Having a career and a social life can seem almost impossible on certain days. From long tiring hours spent at the office to long hours spent catching up with friends or significant others, we sometimes feel that we have to sacrifice looking good just to fit it all in. But looking great doesn’t need to be an hours-long process. In fact, looking ready for a date or drinks with friends can be as simple as a quick trip to the mirror in your office rest room. Taking a daytime makeup look into an evening look takes a few simple products and a couple of minutes but can make you feel rejuvenated and ready to be social.
What you’ll need in your makeup bag: A dark or bright shade of lipstick, black eyeliner, black mascara, shimmery dark eye shadow, highlighting powder, pressed powder, q-tips.
The most important step to taking a day look into evening is starting with a great base. If you know you’ll be going out later, spend some time in the morning applying a light foundation, concealer and a bit of translucent powder on the nose and chin. This will give you a great canvas upon which to apply makeup later. Use a bit of neutral colored-blush and a light coating of mascara for your day look but avoid any stains or heavy products that will make it difficult to build on later.
Later, after work when you are ready to go out, head to the ladies room and set up camp for a few minutes. Decide whether you want to focus on eyes or lips for your evening look. If it is lips, use your dark shade on the lips, blotting on tissues in between two even coatings. Then use the black liner to apply a thin line to your upper lid. Finish off the look with a coating of black mascara and your ready to go.
If you decide to focus on your eyes, keep lips neutral and pale but use your products to give eyes a smokey look. Start by using your finger to tap shadow along the crease of your upper lid. Use a clean finger to blend shadow so it looks even. Then take your black liner and apply a thin line across the entire upper lash line. After that, use a q-tip to apply a bit of shadow to the lower lash line. An eyeliner pencil is too heavy for bottom lash lines and looks overly “madeup.” Use your finger to apply highlighting powder to the tops of the cheekbones and inside corner of the eye, near the tear duct. Finish the look off with a coating of black mascara.
Whether you choose to play up your eyes or lips, taking a simple daytime look into evening is simple and fun. All you need is a small makeup bag and some creativity to feel ready for a fun evening out.