This holiday season as parties, activities, and events start filling the calendar, you may have your festive outfits all planned, purchased, and pressed, but what about your makeup? Too often, a great look will fizzle or sizzle depending on the head-styling (i.e. hair and makeup). While you may have your day-to-day beauty routine down pat, the Christmas season is a great time to bust out some unexpected color and sparkle. If you haven’t thought about how to “dress your face” for the holidays, consider these potential beauty looks.

Glitter for grown-ups. Yes, such a thing exists, and can look quite chic when used with a deft hand, as opposed to just smearing it on in the car on the way to a middle school dance. By adding a dab of glitter primer before applying a bit of sparkle to the center of your eyelid and inner corner, you’ll have a subtle shine to enhance your holiday look. Or, if you want to throw subtlety out of the window and embrace all things glitter, don’t just stop at your eyes. Think sparkle nail polish, glitter highlighter, or even glittery lip gloss. Glitter is a great way to incorporate texture into your holiday beauty look, but keep the colors dark yet vibrant for a seasonally appropriate glitter bomb.

Oh Holy Metallic Night. You can also step up your makeup game this season with metallic cosmetics, in shades like champagne, sliver, gunmetal, bronze, and beyond. Add a pop of gold in the center of your eyelid and inner corners, finish with a touch of brown shadow along the lash line, and sweep on a bit of bronzer for a warm glow that reflects your holiday spirit. If you are more into edgy glamour for your Christmas/New Year celebrations, try a silver accent, like a winged eye with a metallic pencil. Go over it with a liquid silver eyeliner for an unexpectedly festive face. And don’t feel that you have to stick to one shade of metallic. Mix up those metals, like a golden shadow with copper eyeliner, or inky liquid liner with a metallic finish and purple-metallic lid for a cocktail party ready look!

Keep it classic. If you’re more of a mascara and go girl, show your holiday spirit through your smile with your lipstick. Red is the obvious choice for this time of year. Of course, a bold red lip is a classic and will definitely add a pop of color and posh to whatever you wear. However, richer berry shades, like plum and raspberry, are popular this season and feel extra special for the holidays. For ladies on the pale side with cool undertones, like myself, go with a warmer shade of lip stick. On the flip side, women with darker skin and warm undertones, try a cooler tint. The idea is to find a shade that stands out for a perfect holiday punch. No matter which hue you choose, keep it matte for daytime gatherings and go shiny at nighttime soirees.

Even if you don’t go for a full face of makeup this holiday season, you can still embrace vibrant color, sparkle, and bring a bit of playfulness into your beauty routine. A dab here and there can make all of the difference. For myself, as a working mother of two small girls, I’m leaning more into holiday beauty and going with a simplistic style outfit-wise for the upcoming festivities. An all-black ensemble may seem dull, but a bit of sparkle, some winged eyeliner, and a pop of color lipstick can elevate my black sweater dress from humbug to Happy Holidays!