Making Monday Pretty: Quick Tips to Get you from the office to the party

The holidays are here, and with that, most likely a very busy schedule! We're guessing that you don't have time to spend hours in front of the mirror and are most likely zipping from work, to appointments, to parties and still somehow finding time to prepare for the holidays...phew! Below are a few tips that we hope will make things just a bit faster and easier when trying to get our the door for all those holiday parties.

1.  Revive your skin. Smooth out day old under eye concealer using a touch of moisturizer and a q-tip, this will provide a hydrated base to re-cover those dark circles and refresh your face. Apply a touch of creamy highlighter to the tops of your cheekbones, your brow bone and the inner corner of your eyes and rub some cream blush into the apples of your cheeks. Your face will look hydrated and healthy with no signs of the holidays taking their toll! So as not to have to worry about brushes, we recommend using multitasking cream products that can be applied with your fingers. Our favourite highlighter is Benefit's Watt's Up which is a beautiful champagne shade and has a sponge at one end for blending, and our favourite blushes are Stila's Convertible Colour which can also be used on the lips.

2. Play up one feature. The easiest way to go from a casual office look to party ready is by playing up your eyes or your lips, we don't recommend both, especially on a speedy timeline! The fastest way to go glam is to simply swipe on a deep wine coloured lipstick as you can just leave your neutral eyeshadow and mascara from the day, our favourite is Laura Mercier's Rouge Nouveau Weightless Lip Colour in Muse which is matte and ultra sophisticated. If you're more of a smokey eye gal, use a big creamy black eyeliner and line your upper lash line. Using a q-tip, smudge this line and then use whatever is left on the q-tip to smudge a bit of colour under your lower lashes. Our pick is Sephora's Jumbo Liner 12HR Wear Waterproof which will last through the night without creasing and we also love their brown and dark grey options if you don't want to go as intense as black.

3. Add some sparkle. It's always fun to have a bit of glitter at the end of your finger tips, and we think for a holiday party it may just be deemed a necessity! Whether your nails are painted a nice nude, red or even just with a coat of clear, take a rather densely packed silver or gold glitter polish (always in a clear base!) and simply paint a small line at the tip of the free edge of the nail and follow with a quick dry top coat. This will add just enough sparkle while still keeping it sophisticated, and because you're only painting the tip, it will dry in a flash. Our top choices are Essie Set in Stones and Deborah Lippmann Boom Boom Pow. 

4. Amp up your hair...or tame it back down. If you find yourself with a head full of frizz and fly always by the end of the workday, don't fret, in a pinch, hand cream works just as well as any frizz fighting cream, just be sure to use it sparingly and only on the bottom half of the hair! If your blow dry could use a bit of bounce, a small can of dry shampoo can work wonders, however if you didn't plan ahead, flip your head underneath an electric hand dryer and shake out your hair for an immediate volume boost. If all else fails, use a bit of the aforementioned hand cream and smooth your hair into a chic chignon or ponytail at the nape of your neck, just make sure to wrap a bit of hair around the elastic or use a festive ponytail holder or barrette.

Happy Monday everyone!