Makeup Tricks for Days When Your Face Says, "I'm. So. Tired."

Do you ever have days when you're just dragging? Not sick. Not more sleep deprived than usual. Not hormonal. Well, maybe a little hormonal, but not unusually so. Just tired. And, unlike in my thirties when I felt fatigue but my face didn't advertise it, 40-something tired is pretty obvious (pale, shadowy, drawn—at times verging on Ignorance and Want in A Christmas Carol). Well, I was suffering from tired face last Thursday as I was dressing for an evening event. Not pretty. Luckily, after years of interviewing experts, I do have a few fatigue-hiding tricks up my sleeve (or in my makeup bag).

First, I faked a tan. I doubled up on my Clarins Radiance Plus Golden Glow Booster. Rather than applying two to three drops (my normal daily dose), I shook six into the palm of my hand and mixed it with my Elta MD. It took about an hour to see the results, but it was the perfect antidote to my sallow skin. I also swept on a healthy dose of my Beauty Pie Quantum bronzer, using this technique.

Then I used my Cle de Peau Beaute Concealer under my eyes and in their inner corners and tapped Trish McEvoy Eyeshadow Primer in Bare on my eyelids to cancel out discoloration and brighten my eyes. For more on why I think eyelid primer is essential to camouflaging fatigue, check this out.

I used my ring finger to smooth Algenist Reveal Luminizing Drops over the tops of my cheekbones and, again, in those inner corners of my eyes (where we all get hollow and shadowy). For more scoop on this easy-to-wear (as in not too shimmery) luminizing cream, skim this post.

Finally, I took a white eyeliner pencil from L’Oreal Paris (pictured above) and traced the waterline just inside my lower lashes. This is an old makeup artist trick to brighten (and whiten) sleepy eyes. On most of us, our lower lids become purply or red when we’re tired, and the white liner cancels out the color. You can also use an off-white or nude/taupe liner if you prefer (nude is better on darker skin, as the white may appear too stark). Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes Inner Rim Liner is nude, and Estee Lauder Pearl Eyeliner is a shimmery golden-white.

The rest of my makeup routine included a smudge of Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow in Sand Dune on my lid, Smashbox Waterproof Kohl Eyeliner in Storm on the outer two-thirds of just my top lashlines, several coats of Bobbi Brown Smokey Eye Mascara, and a swipe of my all-time favorite lipcolor, Fresh Tinted Lip Treatment in Petal, which I wax poetic on here.

Before we left, I guzzled a glass of iced tea (I know...caffeine after 6 p.m. Don't judge), which enabled me to power through the evening feeling and looking (mostly) alert.