Even (fake) Ke$ha has to deal with post-party complexion woes after a fun night out. But don’t let the fear of a hangover face put you off partying – for anyone who’s ever had to deal with the shame of swollen under eyes and sallow skin, here are five easy hacks to keep you looking fresh and fierce after a night of sin. And just in time for TGIF too.
1. BB/CC Cream (vs. Foundation)
We recommend: SK-II Auractivator CC, $109, available at SK-II counters
First things first, moisturise. Funny how a whole night of liquids and drinking still leaves you dehydrated, huh. Toss your usual full coverage foundation and opt for a lighter BB or CC cream instead – your focus should be injecting moisture back into your dehydrated skin; thick foundation will only look cakey and further dry out your skin.
2. Red Lipstick Under Your Eyes
We recommend: L’Oreal Paris Color Riche Star Collection Lipstick in Blake Lively’s Pure Scarleto CSR6, $21, available at Watsons and Guardian
Are you crazy, you yell, my eyes are red and puffy enough as they are! Trust us when we say this hack is more fact than makeup magic, because “priming” your under eyes with red lipstick before concealer actually helps get rid of pesky dark circles. It all comes down to colour correcting – neutralising the greenish tones of your under eyes with red reduces the darkness, and makes for a lighter, smoother base palette to layer your concealer over. Word of caution, though, that lipstick is often formulated to be rougher than what’s appropriate for your delicate under eye area, so try not to use this on a regular basis! Also, it unfortunately does nothing for eyebags – sleep does.
3. Mattify Alcohol Spots
We recommend: NUDESTIX Concealer Pencil, $34, available at Sephora
The key here is to stay matte – as if that weren’t already a daily challenge. When concealing your alcohol-induced breakouts, steer away from liquid concealer, which will only make your spots more dewey and draw attention to them. Instead, try a stick or pencil concealer that instantly reduces shine of your pimples. If you want something a little more moisturising, give cream concealer a shot, but don’t be too heavy-handed with your coverage.
4. Nude/White Eyeliner For Your Waterline
We recommend: Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Inner Rim Brightener in Nude, $28, or Marc Jacobs Beauty Fineliner Ultra-Skinny Gel Eye Crayon in (Big) Eyes, $35, available at Sephora
Ah, the classic ‘Make your eyes look bigger’ hack. Fortunately, this handy trick of tightlining your waterline with nude or white eyeliner helps to reduce redness from your eyes as well. The eyeliner creates the illusion of extending your eye whites to give you larger, more awake looking eyes. Just be careful not to poke yourself in the eye and worsen the redness.
5. Coral Blush
We recommend: M.A.C. Year Of The Monkey Powder Blush in Modern Mandarin, $39, available at all M.A.C stores and counters
The beauty of basic colour correction steps in to save our sallow hungover skin again! If the BB/CC cream doesn’t provide sufficient coverage for your sickly looking complexion (damn you, alcohol), a coral blush over your regular pink blush will take care of that. The orangey tones in coral blushes help negate the greenish-grey undertones in your skin, so you can walk out of the house looking like you didn’t just step off the set of The Walking Dead.
Here’s to living young, wild, and free!
Featured image from Barely Productions YouTube
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