Workday to Glam Night: Makeup to Have Handy

By Paige Herman-Axel
WebMD Feature

Taking your makeup look from day to evening is easier than you think. These tricks of the trade from celebrity makeup artists help you dial up the drama with just a few brush and pencil strokes. No time-wasting pit stop at home needed!

Just remember to take off all your makeup after your night on the town to keep your skin as healthy as possible.

Dirty Secret: Trying on Makeup

Q: I love trying on makeup, but I don't use those tiny plastic swabs at beauty counters. Am I going to bring home something besides a great new shade of gloss? A: It's quite possible. To a dermatologist, that's like strolling through a public restroom. Those tubes and jars resemble petri dishes, teeming with microbes and bacteria. The viruses that cause herpes and pink eye thrive on moist, inanimate objects -- making a pot of lip gloss, foundation, or eye shadow a perfect breeding ground. Even...

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When you know you’re going out after work, keep your daytime makeup simple, suggests Alicia Mizrahi Siller, a Hollywood makeup artist.  That way you can easily punch it up for your nighttime look.

Touch up your foundation. If you've sprouted shiny patches over the day, dab them with blotting papers.  New York City makeup artist Scott Barnes swears by this easy way to restore smooth, pretty skin. The papers absorb excess oil while avoiding a powdery look.

Tanya Rae (who counts Bette Midler and Megan Hilty as clients) suggests carrying some foundation in a travel-friendly container. Dab and blend with a damp sponge where needed to restore a smooth, even-looking complexion.

Deepen your color and luminance. A subtle glow is ideal at any hour. Full-on radiance is a necessity after hours!

Emmy-winning makeup artist Kevin James Bennett suggests creating a candlelit glow with a highlighting powder. Brush it on the tops of your cheekbones and under your eyes to accent and brighten the center of your face.

For extra oomph, try a light swipe of bronzing powder from your cheekbones back toward your temples, across your hairline, and just below your chin.

Your eyes are the prize. Rae offers simple ways to amp up your eyes.

Line the inner rims of your upper and lower lash lines with a black eye pencil for instant sex appeal.Try topping your lids with a smoky shadow for more drama.

If you find yourself without eye shadow for your evening update, draw short strokes of black liner on your lid and blend really well for a soft, yet sultry look.

Two more tactics courtesy of Siller: Add a darker eyeshadow just to the crease for a more defined, dramatic look. Or simply take your eyeliner pencil and draw a cat-eye or winged look over your daytime makeup.

Pucker up. Change your lip color and you change your whole look, says Siler. If you go neutral by day, a bold pop of lip color by night does the trick.

Rae says it's easy to start from scratch on your lips -- and you probably should for a fresh look. “Remove all traces of lipstick, add lip balm, blot, and apply a new lip” she says.

Bennett offers this secret: “Top off your lipstick with a dab of sparkling gold or silver iridescent gloss to give it some glamorous gleam.”

Cheat fatigue with shimmer. Eight hours in front of computer can take a toll on your appearance.  Give your look a second wind with a Rae's glimmery trick. Apply shimmer cream under the brows and in the corners of the eyes to create an awake appearance and help you sparkle.

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