As you stand around at nearly midnight, waiting for the ball to drop and looking around for someone to kiss, there’s one aspect of your party that should have been taken care of hours before: your beauty choices. Hair, makeup and fashion should be all laid out so you can worry about more important things, like how many bottles of champagne are left over for the countdown.

New Year’s Eve is fast approaching. If you still don’t know what to wear or how you’re going to look, try out these expert tips.

Sparkle, Sparkle!

This is one of the few holidays of the year where sparkles don’t look tacky. Take advantage of the opportunity! Just like the ball that drops in New York City, silver metallics and sparkly glitter are a must. Dust a bit of silver shimmer eye shadow on your lids, along with a dark swath of black eyeliner and mascara. If you want even more glitzy glamour, paint your nails with silver-toned glitter nail polish.

Silver: The "it" color of New Year's. Image courtesy of Christmas Stock Images.

Bring Winter Into Your Wardrobe

New Year’s Eve is the perfect excuse to get dressed up. Since you’re smack dab in the middle of winter, choose dresses and fancy skirts from the winter color palette. Go for cool colors with deep saturation, like plum navy blue or forest green. And don’t forget to dress for the weather! Throw on some sheer black or silver tights to keep your legs warm and a nice glittery scarf.

Hair Trend: Sexy and Smooth

This year’s holiday hair trend is all about being sexy and smooth. If you’re having a big party and want to look your best, go to the salon and ask for a blow-out. They smooth out your hair and make it fluffy and gorgeous. For added glitz and illumination, add a shine serum to your locks. And if you prefer to keep your hair out of the way at your end-of-year shindig, go for a fishtail braid. These braids are the talk of the town this season.