5 Quick makeup tips to make you look healthy when you’re not

One of the worst parts of being a grownup is it’s way harder to call in sick. Here’s how to look your best even when you feel your worst!

Cut out the skin redness with a green color corrector. For slight redness, choose a sheer product, but if you have severe redness from nose blowing, then you may need heavier coverage. (Remember to bring a touch-up kit in your clutch. If you blow your nose, the product will come off!) “I love Dermalogica’s UltraCalming line,” says Andrea Claire of AClaireBeauty.com, a celebrity hairstylist and makeup artist. “Drink lots of water too! Illnesses tend to dehydrate inside and out, so avoid powder foundations and choose a more hydrating base. Bobbi Brown’s BB creams have coverage with added moisturizing benefits,” says Claire.

“These days there are numerous at-home products that can help improve your smile. Or better yet go to the dentist and have it done professionally. This can take years off instantly,” says Dr. Tim Chase, D.M.D., a practicing partner at SmilesNY, a leading cosmetic dentistry practice in New York City. Also: “Brush and floss. When people are under the weather, their breath tends to be a bit foul, [so] make sure you brush and floss frequently, and during the day try a sugar-free breath mint or sugar-free gum!”

“I love the Naphcon-A eyedrops to cut redness and soothe eyes. This product is truly amazing and many of us pros have it in our kits,” says Claire. If your eyes are your best feature and they are puffy from a cold, don’t ignore them! “I would go all out and rock a smoky eye — unless you are battling runny eyes — but if they are just puffy and red, you can still smoke them out,” Claire says.

If your eyes are not your best feature, play up your lips. Add a subtle highlight to the eye using MAC Shroom on the inner corners, brow bone and mid-lid which creates the feeling of more open/brighter eye. “Shroom is a Champagne color suitable for many skin tones!” says Claire.

Let red reign or go for pretty in pink. If your smile says bright and perky, the rest of you just may follow.

It gives the skin a youthful glow, something that helps no matter how you are feeling. If your skin still looks amazing — dewy, moisturized and glowing — you’ll feel better from the inside out.

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