This time of year means a diet of canapés and cocktails, a wardrobe of stilettos and stockings, and an agenda of late nights and early mornings. My survival guide:  

No-Fail Nails
Who has an hour for a manicure? My Revlon nail buffer lives in my purse and comes out on cab rides. It gives natural nails a glowing luster, and even works to refresh an existing polish job with high shine.  Revlon Crazy Shine, $5.99 at London Drugs.

Waterline Wake-up
A make-up artist introduced me to the nude-coloured “Baby eyes” Paula Dorf eyeliner for the lower waterline of your eyes to make them pop for photos. It’s the easiest pick-me-up ever. $23 at BeautyMark, 1268 Pacific Ave., Vancouver, 604-642-2294, www.beautymark.ca

Instant Eye Lift
I am suspect of anything that claims to “lift and tighten” in a world ruled by the laws of gravity, but the firming eye treatments at Spruce worked in less than 5 minutes, and though done with a machine, were totally painless. Broad Band Light Therapy, from $139, Spruce Body Lab, 1128 Richards St., Vancouver, 604-683-3220, www.sprucebodylab.com

Raccoon Eye Eraser
Running out the door before my mascara has set is just a fact of life for me. These cotton swabs filled with eye-make-up remover are handy for fixing smudges or toning down a liquid liner mishap without starting all over again. Almay Oil-Free Eye Make-up remover swabs, $5.99 at London Drugs.

Quick Cleanup
Finally home, the last thing I want to do is pull out a plethora of cleansers. These bamboo cloths remove even waterproof mascara with essential oils and vitamins. Juicy Bamboo facial cleansing cloths, $22 at Kiss and Make-up, H5 - 925 Main St., West Vancouver, 604-922-6292, www.kissandmakeupstore.com

—Sarah Bancroft

As a kid you couldn’t hit your bratty sister, but you could whack a piñata. In adulthood the same rules apply, but you can commission a piñata in the spitting image of your sibling with Your Piñata.

Call on Meaghan Kennedy, a Vancouver fashion girl turned couture craft girl with flame red hair and Flo-Jo nails to fix you a custom, handmade paper-mâché piñata of any person. She’s made Steve Martin, Kim Jong Il and a spot-on Perez Hilton for will.i.am. If the subject you want spoofed has tattoos, wears designer dresses or has dreadlocks, she delivers on those details. They can be stuffed with anything saccharine or sassy and take 3-7 days to create.

Smashing has never looked so smashing.

From $200, Your Piñata, 604-250-6307, www.yourpinata.com

When looking for lip gloss, it’s not uncommon for us gals to get a little Goldilocks: “This gloss is too orange, this gloss is too brown.”

To get gloss that’s just right, we suggest a Hâut Gloss party with your girlfriends. Have Joanne Lepp, owner of Hâut Minerals, bring her gloss bar to you and she’ll mix her magic minerals till it’s the perfect shade for each person’s pucker. You pick your flavour too, like peppermint or lemon meringue, and the tube you take away also protects with a natural SPF8.  

No more grinning and bearing a so-so shade.

$24.50 per gloss, call 1-800-983-2456 or visit www.hautminerals.com

Need to channel your kids’ creative energy? Have them paint on someone else’s walls for a change at the 4Cats Arts Academy (now with 10 locations).

Its Jackson Pollack birthday parties get the kids splattering stylishly on massive canvases, and this fall’s Georgia O’Keefe classes will have them turning up roses.

Think your kid really has talent? Before you stick a $3,000 price tag on their chef d’oeuvre and send it to Monte Clark, watch the fantastic documentary, My Kid Could Paint That about the rise and fall of a 4-year-old New York artist.

Ah, fleeting fame.

View art classes and locations at www.4catsartsacademy.com

Where to be this Friday night? Why at one of the tucked-away Snap gallery’s notorious art openings.

Friday’s event, “Speak Easy,” showcases the work of the incredibly talented Bruce Pashak whose new series of paintings, called Jumping Thunder, mixes the noble image of an Aboriginal chief with words and symbols in fluorescent paint (trust us on this one).

There will be a DJ from Paris, an eclectic crowd, and first dibs on this stunning series starting at $3,000.

Preview art (under new work) at www.brucepashak.com

“Speak Easy” opening party (free) starts at 6 p.m.; Timothy Leary After Party ($5) starts at 11 p.m., Friday February 23rd  at Snap Contemporary Art, 190 W. Third Ave., 604-879-7627, www.snapart.ca

For more information on Snap’s events visit www.factorynights.ca

Nothing quite brings us back to high school graduation like planning for New Year's Eve. When else do we rush out looking for the perfect dress, the perfect party and of course, the perfect date?

Herewith is vitaminv's New Year's Eve guide to the top five parties in the city. Choose your persona, and pop the bubbly.

the "I'm moving to New York next month" artiste
Sip cashmere cream cocktails and support the BC Cancer Foundation at sugarandsugar's first annual New Year's Eve party, Cashmere and Cream.Mingle with hipsters and artists alike, and win prizes from Dirty Laundry and Patricia Fieldwalker. Tickets: $250 (all proceeds go to the BC CancerFoundation). 99 Powell Street, 604-609-9939, www.bccancerfoundation.com.

the young and the restless
Subeez Cafe has the lowdown on the hottest DJs in the city: Bernardino,Kris Palesh, Morgan Muffler and GI Blunt spinning trip-hop, break beats,and deep, sexy house. Free bubbly at midnight and scenesters galore,at SERVED. Tickets: $25 - 50 (the earlier the cheaper). 891 Homer St.,604-687-6107.

trust fund high flyers
Sexy singles and go-go girls abound at the Jet Set international fiesta at the Vancouver Lawn and Tennis Club. Three high-tech rooms mirror the hottest clubs in South Beach, London and Rio. Tickets: $100, including one cocktail and plenty of paparazzi. 1630 W. 15th Ave., 604-731-2191.

fashionable nomads
Feel like you've been transported to the full moon party in Thailand,or a sexy club in Miami at the Waldorf Hotel's Get Together 2005. Three themed rooms play deep house, funky tribal, or electric '80s beats. Tickets: $55-$60. Boomtown Records, 1252 Burrard St., 604-893-8696;Livestock, 239 Abbott St., 604-685-1433; and On Deck, 570 Abbott St.,604-662-7723.

cheap tricks
At Casbah! NYE Dance Party at the new-and-improved Lamplighter, dance the night away to local hip-hop faves The Front, punk-funk guru JohnCougar, and late-night disco beats from Lucky Santana till 4 a.m. Tickets: a mere $15. 210 Abbott St., 604-681-6666; Zulu, 1972 W. Fourth Ave.,604-738-3232; and Scratch, 726 Richards St., 604-687-6355