dibsbeauty.com

Sims, who is an investor in DIBS Beauty, uses a ton of the brand’s products, naturally. She adds that this new and improved version of the best-selling Desert Island Duo is perfect for “lifting and snatching.” She also describes herself as a “blush girly” and loves that the pink side also has a dash of shimmer in it.

Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Finish Setting Powder, $48 (sephora.com)

sephora.com

Sims uses this setting powder a few times throughout her routine. She notes that it’s extra important for her to set her under eyes before attending weddings because she always sheds happy tears.

DIBS Beauty No Pressure Lip Definer, $14 (dibsbeauty.com)

dibsbeauty.com

The Georgia native overlines her lips with this “gray-brown” lip definer to add a bit of shadow and the illusion of a fuller lip.

DIBS Beauty Status Stick, $36 (dibsbeauty.com)

dibsbeauty.com

“You cannot finish your holiday glam look without the DIBS highlighter. Literally any shade will work. You can take a brush but I’m actually gonna [use] my hands,” Sims says as she adds the gorgeous glowy balm to her collarbones and shoulders. “It looks stunning in photos—especially if you’re using flash, it’s like ‘wow.’”

Gaining self-confidence through SI Swimsuit

While getting ready, the Florida resident rocked an elegant slicked-back bun to accompany her gorgeous sparkly green dress that featured a halter neckline with a swirly center circle detailing. In addition to sharing her holiday glam essentials, Sims chatted about her SI Swimsuit experience thus far and how the brand has helped give her a better sense of self.

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A post shared by Jena Sims Koepka (@jenamsims)

“I’m gonna brag [about] myself for two seconds because old me would never slick my hair back to an event. I’m very self conscious of my ears and my gigantic five-head,” she admits. “But, I actually talked about this in my Swim Search audition video—how seeing Tyra [Banks] on the cover at such a young age, it made me just feel seen and represented and beautiful. I always wanted to be in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, and I always wanted to be a model. I got teased in school because of my ears. The kids were like ‘Oh my God, are those satellites? Can you pick up radio stations with your ears?’ I’m not kidding you. Well, my self-confidence has come a long way and I am grateful for that.”

First holiday season as a family of three

The 34-year-old explains that this Christmas will be extra special because it’s her first holiday season as a family of three.

“It’s funny because when Brooks and I first started dating, I called him ‘The Grinch’ [because he wasn’t super into Christmas]. But he always said whenever we have kids that we’re going to just ‘go so big for the holidays’ and he kept his word,” Sims says. “We have like four or five trees in the house. Because it is our first year with a child, we are completely starting from scratch, so I don’t even know what we’re going to do on Christmas [day]. Because it’s number 1 of 18, unless Crew decides to live with us until he’s 30 and that’s totally O.K. with me.”

Sims says that she and Koepka, who got married in 2022, have been sending out Christmas cards together since they began dating, and this is their sixth holiday season together.

“We have so much fun. We brag that our Christmas card is very anticipated,” she continues. “We did a photoshoot with Crew and I just pressed order on my laptop. I was crying just looking at it because this is like our first family Christmas card. We have a family, we have our own family. It’s so touching. It’s something that we have always wanted.”

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