Simplify your life! Get glamorous in a hurry for your New Year’s Eve party with these fast and easy tricks for party-perfect skin, hair, and makeup.
Show Off Those Legs
Tights are ideal for the office, but not for a sexy night out. When it’s best to go bare, slather on a shimmering body oil. The shimmer helps conceal imperfections, and the reflective quality of the oil helps bounce light off skin, resulting in a healthy glow.
Refresh Your Hairstyle
Just in case you weren’t able to make that last-minute salon appointment, try one of these other quick, stylish solutions:
• Secure a clip. Silver, sapphires, sparkles – oh my!
• Slide on a headband. Position it one inch behind your hairline, not across the middle of your head.
• Tie on an elastic or thin scarf. Choose an elastic band encrusted with jewels or stones. Avoid securing it at the crown, and tie it low at the nape for a sophisticated look. If opting for a scarf, use one that’s thin enough to still show your hair. Tie it an inch behind your hairline, and just let the loose strands flow.
Fake a Good Night’s Sleep
Not enough pillow time? Hide it with these steps:
• Give yourself an instant glow. Mix a dime-sized drop of exfoliator with your cleanser. Pat skin dry and immediately apply moisturizer. Finally, swipe a dewy cream blush on the apples of cheeks (the fullest areas, near your nostrils), where skin naturally flushes.
• Brighten your eyes. Nix tired, bloodshot eyes with anti-red eye drops.
• Cover. Dot some concealer on upper lids, where blood vessels swell. Then dab a thin layer from inner corners to just under the iris.
• Do like the pros do. Make eyes look their brightest with this pro secret: Run a flesh-toned pencil like on lower lid rims.
• Curl your lashes. Achieve an instantly energized effect by squeezing your lashes with a curler from roots to tips. Pinch three times along the way.
Get the Perfect Pout
One swipe of a rich, red lip color is your ticket to looking party-ready pronto. Here are a few secrets to beautiful:
• Target your tone. Pick a color that complements your complexion, and let your blush and eyeshadow colors be your guide. If you usually go for plums, berries, or mauve tones, or other shades with blue undertones, then choose a similarly toned ruby or brick red. If, however, you gravitate toward bronzy, gold, or peach tones, apply an orange or coral-toned red to lips.
• Test like a pro. When shopping for a shade, narrow your search to three reds, then put each to the test. When possible, apply directly to your lips. But, if you’re in a hurry (or a new, sterile sample isn’t available), use the back of your hand; the skin color there most resembles that of lips.
Tone Your Arms in 20 Minutes
So you’re going sleeveless and the only thing you’ve lifted lately is a few shopping bags? No worries. “A quick pre-party workout will send blood to your arm and shoulder muscles, giving them a temporary swelling and sculpting effect that can last close to an hour,” says Michele Olson, PhD, a professor of exercise science at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama.
The speedy secret? Doing four sets of the following sequence:
• 15 push-ups. Do as many as you can in the traditional pose; then, if necessary, switch to the modified version.
• 15 triceps dips. Pumping up in the office or at home? Use a stationary chair as a makeshift workout bench.
• 15 isometric contractions. Press your palms together in front of you; hold for 10 seconds, then release.
• 15 biceps lifts. Reach under a desk, table or counter, palms against the underside, and pretend you’re lifting it off the floor. Hold for 10 counts.
Extra tip: applying a little bronzer to your shoulders and arms also helps to add an instantly toned look.
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