Holiday Hair and Makeup Tips for Busy Girls (Looking Gorgeous Was Never This Easy!)

HOLIDAY HAIR AND MAKEUP TIPS FOR BUSY GIRLS (LOOKING GORGEOUS WAS NEVER THIS EASY)

The holidays can be a busy, stressful whirlwind. You have to buy gifts, clean and decorate the house, attend reunions and functions, prepare for potlucks and parties. How does a girl get all that done, and still have the time and energy for gorgeous holiday hair and makeup?

Well, these beauty hacks can help. Even if you’re frazzled, overwhelmed, or dealing with a bad hangover, we swear it won’t show. Your skin will be glowing, your makeup on point and your hair will be shiny, sleek and chic.

Holiday Hair Tips

• Get a good, low-maintenance haircut

If you have time for just one thing this holiday, make it a hair appointment. Tell your stylist that you want a stylish cut that needs very little maintenance — and with a few snips of the best professional hair shears your hair is styled for the season

• Trim those split ends

Neat and healthy hair needs very little styling to look pretty and party-worthy. On the other hand, split ends just announce to the world that you’re just as frazzled as your hair! Spare yourself the trip to the salon and just trim them at home.

To get rid of split ends, divide dry hair into sections and then twist them tightly from roots to tips. Cut off any stray, scraggly hair that sticks out. The best professional hair shears are sharper and can give you more precise cuts. Blunt scissors can pull or damage hair, and lead to worse split ends. The money you save on salon visits are worth the investment (Dear Santa: can you leave the best Japanese shears in our stocking this year?)

• Pick sleek, low-maintenance hairstyles

Sleek hairstyles are a huge hair trend, and thankfully easy to pull off! You can try a sleek side-part, or pull it all back into a tight ponytail.

So you don’t look stern – you’re aiming for Red Carpet Chic, not Drill Sergeant on Duty — balance very sleek hairstyles with soft makeup: pastel, shimmer or neutral eyeshadow, well-blended blush, natural-looking eyebrows. You don’t want heavy contouring, overarched brows or very dark smoky eyes. Wear earrings or a necklace, especially if your hair is tied back.

• Glam it up with hair accessories

Hair accessories are having a moment. Celebrities wore headbands, sparkly barrettes, pearl pins and bejewelled hair ties to Hollywood events and parties. These little accents can glam up even simple, everyday hairstyles.

Even if you have chin-length hair, you can still take advantage of this holiday hair trend. Pinback your bangs with a pretty clip or colourful bobby pins.

• Try hair mascaras

No time to get highlights? No problem. Hair mascaras and temporary highlights can add depth (and fun) to your current hair. Keep it simple with coordinating shades (for example, auburn highlights on brown hair, or blue highlights on black hair) or make a statement with neon or glitter streaks! Feel free to experiment, because it all washes off during your next shower.

• Dry shampoo is your best friend

Apply dry shampoo at night and shake it out in the morning. It gets rid of greasy hair and helps your hair stay bouncy and fresh between shampoos. If you’re heading to a party after work, it can also revive your blowout and add extra volume.

• Sleep with your hair in Princess Leia braids

When your hair is about 85% dry, part it in the middle, make two braids, and roll up the braids. Sleep. When you untie your braids in the morning, you’ll have pretty beachy waves.

• Fight frizz with hand lotion

If your hair gets frizzy and you need it to behave right away, wet your hands with water and a dollop of hand lotion. Work it through your hair, then pull hair into a rough French twist. Leave it for about 10 minutes, and then free your hair. The frizziness will be gone!

• Just blowdry the front

If you are running late, you can shorten your blowdrying time by just focusing on your hair part and hairline. People will only notice the front and top of your head, so if that looks good you’re good to go, too!

Holiday Makeup Tips

• One-step smoky eyes

Close your eyes, and then apply shimmer eyeshadows with a pointed shadow brush along your top and bottom eyelashes. Then, open your eyes and blend it. Voila, sexy and softly defined eyes!

You can keep it that simple, or add liquid eyeliner and mascara to make your eyes look even bigger. Or, you can add a lighter eyeshadow in the inner corners for extra dimension.

