’Tis the season for fug sweaters, awkward hometown encounters with high school chums, and office-party faux pas.

When all else fails, we can at least make sure our makeup looks good.

Done. In today’s video, Birchbox’s brilliant Mollie Chen shows us a few ways to touch up and brighten our face postwork, preparty — all in less than five minutes. From her favorite eyeliners and gloss to why it’s better to wear a brightening powder than a translucent one, Chen knows her stuff.

While we had the Birchbox ladies in our office, we also asked co-founder Katia Beauchamp (whose hair always looks amazing) to show us how to create a cool cocktail party-ready updo. All it takes is a few minutes, dry shampoo, some pins, and elastic.

You know, the same thing we’ll need around our waistline after tomorrow.

To subscribe to Birchbox or purchase any of the products mentioned in the video, go to birchbox.com. For more beauty tips, watch our videos on how to do the perfect cat eye and the right way to tweeze your brows.