Notice a few beauty booboos but don’t have much time? Here are a few faster alternatives for four common beauty issues.
1. If you’re looking old and tired…
Reddish or purple under-eye discoloration can make you look old and tired. Change this in minutes with a good concealer.
Prep your eyes with a good eye cream and apply a color that exactly matches your skin color. You may use a brush to apply concealer or your middle or ring finger. Gently pat on and set with pressed or loose powder.
Done in: 2 to 3 minutes.
2. If you have dry, after-beach hair…
If you notice that your usually soft and healthy hair is suddenly out of control after several beach trips, it’s because saltwater, mixed with the sun, zaps moisture out of your hair like it’s nobody’s business.
If you don’t have time to spend hours on a salon chair, use a deep conditioner or hair mask twice a week.
Shampoo hair as usual and apply mask. Leave on for 3 to 5 minutes and rinse. Voila, instant healthy hair, without having to sit on a chair for hours.
Remember to do this every day for a week after a beach trip, and twice a week after that.
Done in: 3 to 5 minutes on top of your usual shower time.
TIME-SAVING TIP: while your conditioner or mask is on, grab your tweezers and fix your eyebrows!
3. If you have short eyelashes…
Lash extensions are fabulous, but the aftermath, not so much.
While this is not a 5-second lash-growing remedy, applying a lash serum twice a day will strengthen and lengthen your lashes over a period of time.
Done in: 5 to 10 seconds, once a day.
4. If you’re looking pale and pasty…
Pale and pasty does not equal sexy, but we all know that too much time under the sun can cause serious problems such as skin damage and even cancer.
So what’s a woman to do when she wants a golden tan sans the sun?
Use a self-tanner or bronzer to give your color an instant lift.
Apply where the sun usually hits such as the nose, chin, cheeks and forehead.
Done in: 1 minute for powder bronzer on face and about 30 minutes if tanning the whole body.
Have a fashion or beauty question for Erica? Drop her a line at ericaparedes1@yahoo.com
Erica Paredes has been working in the publishing industry for almost a decade as a fashion and beauty editor, newspaper columnist, stylist and make-up artist. Nowadays she juggles her time between food and fashion, beauty and travel plus mommy duties to her 8 year old daughter.
