My ideal holiday party look is Maggie Cheung from In the Mood for Love, but what usually ends up happening is that I realize there's no way in hell I’m going to be able to eat, drink, or get down in a cheongsam dress. So my look ends up revolving around that rich, romantic color palette of the movie, and then being able to do all those activities I just mentioned. The rest depends on how much time I've given myself to get ready which, by the way, is the main event.

I play one song on repeat to get ready (currently Chris Isaak's Wicked Games), make an Espolon and soda, and circulate between the three mirrors in my apartment while I get ready. Inefficient, but fun! I try to enjoy every second of the getting ready experience because that is the best. The tactile, textural pleasure of putting on makeup is very relaxing and therapeutic to me. I have a lot of time to get ready tonight, so I’m working towards insanely gorgeous.

DRESS
Comfort is key. People always say this about their personal style, but it means different things to everyone. I, for one, hate baggy excess fabrics—I don’t think anything makes Nadine, our Senior Designer at Glossier, laugh more than the thought of me in a flared jean or a gauzy, flowy top. (You laughing right now, Nadine?) Tonight I'm dressed in a 1940s square-neck satin slip dress by Nili Lotan which is slinky and black. Instead of thinking too much about the outfit as a whole, I'll commit to wearing one thing and the rest, I just wing it. In this case, I needed to wear the dress. The boots, which are flat 3.1 Phillip Lim booties, just follow suit. Or dress, I guess, in this situation.

SKINCARE
The night prior, I'll use a Skin Inc Pure Deepsea Hydrating Mask that I keep in the fridge. It's a clear gel mask with hyaluronic acid. I apply Embryolisse 24-hour Miracle Cream on top of my regular moisturizer as a primer for Perfecting Skin Tint. I know this doesn't sound like it's skin-related, but I think it affects my complexion: Before a night out, I chug water and have a big meal. Most of the time, it's two spicy chicken breasts from Popeye's. You need to line your stomach BEFORE you drink! On days that I know I'm going out, I'll eat healthy all day so I can grease up later for tequila.

MAKEUP
Tonight I feel peacock-y so along with my usual red glitter eyeshadow, which is Miss Minnie from the Sephora Minnie Mouse palette, I wore a super dark Nars Lipstick in Liv because I wanted to look a little pale. I guess for a moment I felt like a Tom Ford ad—the girl perpetually entering rooms, audible gasps escaping from the onlooking partygoers, they look back and...oh, where’d she go? Who is she? She's gone! I’m a vampire, but I'm dancing and laughing. I'm also wearing a little Honest Creme Blush in Truly Daring and Haloscope in Moonstone.

HAIR
I always want Kiko Mizuhara's bouncy hair, but then I also wanted slick Robert Palmer-girl hair...so I did both on either side of my head because I couldn’t decide! I sprayed my hair down with Verb's Volumizing Spray first, which is the best volume product I've ever used. It feels like nothing at all. Then I blow dried it, curled just the front pieces around my face, and pinned down one side with bobby pins. It’s very very easy—nothing to overthink here.

NAILS
They're painted a dark green Essie shade called Wrap Party. Some might say it's jade. Not me, but some. Come to think of it, I guess it was a lot of jewel tones. For holiday? Groundbreaking!

—Sandra Sou

Sandra Sou photographed by Tom Newton on November 19, 2016. Sandra is wearing a Nili Lotan dress, 3.1 Phillip Lim shoes, and Eddie Borgo earrings. Styled by Lilli Millhiser. Hair by Clay Nielsen.

Part 3 of our Holiday Party Look series. See the rest over here.