1. Wash your face. There's a pretty good chance you didn't cleanse, tone and moisturise before you went to bed last night. So the first step is to get rid of any evidence left on your face of yesterday's makeup, try a formula with refreshing ingredients such as menthol or citrus and splash away with cold water. This will do wonders to wake you up and also keep your skin calm. Murad Essential C Cleanser is packed with vitamins to make you look more awake!
2. Drink as much water as physically possible. While you're stood in the bathroom, get as much H20 down you as you can! Alcohol's side effects are mostly caused by dehydration so start to counteract that as quickly as possible and you'll soon calm that pounding headache.
3. Start to de-puff. Skin that has been sapped of moisture (by one too many glasses of prosecco) will appear puffy. A dead giveaway of a hangover. Now you might not be looking forward to this next step but here goes' dunk your face in a sink of freezing cold water. It will soothe your swollen skin and instantly make you look brighter and more awake. Next get some cotton pads and moisten them in the water and hold them over your eyes for a couple of minutes.
4. Use a glow enhancing base product. You're going to want to skip the foundation today, trust us it is going to do you no favours! Anything too drying won't apply seamlessly and will sap even more moisture from your skin. A hydrating tinted moisture is going to be much better, mixed with a radiance enhancing primer and you'll look like you're glowing from within (well maybe not quite that good but you get the gist). Rodial Instaglam Skin Tint is really light and will blend out easily, mixed with Nars Light Optimising Primer to make your skin look more luminous.
5. Conceal. As for concealer this is definitely not a step you want to miss' now your skin should be look much more fresh and glowy but you still need to disguise those dark circles that the 4 gin and tonics have gifted you. Opt for a long lasting formula that will stay put for the full 8 hours; we love the Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. It has coverage you just can't beat and will brighten the under eye area as much as humanely possible.
6. On to eyes. Now is not the time for an elaborate smoky eye (thank god!), there's a few tips that will make your eyes look brighter and fresh. Opt for a nude liner to make your peepers look bigger and more awake. And then add a cream shadow in a pale colour; go for something as close to your skin tone as possible. Artdeco Eyeshadow Base in Neutral works perfect for this. For the rest of the eyes, keep it as simple as possible with just a quick sweep of mascara.
7. Highlighter. You probably still feel like the life has been sucked out of you and every movement is the biggest effort ever but let's try to mimic the appearance of radiant health. Applying a bit of highlighter is essential. Technic High Lights Complexion Highlighter is perfect because it is a liquid rather than a powder (we're avoiding powders at all costs fyi), it will help the skin looking dewy and fresh. Apply to the tops of your cheekbones and the inner corners of your eyes to masks any signs of tiredness.
8. Tint and Blush. Using a bit of bronzer and blusher will do great things add more freshness to the face, but again if you can use cream products then do! It will help counteract that deadly pale look you woke up with. Bourjois Cream Soleil Blush is perfect for this step.
9. Tame the Mane. You probably have about 5 minutes left before you're supposed to be at your desk and washing your hair was just too big of a task this morning. A quick blast with the dry shampoo should do the trick and pull your hair into tight bun (instant facelift as an added bonus) or braid to hide any greasy giveaways. Toni & Guy Sky High Volume Dry Shampoo is amazing value for money!
10. Finally pop an Aspirin and hold your head high!
