5-Minute Holiday Hair and Makeup Tricks

10 ways to look festive—fast.

November 11, 2009

Photos: Franz Walderdorff (2), Roger Cabello, Patrick DeMarchelier (3), David Cook, David Stesner (2), CONDÉ NAST DIGITAL STUDIO

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Metallic Lids in Under a Minute
This season's shimmery eye shadows go way beyond silver and gold—colors such as copper, navy, and violet look cool and fresh and are easy to wear. Simply dust the color onto your lids and along your bottom lashes for a halo effect. The rest of your makeup should be toned-down—just add a coat of mascara, a dusting of blush, and a neutral lip color.
Try: Shiseido Makeup Luminizing Satin Eye Colors in Blue Stone or Pyrite Sun, L'Oréal H.I.P. Metallic Shadow Duo in Gilded, or Dior 1-Colour Powder Mono Eyeshadow in Metallic Blue.
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Freshen Your Face
Your office-to-party emergency kit should include:
• Moisturizer. If you're not wearing foundation, rub it on your cheeks to make your skin look dewy. (We keep La Roche-Posay Anthelios SX Daily Moisturizing Cream With Sunscreen SPF 15 on hand.)
• A makeup-eraser pencil. Swipe one, such as the Revlon Makeup Eraser Pen, around your eyes and mouth to delete mascara smudges and lipstick smears without messing up your foundation.
• Concealer. Before re-upping your undereye coverage, be sure to dab on a bit of moisturizer or eye cream. It will keep color from becoming cakey. (Try Relastin Eye Silk.)
• An eyelash curler. Pumping up lashes perks up tired eyes, with or without a new coat of mascara. (The best one is Mally Beauty Get the Last Lash Eyelash Curler.)
• Oil-absorbing sheets. Press one on your forehead, nose, and chin to degrease without destroying your makeup. (We use Clean & Clear Oil-Absorbing Sheets.)
• Highlighting cream or powder. Add a swipe on the cheekbones and brow bones to brighten skin. (Our favorite: Jemma Kidd Makeup School Dewy Glow All Over Radiance Crème.)
• Rosy Cream or Gel Blush. Smile wide and dab it on the apples of your cheeks. This one step alone will make you look ready to face the world. (We love Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon—it works for lips too.)

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Smoky Eyes in Three Easy Steps
• Using a soft, chubby black pencil, draw short strokes from the outer lashes inward, creating a thick line that stops just short of the corner. Repeat on your bottom lashes, then smudge it all with a cotton swab.
• Dip a small eye-shadow brush in gray shadow; tap off excess. Start at the outer corner and dust it across your lid using feathery strokes and staying close to your lash line, then blend the shadow up to the crease.
• Dust what's left on the brush from your crease to your brow bone, then blend everything into a soft haze by whisking your brush over any edges of color.
Try: Nars Soft Touch Shadow Pencil in Aigle Noir and Smashbox Eyelights Palette in Smokebox; or Revlon Beyond Natural Defining Eye Pencil in Black and NYX Cosmetics Eyeshadow in Deep Charcoal.
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A Quick Chignon
Party hair doesn't mean prom hair. One easy updo: Create a tight, low braid, wrap it into a bun, and secure it with bobby pins at the nape of your neck. (A spritz of hair spray on each pin will keep them from slipping.) Add an embellished barrette at the side of your head for extra oomph.

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Add a Feather
No matter your hairstyle, adding a feathery clip or headband instantly dresses it up. Just get the position right: "Accessories look great when worn on the side of the head, close to the face," says hairstylist Garren. (We love the clips from Jennifer Behr and Pluma and the fluttery chiffon styles from True Birds.)
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Quick Purple Polish
Purple makeup is having a moment right now, and nails are no different: "The color combines the excitement of red with the calming properties of blue and communicates balance," says color psychologist Leatrice Eiseman of the Pantone Color Institute. It also happens to look great whether you're dress is dark and moody or light and bright. Pull the shade off fast with polish that dries in 60 seconds. (We love Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Fast Dry Nail Color in Pronto Purple or Uptempo Plum.) Just be sure to take a few minutes to paint carefully, and you'll be off in no time.

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Revive Your Hair—fast
Four ways to freshen up your hair without a trip to the salon:
• If you're wearing your hair down, blast the roots with a blow-dryer to lift them. Add even more volume by moving your part to the other side.
• Tease the hair at your crown and smooth it over with your palms—the height gives any style a little oomph.
• Smooth frizz by squirting a drop of serum, cream, or even hand lotion in your palm. Rub your hands together and skim them over the outer layer of your hair, working from the ears down and then using whatever's left on the crown.
• Have bobby pins, plain black elastics, and a thin black elastic headband handy. If your hair is beyond help, pull it all back into a twist. Then push the black headband about one or two inches behind the hairline—you'll instantly look stylish.
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Warm Up Your Legs
No one will notice your killer dress-and-heels combo if you have dry, ashy legs. Here's how to get them glowing:
• Moisturize. Amy Tagliamonti, head makeup artist for Gossip Girl , applies Mustela Bébé Hydra Bébé Body Lotion on Leighton Meester: "It makes skin glow," she says.
• Add color. Don't fear leg makeup. Tagliamonti treats Blake Lively with Sally Hansen Salon Airbrush Legs Water Resistant Leg Makeup: "It dries quickly, looks natural, and won't rub off on clothes."
• Highlight. Draw a line down the center of legs, front and back, thigh to toes, with shimmer powder—it actually has a subtle thinning effect. We like to use Victoria's Secret Sexy Little Things Noir Shimmering Powder.

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Pump Up Flat Hair
To volumize dry hair, lift three-inch sections and allow them to drop through a mist of medium-hold hair spray, says hairstylist Jimmy Paul, "then spray your entire head with dry shampoo and scrunch; the result is hair with lift and a lovely, seemingly no-product finish." For those who hate hair spray, apply mousse to a vent brush and then to damp hair—it won't squeeze the air out of the mousse. "Coat the brush with mousse and run it through one side of your hair, then refuel and do the other side," says hairstylist Nathaniel Hawkins.
Our favorite volume boosters: L'Oréal Professionnel Texture Expert Infinium 4 Finishing Spray, Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk, and Tresemmé 24 Hour Body Foaming Mousse.
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Bold Lips
Choose a color that flatters your skin tone—cherry for pale complexions, coral for olive, or either color for dark skin—and apply it straight from the tube. Once you've added this pop of color, you can keep all your other makeup understated. "The goal is to look pulled-together," says makeup artist Chrisanne Davis. But not overdone.
Try: L'Oréal Paris Colour Riche Lipcolour in Pink Lady, Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge Lipcolor in Absolute Rouge, or M.A.C. Lustre Lipstick in Lustering.