We all have days when we wake up grumpy, tired, and feeling frumpy. Maybe we’re bloated from PMS; maybe we’ve just had a long week. But no matter how we feel, we can still look good—and sometimes looking good can help lift our mood or at least boost our confidence when we need it most. Here are some tips.
Focus on foundation
We understand that on a blah day, no one’s in the mood to fuss over makeup. But if you are going to do just one thing, make it foundation: it will even out your complexion and help you look fresh and put together. Or you can use a good primer that has built-in light-reflecting and color-correcting pigments that help even out skin tone. (Read our tips on fixing foundation.)
Fake a Face Lift
Notice how when you wear a plastic headband (with teeth) or gather hair up in a tight ponytail—for example, whenever you wash your face—it actually feels good? Incorporate the ‘lift’ and light stretch you get from this by wearing a bright scarf to push back tresses, or donning a tight updo a la Jennifer Lopez. Bonus: the punchy color or print can liven up features—with or without makeup!
Wear something bright
It will add color to your face (black, gray and brown will make you look more tired and sallow if you’re not wearing a lot of makeup) and may even affect your mood. Bright colors like yellow and pink are known to have calming and uplifting effects.
Curl lashes
It’s the single, quickest thing your can do to instantly liven up features in a pinch, or on days you don’t feel like wearing makeup. Curling lashes opens up the eyes, way before that first sweep of mascara, if you do decide to apply it later on.
Avoid an unnatural-looking L-shape by squeezing your eyelash curler along three sections of your fringe: base, middle, and tip. This three-part process ensures you get a beautiful curve every time.
Wear your favorite perfume
Scent also affects mood, as this study proves, and even when you’re just in jeans and a t-shirt, a special perfume can make you feel beautiful, sexy, carefree—whatever it is that you want to be that day.
How do you feel beautiful on a blah day? Share your secret with us by leaving a comment below!
Photo from polyvore.com
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