• Use illuminator in new ways

If you only use this on your cheekbones, you’re missing out. Apply on the inner corners of your eyes to look fresh and wide awake even if you haven’t had any sleep. Dab in the centre of your cupid’s bow (that’s the middle of your top lip) to make your lips look fuller. Apply with a big fluffy brush on your décolletage and shoulders.

• Glam up your eyeliner

Apply glitter eyeliner on top of your regular eyeliner. Or, turn any metallic eyeshadow into eyeliner: use a damp eyeshadow or brow brush with a small, pointy tip. To prevent fallout, use an eyeshadow primer.

• Fake 24 hours of sleep with blush

Brush a bright blush on your cheeks, brow bones and eyelids. This can help make your skin look healthy and glowing. Blend well so it looks natural!

To look like your skin is lit from within, you can actually use two kinds of blush: a cream blush, blended well into the skin with a damp sponge, then a blush with a hint of shimmer on top. If you don’t have cream blush, you can use any pink or peach lipstick.

• Try two-toned lipstick

This is a big Korean makeup trend, but give it a try even if you’re not into Kbeauty! It will make your lips look full, and adds an interesting dimension to your holiday look. Just dab a lighter lipstick shade in the centre of your lip, right on top of your regular lipstick, and pat with your finger to blend.

• Use a face mist

Apply a face mist before makeup to hydrate the skin, which will help your foundation settle better. Then, use the same mist to set your makeup. In the middle of the day, you can also mist your face to refresh your makeup – especially if your foundation has started to cake or your face looks dry. Instant dewiness!

• Get the most out of your red lipstick

Sometimes all you need to look and feel gorgeous is red lipstick. You probably already own one (or five!) but here are some red lipstick hacks that will help you get party-“reddy”.

1. Give any red lipstick a matte finish by placing 1 ply tissue on your lip and dusting powder on top.
2. To make red lipstick last longer, colour in your lips with red lip liner. Blot, then apply red lipstick. Blot again, and then apply a second layer of red lipstick. The lip liner gives a dry, richly pigmented base that latches on to the lipstick pigments and guarantees colour that never fades.
3. Red lipsticks with blue undertones can make your teeth look whiter.
4. Apply concealer around the mouth, then powder well. This cancels out any redness on your skin and creates a dry barrier so that lipstick won’t bleed or smudge.

5. Pack makeup emergency tools

Always carry cotton buds and a small pot of eye cream in your makeup kit. You can use the eye cream to refresh cakey concealer. If your makeup smudges or smears, just dip a cotton bud into the cream and wipe off streaks.

Holiday Skincare Tips

• Use hydrating skincare

Lack of sleep, stress, and all the holiday cocktails will zap moisture from your skin. That will make your skin look dull and lifeless, and highlight fine lines and imperfections.

Give your skin extra hydration during the holiday season. Use sheet masks, or get a hydrating serum or toner. Even if you have oily skin, you still need that boost of moisture – when your skin becomes dry, it will actually produce more oil to compensate. Just pick oil-free formulas, or pack in moisture by patting in several layers of hydrating toner instead of thick cream.

• Keep teaspoons and tea bags in the freezer

This is the best home remedy for post-party puffiness. Just press those frozen teaspoons and teabags against your eyes. You can also use the back of the spoon to gently massage your cheeks and jawline. It will feel so good and help ease inflammation and water retention.

• Chill your skincare

Store your eye cream, toner, serum, and sheet mask in the refrigerator. The cooling sensation will be extra refreshing on tired skin – and help you beat the effects of that hangover.

• Use conditioner for your body

If you’re running late for a party, you can use a conditioner to moisturize both your hair and body. Massage it into your skin and rinse as usual, and your skin will feel extra smooth and soft even without lotion.

• Maintain your nails between manicures

Is your polish chipping off and you have no time to get a fresh manicure? Just remove nail polish and whiten your nails with a slice of lemon. Then, mix brown sugar with olive oil to make your own DIY hand scrub. It will exfoliate and moisturize your hands and soften cuticles. Wash off, and then clean underneath the nails.