3 Beauty Tricks That’ll Take Your Make-up From Yuck to Yay

It’s 5.01pm on Friday evening. You’ve been invited out for impromptu drinks by your work colleagues and now you’ve gotta transform your face from drab to fab in about 120 seconds flat in the ladies loos if you’re to make it there for the first glass of red. Here’s how to fix up fast so you can run out the office door looking flawless.

1. Go for bold

To make a quick but striking statement, play up only one key feature, like your eyes or lips. For a shouty pout, try a bold red or fuchsia pink lippy (we love Maybelline’s Bold Matte Lipstick, €13.49) that’ll give instant polish. Dramatic eyes are yours with a smudge of charcoal eyeshadow, Like Rimmel Glam Eyes in Jet Black, €5.99, applied along the upper lash line and blended upwards for a speedy smoky look. It’ll look like you’ve made the effort when, erm, you really haven’t!

€5.99, Boots

€13.49, Boots

2. Refresher course

Foundation fudged up throughout the day? Freshen up with a facial mist like MAC Fix+, €20, to fake a dewy glow and lock in a little extra moisture to boot. Quickly cover any areas where your base has worn off by buffing on a touch of foundation with a Real Techniques complexion sponge, €5.89. To finish, grab your trusty powder compact to mattify oily areas like the nose and forehead.

€20, MAC

€5.89, Boots

3. Glow job

The fastest way to look perky after a tough day at the office is to add a touch of radiance to brighten up complexion dulled by aircon. Sweep a glow-giver like Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Pink Quartz, €42.50, across the top of the cheeks, down the center of the nose and just above the jawline to give skin a warm glow. You’ll look just as fresh as you did in the AM. Promise.

€42.50, Arnotts

• Beauty
• Bobbi Brown
• MAC
• make-up
• Maybelline
• Real Techniques
• Rimmel