Beauty Fix: Last-minute holiday makeup tips to help you stand out from the crowd this season

Every week our Beauty Fix columnist takes on your questions about makeup, skincare, hair and more. Have a beauty question we haven’t answered? Email us at beautyfix@fashionmagazine.com or ask away in the comments below.

How can I liven up my usual eyeliner look for the holidays?
Whether it’s a family occasion or you’re heading out to share in merriment with your dearest friends, a very easy way to spiff up your go-to winged or smudgy liner is glitter. Leave the tinsel-size glitter for the household décor and don Urban Decay Heavy Metal Glitter Liner in “Midnight Cowboy” ($23, sephora.ca) instead. The superfine brush allows you superior precision when applying glitter, meaning you have a high degree of control over where this stuff goes. If you only want a very thin stroke of glitter on the edge of your matte black or navy eyeliner wings, then so be it! It’s both refined and eye-catching, about as grown up as glitter can be.

How can I keep skin looking its best through the holidays?
We know how the holiday season is: joyous but exhausting, plentiful in (less than wholesome) food and drink. If you want your face to look firm, radiant and hydrated even if you’re running low on sleep, give Fresh Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask ($108, sephora.ca) a try. The formula contains black tea ferment, hyaluronic acid and peptides to ward of free radical damage, hydrate by drawing moisture into the skin and firming the skin for a lifted appearance, respectively. The best part is how simple the product is to use: just massage onto the face before bed and wake up with better skin.

What can I do that isn’t a matte lip but still looks festive?
If you really want to break away from the matte lip trend, there’s always the other end of the spectrum: shine. And if you’re going to go shiny, go for something a little edgier, like a metallic lip. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics’ Lip Tar Metallic in “Black Metal Dahlia” ($22, sephora.ca) is a deep burgundy with a metallic red shot through, and it looks stunning on, virtually glowing when applied to lips. If the colour is intimidating at all, try dabbing the product on and blending out with your finger tips for a softer finish and effect that still makes an impact.

I cannot get the hang of applying false lashes, but they seem necessary for New Year’s Eve. What can I do?
Most people who can’t master applying false lashes can usually chalk it up to impatience. Waiting long enough for the adhesive to dry to a point that it becomes tacky can seem like a lifetime, and unfortunately, the glue becoming tacky is essential for the lashes to actually stick to the lash line, not just slide around on your lids. If you don’t want to wait, take the easy way out and pick up self-adhesive falsies, like Ardell Self-Adhesive Lashes in “110S” ($8, well.ca). These lashes add drama without the fuss of applying glue because they already have an adhesive strip attached to them, ready to apply without the mess or dry time. Simply peel the lashes off and put them into place with a lash applicator or tweezers and you’re on your way.

I’m facing some hair breakage and split ends after heat styling my hair so much for all the holiday socializing. How can I mend it?
If you’ve heat-styled your hair within an inch of its life, it’s time to take a break from the hot styling tools. If that isn’t an option, then you’re going to want to protect your hair with Kérastase Résistance Ciment Thermique ($43, kerastase.ca), which will act as a barrier between hair and heat, allowing the core fibres of your hair to repair and strengthen while protecting against further damage from heat styling. This reparative milk gives hair a second wind, smoothing hair and erasing signs of heat damage, so that you don’t have to stop styling your hair as much as you want or need to. Simply apply to hair, focusing on lengths and ends of hair, which bear the brunt of heat styling.

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