Beauty

Beauty tricks for tired eyes

How to use your morning beauty routine to fake a good night’s sleep (no caffeine required).

by : Ava Baccari- Sep 17th, 2014

Sometimes getting the recommended eight hours of beauty sleep just isn’t possible, but how can you fake looking bright-eyed at your early a.m meeting? We asked Stephanie Daga, founder of BlushPretty Studio in Toronto’s West Queen West neighbbourhood, for her expert beauty tricks on how to get that well-rested glow.

1. Before heading to bed.
First things first: put in the prep work to fake your best sleep possible. “If I know it’s going to be a puffy kind of morning when I’m about to hit the hay, I’ll start by drinking a tall glass of water, applying a generous amount of eye cream to the eye area, and sleeping with my head slightly elevated that night,” says Daga.

The most colourful Fall 2014 EYE MAKEUP

2. De-puff first thing in the morning.
“I rely on three things to help brighten and de-puff the eyes after a night not well spent,” says Daga. Start by placing slices of cucumbers over lids or a cold compress to soothe the eye area and help bring down and restrict puffiness. “Apply for even just a few minutes before you start your morning routine and you’ll feel refreshed.”

Next up is a great eye cream to bring back moisture and lift the area around the eye. Finish up with a creamy concealer made for the undereye area, “To turn and darkness and discolouration into flawless-looking skin.”

3. Colour correct to fake a good night’s sleep.
Once eyes have been de-puffed and replenished with a hydrating eye cream, move on to concealer. “Apply a peach colour corrector to the inner corner of the eye and slightly into the lid. Then add in a diagonal line—from the inner corner of the eye to the centre of the eye, just at the cheekbone,” says Daga.

Then apply a diagonal line of brightening undereye concealer from the outer corner of the eye to meet the colour corrector so that the end shape is a “V”. Using a concealer brush or ring finger, blend both concealers up and inward over the “bag” and up to the lower lashline to correct and brighten.

All-star SKIN CARE INGREDIENTS

4. Think fresh and bright-eyed makeup.
Avoid the use of darker shadows and liners when eyes aren’t as well-rested as you would like them to be. “Stick with champagnes and very soft neutral shades over the lid, topped with lots of mascara to open up the eye,” she explains. “If I do line the eye, I’m aiming to make the whites of my eyes standout.” Use a nude liner along the inner rim of the eye and just below the lower lashline.

As for lashes, two words: lift and separate. “Do a coat of mascara, then dust on a light layer of baby powder or loose powder over that first coat, and then, do another few coats of mascara,” she recommends. “It makes them look fuller and longer.”

Keep the rest of the face dewy and healthy-looking. “Make sure that skin is well-moisturized and exfoliated and that lips are super moisturized and have a hint of healthy colour,” says Daga. Swipe highlighter over cheeks and under the brow bone for a dewy sheen—skip a heavy powder. “To offset dark circles or prominent bags, I will define the brows a little more than normal,” she adds. Go with a satin or creamy lip shade as opposed to matte to keep your look bright and fresh—even if you don’t exactly feel that way.