Wake-me-up makeup for tired faces

Every now and again I feel bloody tired. And then I look in the mirror and realise that I look bloody tired too. I KNOW y’all know where I’m coming from there.

And isn’t it always the frikken way but when you’re feeling all soggy and deflated, you look in your diary and you have a mega day ahead that requires you to be all princess jolly-hockey-sticks. URGH. I tend to go on autopilot those mornings.

But as a makeup artist and #makeupaddict, I have learnt quite a few very awesome smoke and mirror tricks that help to wipe the layer of bleak off my miserable dial. And you know I do always feel better at the end. Whether I really look better is debatable. Maybe I just think I do. But that’s all that matters, isn’t it?

Anyway, I wanted to share my tips with you, because I know that right now there’s probably a few of you hunched over your phones or what-have-you devices, necking your giant skinny lattes thinking, “Christ, how am I going to get through the day feeling like such a doleful old cow?” (okay, they’re my words, not yours). Fear not, I’m here to help get you from wretched to reasonable (because you know that’s about all you can hope for when you are completely shattered).

WakeMeUpMakeupPinterest1

 Step One: Treat your skin with some love

This is really just about giving your face a bit of care before you apply any makeup. Preparation is the key to success here!

  • Exfoliate, moisturise, use a serum.
  • Very gently, pat on some eye cream.
  • While you’re letting it do its thing, put some ice in a washer and press all over your face. I find the ice enlivening and it seems to tighten my saggy skin.
  • Apply a good thick layer of Clarins Beauty Flash Balm. If you don’t know about this product, don’t delay get thee to a shop and purchase a vat!

 

WakeMeUpMakeupPinterest2

Step Two: Colour + Sparkle

This is where the smoke and mirror tricks really start!

  • Apply your foundation, something light and not powdery or drying. On tired days, beware of foundation clinging to your creases and making you look a bajillion years older.
  • Get out your Touche Eclat (another beauty essential) and paint gently under your eyes. Make sure you blend it well. Anything around the eyes, be super gentle. It’s TISSUE PAPER, that skin, and the rougher you are the the more you stretch it, it won’t go back into shape and you’re left with a foreskin under your eye. Not kidding.
  • Use a big brush and put on your facial bronzer, don’t go too hard, you want to be naturally radiant not all Geordie Shore.
  • Apply a light and slightly shimmery eye shadow to your top lid, get it right into the corners. This is a technique makeup artists use all the time – if you lighten the inside corners, the whole eye looks bigger and brighter.
  • Apply it as an extra highlight along the cheekbones.Don’t go overboard, a subtle touch is needed here.

 

WakeMeUpMakeupPinterest3

Step Three: Spruce up and blend, blend, blend!

I bang on about this but it truly is the secret to looking polished and it’s a step not to miss on days you’re tired. It’ll ensure you don’t walk about the door with smears of anything going on (never a good look).

  • Use a sponge or a tissue and gently rub over your hairline and jawline to ensure you don’t have any visible lines of makeup or bronzer.
  • Use your fingertips to smooth out any strong edges on the eyeshadow and to tidy up any fallout.

 

WakeMeUpMakeupPinterest4

 Step Four: Get your rosy glow going

I’m all about ‘fake it till you make it’ and on tired days, there ain’t gonna be no rosy cheeks happening, so I pretend! You do tend to take on a slightly sallow or even grey hue when you are really tired, so some bright colour will help.

  • Use a blush and apply to the apples of the cheeks, I use a cream blusher in a gorgeous bright pink.
  • Use your fingertips to make sure both apples are the same size and shape and well blended, with no visible edges.
  • Apply a lipstick that you know suits you. I can’t read the label of the one I put on in the photo, it’s some cheap crap from the chemist! But Mac Mineralize Rich Lipstick in Good Taste would do the job.

So, dare we ask, are you tired right now?

Do you have any tips that help get you out the door when you’re not feeling so great?

Written By

Carolyn is the editorial director of Champagne Cartel and a freelance writer. In her spare time she is a long-distance runner, peanut butter enthusiast, and single mum to three incredible humans.

12 Comments

Leave a Reply