Holiday Season Hair and Makeup

Between late November and New Year most people have several events rather than one, often on consecutive weekends, and that changes what makes sense to buy. A look you can repeat quickly beats a look you can only achieve once, and the things that sell out first are the things everyone reaches for at the same time.

A unit earns its keep here

If you have four events in five weeks, a wig does more work than any other single purchase. It goes on in minutes, looks the same at every event, and means your own hair spends December in a protective state rather than being restyled weekly under a hat. A bob or a shoulder-length unit is the practical choice for a run of events, since it needs the least maintenance between them.

Bold lashes and bold lips

Winter events are mostly indoors, in the evening, under warm or low light, which is exactly where a stronger lash and a deeper lip read well and an everyday look reads as nothing at all. Pick one to lead: a dramatic lash with a simple lip, or a strong lip with a wispy lash. Both at full strength competes rather than compounds.

Repeatable rather than perfect

Choose a look you can do in twenty minutes, because you will be doing it several times. That usually means a lash you can apply without a mirror-and-tweezers ordeal, a lip that does not need liner precision, and hair that is either a unit or a style that lasts the month. Save the elaborate version for the one event that warrants it.

Between events

Take the unit off at night and put it on a stand rather than sleeping in it through a busy month. Remove lashes with a proper remover and store them back in their tray so a pair lasts the season. Keep your own hair moisturized under whatever you are wearing, since December is the driest month indoors and the easiest one to neglect.