10 Genius Holiday Beauty Hacks

Get fancy holiday hair without stepping foot in the salon. Adorn your ‘do by using gold, silver or sparkly accessories in your hair, such as thin necklaces and pretty chokers.

For beautifully festive nails, apply a high shine glitter polish to one nail on each hand. The ring finger is always a winner. Don’t have sparkly polish? No problem, just use that little jar of glitter you’ve had lying around for decades. Apply a top coat to your nail and sprinkle glitter over it. Apply another layer of top coat a few minutes later for a smooth finish. It’s amazing what a bit of nail bling can do!

Don’t wait for the mulled wine and mistletoe kisses for pretty flushed cheeks. Do it yourself with a rich blush that doubles as lippy for easy pre-party makeup.

Available at Sephora.

Why let flyaways ruin a beautiful holiday updo? Spritz hairspray on an old toothbrush and use to tame static or unruly flyaway hairs.

Add some sparkle to your eyes for a dazzling holiday look. A brush-on glitter liner means you can apply it on top of your black liner or just above for stunning party makeup in a cinch.

Available at Urban Decay.

There is nothing more festive than the colour red. Make sure your red lippy doesn’t transfer to cheeks kissed and wine glasses sipped this holiday season by using a matte formulation. Don’t have a matte lippy? That’s ok, you can make your creamy colour matte by using a few beauty products you have lying around. Separate a piece of tissue and cover your lips using one ply. Press ever-so-gently and dust a loose powder overtop using a powder brush. Layer for a more intense mattifying effect.

Keep lashes curled for longer by warming your eyelash curler just before you use it. Set your blow dryer on low-medium and warm your lash curler for 10 seconds before you curl your lashes. Make sure your tool is only just warm, not hot, or you could accidentally burn off your lashes. Carefully curl your lashes by pumping up and down the length of your lashes. Set with black mascara.

If you want to stand out with a trendy matte manicure, simply mix a dash of cornstarch into your polish or top coat.

Before you apply your gorgeous festive lippy, make sure your pout is perfect and scrubbing off any dry, flaky skin. When in the shower or just after, wrap a damp face cloth around your finger and gently rub back and forth over your lips. Smiling pulls lips taut and helps ensure you get every last bit of dead skin. Not only will your lippy look luscious, but it’ll stay put too.

If you want to achieve the perfect winged liquid liner look, but feel a bit unsteady, use a homemade stencil. A section of scotch tape or the edge of your credit card held at the outside corner of your eye can create a guide for perfectly winged eyeliner (just be sure to remove your scotch tape stencil slowly).