How Not to Look Hungover on New Years Day
It’s New Years Eve, a holiday that comes but once a year when drinking to the point of embarrassment is not only condoned, it’s encouraged. I’ve eased up on holiday booze these days, mostly because I’m a thrower upper, both during and after. I almost always get hangovers when I drink, complete with puffy eyes and pallid skin. Not awesome. Looking bad while you feel bad makes everything worse, and that’s no way to kick off a new year. So, in the spirit of wanting everyone to have a spectacular year, I’m sharing my secrets to not looking hungover, even when you are:
This is my hangover beauty arsenal.
1. Depuff Your Eyes Hangovers are usually most visible in the eyes. That’s because you’re likely dehydrated, causing all kinds of exciting fluid retention and puffiness. The best remedy for this is an eye cream or eye serum that contains caffeine, which is both an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory. Caffeine will get rid of the puffiness in your eye area. My favorite caffeine eye serum is the Clinique All About Eyes Eye Massager ($28). It’s a rollerball, which I like to refrigerate so it feels cool and soothing when I put it on. It once gave one as a surprise gift to a hungover friend, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone so happy. 
If you don’t have any eye treatments on hand, you can put tea bags on your eyes for 5-10 minutes that have cooled down after steeping in hot water. Even non-caffeinated teas will work, since all teas contain tannic acid, an anti-inflammatory astringent that’s also an active ingredient in Preparation H. 2. Moisturize Your Skin The dehydration that comes with drinking also contributes to the blotchy, washed-out look your skin has when you’re hungover. For this, your skin needs serious moisture so I like to pull out the big guns and use 100% argan oil to remedy this. Argan oil is extremely moisturizing, won’t clog pores, and is rich in squalene as well as vitamins A and E. My favorite one is Shea Terra’s Argan Oil ($24) because it’s organic, unrefined, inexpensive (there’s always a 30% off coupon code floating around the internet), and Shea Terra has great ethical standards. Marula oil, baobob oil, or even extra virgin olive oil will also work for this, but argan oil is a personal favorite. 
Apply a few drops of oil to your face when you wake up and spread it around, including the eye area. Be sure to give it time to soak in before applying any other products or else you’ll be a hot shiny mess. Bonus points if you can drunkenly remember to put some on prior to passing out the night before. 3. Brighten Your Complexion Moisturizing won’t fix all the complexion problems that come with a hangover, so you’ll need to even it out with some makeup. Unfortunately, foundation has a tendency to look textured and obvious when dehydrated, so a tinted moisturizer is a much better product for this. I use Perricone MD No Foundation Foundation ($55) because it’s extremely moisturizing and has all kinds of exciting anti-aging ingredients like DMAE and Alpha-Lipoic acid, but any tinted moisturizer will work. 
You’ll also need to add some color to your cheeks. I prefer a creamier blush when I’m washed out, so I use a Josie Maran Argan Color Stick, but any cream blush should be sufficient. You can even use lipstick as blush and get the same dewy colored effect. 
4. Don’t Go Bananas With the Makeup A sheer lip gloss and some eyeliner or mascara is enough to make you look like a healthy human being again. Too much makeup tends to backfire and makes you look like you’re still partying. If you are still partying, then go ahead and pile it on. Once you look human again, you’ll probably want to feel better. Here are my hangover remedies: • A ton of water, obvs • A multi-vitamin before I start drinking the night before • A multi-vitamin with a light breakfast when I wake up • A B-12 chewable vitamin • Two ibuprofen • Emetrol for nausea (this stuff works miracles) Those are my secrets. What are your hangover remedies? Oh, and Happy New Year, beautiful ladies! May all your dreams come true in 2013! Want some easy New Years manicure ideas? Follow me on Instagram: This post contains affiliate links. Shopping through these links help support this site!
