Quick Fixes: Ways to Boost Your Skin Before the Holidays

It’s that wonderful holiday season again, filled with festive parties and getting together with family and friends you might not see very often. Naturally, you want to look your best for these exciting occasions, but what if your skin isn’t giving the holiday glow you wish it were? Treating and revitalizing your skin takes time, but there are a few types of products and tricks you can use to give your skin a quick boost without weeks of prep time. 

Under-Eye Masks

Where are all my fellow raccoons? Dark circles are a constant battle for me, and they’re common for a lot of others too as we get older. Under-eye masks can be a last-minute lifesaver before, say, a family photo session or a holiday party where you want to look your best. There are eye masks that infuse your skin with deep hydration for instant plumping and smoothing while also brightening your skin so you look like you may have *actually* gotten 8 hours of sleep. 

Rich Hydration

The ultimate go-to for everyone and anyone to make your skin look better quickly is moisturizer. When your skin is well-hydrated it’s plumper and smoother (think grape as opposed to a raisin). Fine lines and wrinkles are less visible so your skin looks younger overall. Plus, if your skin is sensitive, moisturizing can help.

Depending on how dry your skin is (and everyone’s skin tends to be drier during this time of the year), giving your skin serious hydration could involve a few steps. A rich moisturizer is always a great choice, but you can also combine it with other products like a hydrating mask or serum.

Soothing Products

Along with lines and wrinkles and dark circles under the eyes, another common skin complaint that might make you feel less confident at your holiday parties is skin redness and irritation. It can be tough to get your redness under control long-term because there are so many potential causes and irritating factors. But if you want to take it down a notch on short notice, try a calming serum or a similar calming product.

These serums can help to soothe your sensitive skin and take the redness down a notch. This particular serum from Colorescience will help with inflammation short-term but it also lowers your redness in the long term with ongoing, consistent use.

Lip Masks

Have you ever been getting ready for an event, put on a beautiful shade of lipstick, and then saw that lipstick looking rough and clumpy or uneven? It’s a bummer when a look doesn’t turn out the way you had envisioned but it might not be the lipstick that’s the issue. Your lips might just need some extra TLC, especially at this time of the year when the air is so dry.

A lip mask gives your lips powerful hydration to make them smoother and softer so your lip color looks better (or you might not need any lip color at all with your newly smooth smackers). Plus, it keeps your lips feeling less dry and more comfortable throughout the day or night. This particular Patchology mask has the added benefit of improving your lips’ elasticity and texture over time with repeated use.

Tinted Moisturizers

This one’s a go-to for me and so many other skin care enthusiasts I know. On those days when you want to even out your skin tone a bit but you don’t want to deal with a full face of foundation, a tinted moisturizer could be exactly what you’re looking for. It hydrates your skin for a smoother finish, of course, but the added bit of tint just gives your skin a more consistent look and makes blemishes, redness, and age spots less noticeable. Many of these tinted moisturizers are sunscreens too so you’re protecting your skin from premature aging at the same time.

Exfoliation

Ever have those days when you look in the mirror and your skin’s texture just looks rough, or your skin feels slightly gritty to the touch? Those rough skin days are even worse when they happen on a day when you want to look wow-worthy. That’s typically caused by dead skin cells that aren’t sloughing off as efficiently as they should, and the solution is a great exfoliator. These products can instantly make your skin smoother and softer, which looks better on its own but can also make your makeup look better and smoother.

A tip to note, though: exfoliation can also make your skin more sensitive to irritation and more vulnerable to sun damage. It’s best to do it the night before your event so your skin has some time to settle, but don’t worry, it’ll still be freshly smooth the next day.

Acne Spot Treatments

Acne blemishes have this frustrating knack for showing up exactly when they’re not wanted, like when you want to look stunning at a holiday party or event. If you need to banish a blemish in a hurry, an acne spot treatment will save you. While most acne treatments are more preventative, spot treatments are specifically designed to quickly get rid of a pimple that has already appeared.

Giving Your Skin a Last-Minute Holiday Glow

Whether your skin has had frustrating new issues arising at an unfortunate time or you just haven’t been able to get it looking its best in time for all the festivities this season, don’t worry, there’s always something you can do. The tips and products above are all about giving you a quick upgrade to your look so you can feel spectacular while you’re building a healthy skin care routine for a year-round glow.