7 Beauty Hacks That Will Save Your NYE Look

This story originally appeared on Allure. 

New Year's Eve parties can be a cruel beauty paradox: By the time the ball drops, you've been hanging out for hours, shaking your groove thang, smearing your lipstick all over champagne flutes, hors d'oeuvres, people's cheeks—and then somehow you still have to look your best at midnight (because who wants their first selfie of the year to be a dud?) with nothing but what's in your hummingbird-size handbag. It's enough to make that countdown feel like a time bomb. So how do you pull it off? You MacGyver it, of course.

Degrease. Everyone's heard that old chestnut about using toilet-seat covers as oil-blotting sheets, which is all well and good—unless your New Year's bash is at someone's house. How else can you mop up that telltale glisten (it's not sweat; it's a festive glow) from a few rounds on the dance floor? Well, pretty much anything with absorbent fibers will sop up shine, but we're partial to one thing you're almost guaranteed to have nearby on NYE: cocktail napkins. "If it's good enough to wipe your mouth with, then it's OK to blot oil," says cosmetic chemist Ni'Kita Wilson. Good enough for us.

Pump up the volume. Virtually any hair product with polymers (think hair spray, mousse, texturizing spray, gel) can be reactivated with a splash of water. Just run your hands under the tap (or stick them in the ice bucket...just kidding), give them a little flick to avoid errant clothes-dripping, then run them over any bits of hair that aren't behaving. Give curls a good scrunch, or wind them around your finger to refresh the wave. For fine hair, try concentrating at the roots to keep your strands from looking wilted.

Battle zombie face. Oily skin has a bad habit of pulling a presto-change-o and making your blush disappear, but a little too much dancing and a few too many not-quite-air kisses can leave anybody's cheeks bare. If you find yourself looking washed out midway through the evening, a dab of lipstick can keep you from looking pasty. Rub your fingertips over your lipstick bullet, then blend the color on the apples of your cheeks.

Desmudge. If you have one on hand, the hydrating ingredients in a clear lip balm will lift even stubborn makeup smudges. Bonus: It also makes for great blister protection if those sparkly shoes have started boring holes in your feet.

Or embrace it. Left your ChapStick at home? Intentionally smoky liner looks better than laser-precision liner that's melted out of shape. To fake an on-purpose smolder, work one fingertip around the edges of your formerly perfect cat eye until everything has turned artfully blurry. A little mascara get rubbed off in the mix? Just go with it. It's a new year—what better time to change your occupation (or at least your makeup routine) to "rock star"?

Find your light. In the words of vlogger Jordan Liberty, "Light is undoubtedly the best beauty product you don't have to pay for." Since it's, you know, midnight, natural lighting is out, but Snapchat has a handy flash feature for selfies that'll save you from being one of the anonymous dark blobs in your BFF's inevitable Facebook album. Likewise, candlelight is universally flattering—gather a bunch of those little votives together and create your own impromptu selfie station. Don't worry, everybody will be using it before the night is over—you're not the only one who wants to look good in their 'grams.