You stayed up late the night before working on a project and as expected life seemingly has no mercy. Your alarm unsympathetically rings at 6 am as always and you are forced to leave the comfort of your bed and dreams. Looking in the mirror after a painfully cold shower that was supposed to wake you up but didn’t, you grudgingly accept the under eye circles that you know are near impossible to hide. You’ll walk to work and spend the day looking half asleep with people constantly asking if something is wrong… No, nothing is wrong except for the fact that I’m living off of four hours less than the recommended amount.
Let’s backtrack a little. What would you say if I have some tricks up my sleeve that that will erase your busy life from your soon to be, very awake-looking face?
Eyes
The most important aspect to looking awake lies in your eyes. If your eyes are bloodshot and half closed you’re bound to look more tired than awake. What I like to do is line my waterline with a white eyeliner and brush on some light, sometimes iridescent, white frost eye shadow making sure to concentrate it on the inner corner of my eye. This will give the illusion of bigger and brighter eyes and immediately erases the lack of sleep from your face. If your eyes happen to be bloodshot, try using some calming eyedrops before applying your makeup.
Complexion
Under eyes can be a pain to conceal. I am cursed with constantly having under eye circles even when I got a good 8 hours of sleep. I have found that using a slightly thicker, and in a shade lighter than your normal skin tone, concealer often does the trick. Make sure to pat it on in thin layers; you do not want too much concealer under your eyes since it will crease and quickly look cakey. Then I like to pat on a translucent powder to set the concealer in place.
Bronzing your face, in the classic number “3” motion, will make your skin look healthier. This, in turn, will make you look like you got a few more hours sleep. Adding a glow to your complexion can also help give the illusion of bright and healthy. Try applying a shimmery highlighter to the high points of your face (cheekbones, brow bones, chin, above the lip and on the bridge of your nose).
Lips
You might be thinking: my lips don’t change shape whether I’m tired or not. Sure, maybe they don’t, but moisturizing your lips will again just make you look better-taken care of and therefore more well rested. So just throw some lip balm or lipstick or whatever you prefer to complete your very awake-looking face.
All of these tricks have been passed down through my family and since my mother taught them to me. I have never been asked if I’m feeling tired or stayed up late the night before. If you are not doing a full face of makeup, simply add some light eyeshadow to the inner corner of your eyes and you are set. You know the saying: the truth lies in the eyes of the beholder. We are relying on this fact in fooling people to think that we are on top of our game, even when we’re really not… If you appear to be awake, you are awake to the outsider. Now you can go about your day internally feeling like a zombie without being disturbed by prodding questions or disapproving looks.
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