Rescue Me! Holiday Beauty Survival Tips

Holidays can take their toll on skin and hair, but you can lift your looks in minutes with these strategies and techniques.

Bah! Red, Swollen, Tired Eyes

Cause: Staying up late. Celebrating into the wee hours, overindulging in food and drink, then haphazardly removing makeup (getting bits of it in your eyes), can leave your eyes with a hangover.

Aah! “Lie down and place cold cotton balls or a chilled gel eye mask over closed eyes for 10 minutes,” advises Anne Sumers, an ophthalmologist in Ridgewood, New Jersey. “This will drain accumulated fluids and reduce swelling.” (To get ready for the morning after a big night, soak cotton balls in water, flatten them with your fingers, and keep them in the freezer on wax paper until needed.) Refresh dry or irritated eyes with lubricating artificial tears, like TheraTears ($14, drugstore.com). “But avoid drops that claim to take the red out,” Sumers says. “They work in the short term by contracting blood vessels but can backfire later on, making eyes redder than ever.”