These 3 Simple Steps Will Help You Survive New Year’s Eve Like a K-Beauty Pro

Think New Year’s Eve is all about glitter and flash? Try hydration and a good clay mask. Here, three easy ways to survive New Year’s Eve — perhaps the most debaucherous night of the year — with the grace (and glow) of a K-beauty guru.

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I'm going to level with you: New Year’s Eve is serious business. It is always a big production, there is immense pressure to have the biggest party ever, and you're expected to look your very best doing it. NYE is the only time of year that's an unholy mixture of a break-up (saying goodbye to the previous year) and the birth of a new baby (saying hello to the brand new year and you to come). No wonder there's so much fuss made about it.

Over the years, I've discovered the secrets to surviving New Year’s Eve and looking great while doing it. And it's going to come down to three very important tenets I'm going to let you in on.

#1 Hydration

This is the holiest and most important of the three: hydration, hydration, hydration. You need to send your skin to the spa and push hydration limits to the max for this most important of nights. Why? Several reasons. One, you're probably going to be drinking alcohol, which is a notorious dehydrator of both skin and body. Two, depending on the company you keep, you might be subject to copious amounts of smoke of various kinds, which also isn't great for your skin. Three? On a wild night like this, I don't fully trust that you're going to be up for doing your full routine by the time you stumble home, so let's prop that moisture barrier up with our strongest water-bringers.

Hyaluronic acid is probably going to be your best friend here; used in combination with a good facial oil and a nice barrier cream, we might just survive this onslaught of gluttony and sin with our glow intact. As for HA, there are several great products I can recommend off the top of my head, such as COSRX Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence, CELLNCO Super Hyaluronic Moisturizing Ampoule, and the famous Hadalabo Gokujyn Hyaluronic Acid Lotion. Graymelin even has a serum that's 100% Hyaluronic Acid! Do your normal routine as usual but add in one of these great HA products into the mix. Though it would have been ideal to start about a month before January 1st to give it enough time to help you get your skin's moisture barrier to where it needs to be in time for the big day, it’s OK to start now — better late than never!

Also add in a nice oil for the same reason. If you have oily skin and are leery of adding in an oil, try something like Huxley's Oil Essence, which has a really nice and instant sink. Same with The Ordinary's Squalane, which is a vegetable-derived oil that is pretty dry with a super fast absorption time.

#2 Party-Proof Makeup

What's the number one thing that happens over and over and over again during any good NYE party? If you said drunken confessions of love, you're right, but also photos! Everyone is snapping pictures, and you're going to want to look your best. You're going to need some serious party-proof pigments to serve your best face.

Let’s base everything around a kiss-proof lip, because I'm sure you're planning on ringing in the New Year by grabbing the hottest body next to you and giving them the kiss of their life. When I think of a bold lip that's going to look great in photos but also last through an epic makeup sesh, the first thing that comes to mind for me is Clio's Lipnicure. That stuff does not budge. It also is insanely long-wearing without being insanely drying, which is a lot more than I can say about a lot of other popular budge-proof lipsticks.

As for surviving a crying jag that might be triggered by the realization that it's almost 2020 and you still haven't landed that dream job or spouse yet, we're going to want a solid waterproof, cry-proof eyeliner. Tony Moly Backstage Gel Liner cannot be beat. I've been a fan for years now and still have never found a better gel liner. It also glides on with ease and can give you a bold, gorgeous eye that no amount of crying, snow, or even champagne showers are going to be able to touch.

Even if you're not usually a fixer mist type of person, NYE is definitely the time to maybe invest in one. 3CE Make Up Fixer Mist is especially nice because in addition to prepping skin before makeup, it's also a refreshing moisturizing mist you can spritz on throughout the night, which will be especially nice if you’re doing lots of sweaty dancing.

#3 Detoxing

OK, we survived the night. We've made it home. Wait, why is the sun shining? Did I pass out? I was only going to rest my eyes for a minute before I washed my face! Ugh!

Let's just say you "forgot" to wash your makeup off the night before. And yes, by forgot I mean you were way too hammered to belly up to the sink and stand upright for five minutes and totally passed out. Nonetheless, it did happen, so now we've got to detox. Think of this purification as a ritual to bring in the New Year, ridding our skin and souls of whatever nasty detritus we might not have shed the previous night-slash-year.

New year, new you, and the new you has sparkling clean skin, without any irritation. For this, let's break out some of my favorite charcoal products and masks. We're going to have a rainbow face of renewal this morning. Start with where you're the oiliest and greasiest, which is probably the T-zone. There we're going to apply Innisfree Volcanic Pore Clay Mask. This mask is a classic for good reason — it will absolutely suck up any and all sebum and leave your skin refreshed and your pores just that much cleaner. However, it's a little harsh for using all over.

With that in mind we're going to use a different Innisfree mask, the Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Color Clay Mask Vitalizing, which is the pink one. It is also a kaolin clay-based mask but has the additions of orchid extract, camellia leaf extract, and pomegranate seed oil. We're going to put this on our forehead and chin. For the cheeks we're going to use the hydrating and soothing Innisfree Jeju Volcanic Color Clay Mask Hydrating, which is the blue one. We want to detox without stripping moisture from our cheeks, which is why we've chosen this one. Once done, you're going to look like this season's hottest color palette and your skin is going to feel much better after they've all been rinsed away.

Since kaolin can be drying, you're going to want to chill out with a nice sheet mask afterward. I can think of no better time to break out the fancy guns for this and get our Eclado Gold Essential Masks out. If there is ever an appropriate time to be a golden god or goddess, it's January 1st after a night of debauchery. Trust me, after all the crap you've put up with in 2017, you deserve it fam. Now, let's get to work on our New Year resolutions.

So do you already know what your big plans are for New Year’s? What steps do you take to make sure you survive New Year’s Eve? Let me know in the comments!