5 magic beauty tips and tricks to revive your festive sparkle

It’s a time to eat, drink and be merry, but all that fun can take its toll. Here are five ways to revive your look from head to toe and avoid the seasonal slump.

How are you going to stay looking dazzling as the party season wears on? Never fear. With these five tips you can enjoy all the festivities and still stay looking good and feeling fresh.

1. Your hair
2. Your body
3. Your skin
4. Your eyes
5. Your smile

1. Your hair

Cold weather, hot rooms and over-styling can leave your hair limp, dry and stressed out. But festive hair doesn’t have to mean unhealthy hair. Once a week, use a deep-conditioning treatment, such as Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor, which will restore your hair’s shine, smoothness and manageability.

Also trade your regular shampoo for one from the new Herbal Essences Bio:Renew range, a powerful blend of essential antioxidants, aloe vera and sea kelp that helps revive lifeless hair from the inside out. When it comes to drying your hair, it’s important to be aware of the unfavourable effects of excessive heat. Stylists recommend using a medium–high temperature for blow drying and always spritzing your whole head with heat protective spray beforehand. It is also worth giving your hair a blast of cold air right at the end of a blow dry, as this closes the hair cuticles and adds shine, providing you with that festive sparkle in turn.

For more tips, see our article Six ways to winter-proof your hair

2. Your body

Take a tip from our beauty editor Annabel Jones and ease your tired muscles with a steaming bath. “When I’m flagging, I take 15 minutes in a hot bath,” she says. “I splash a couple of drops of rose oil into a hot muslin cloth, place it over my face and breathe in to clear my head and my pores.”

Also exfoliate your skin with a body brush to get your circulation going and scrub off any dead skin cells. And if you choose to remove hair, you can make sure your party legs are hair-free, soft and smooth with a Venus Platinum Razor

3. Your skin

With heavier products and a few nights of falling into bed without removing your make-up - the ultimate of all beauty sins – your skin will likely start to look dull and you could even suffer with a few breakouts and blackheads.

Use a gentle exfoliator a couple of times a week to remove dead skin and unclog pores, such as the Olay Clay Stick Mask Pore Detox Black Charcoal, which is super convenient and easy to use when you have a million other festive things to do.

The better the condition of your skin, the better the base for your make-up, meaning you can create a smooth, flawless complexion for every occasion.

4. Your eyes

The eyes are the windows to the soul – and sometimes on the morning after, they tell us all we need to know! To brighten tired eyes, use Olay Eyes Deep Hydrating Eye Gel to combat puffiness, dark circles and fine lines. Skin tricks you can use for better results are to keep your cosmetics cool! Pop them in the fridge for a more soothing application… Who needs cucumbers anyway?! You can also draw along your bottom waterlines with a white eyeliner and use a lengthening mascara to widen the appearance of your eyes.

5. Your smile

Use a whitening toothpaste, such as Oral-B 3D White Luxe to make sure your teeth are at their sparkly best.

Team with a bold, blue-based lipstick, such as cool red, dark berry or hot pink, as this will bring out the white in your teeth – plus nothing glams up a look like a bright bit of lippy.

Bonus tip: If you’re getting ready in a hurry, don’t neglect cleaning your teeth. It will make you feel refreshed, and nothing looks as good as a confident and clean smile.