Slimming-Makeup Tips
Make Your Face Look Slimmer With Makeup Post Thanksgiving
As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. If you buy a product we have recommended, we may receive affiliate commission, which in turn supports our work.
Sure, that Thanksgiving turkey (and green-bean casserole and pumpkin pie) tasted amazing going down, but now you're feeling bloated and tired thanks to the tryptophan. Of course, we know it's not physically possible to gain 10 pounds while you eat three courses, but gluttony can show all over your face! That's why we called in Bobbi Brown's right-hand woman Kim Soane to give us an emergency slimming-makeup tutorial — and you don't even need to know how to contour to pull it off. All of these tricks are a part of Bobbi's Makeup Face Lift lesson, which you can schedule at the nearest makeup counter. Consider this the real-girl's guide to looking and feeling better after gorging yourself on holiday treats. These simple hacks will erase puffiness, mask bloat, and brighten sallow skin. Anyone want seconds?
Trick 1: De-Puff Eyes
If you want to erase tired, sagging eyes, there's an important product you have to apply even before concealer — corrector ($25). While your concealer product will even out your dark circles to match your skin tone, a corrector brightens the entire area by neutralizing the blue or green undertones.
"Correctors come in peach or bisque tones," Soane said. "The peach color eliminates gray and green, and bisque (or pink) takes away a gray/blue/purple under-eye." Apply your corrector over the dark area making sure to extend it all the way to the inner corner of the eye. Wipe any excess product off the brush. Then, layer concealer right on top.
Trick 2: Cover Spots
It's likely a weekend of turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie has led your skin to totally freak out (read: zits). Blame it on your grandmother's love of butter. Pack two separate foundation shades to get your most even color.
"Use one that is a little richer on the perimeter of your face and the lighter shade in the center of your face," Soane said. "Sometimes it's helpful in between the seasons to use the two shades mixed together. Then you can use the darker one to cover spots."
Trick 3: Define a Bloated Jaw
If you're looking a little pale and feeling a lot bloated since you've skipped the gym for nearly a week to maximize family time, rely on bronzing powder ($40) for an instant lift.
Instead of doing a full-out contour, simply dust the darker shade around the outside of the face: along the hairline, under the jaw, and down the neck. Smile and add the remaining color to your cheekbones, too. This will eliminate any sallow undertones and clear up the appearance of post turkey bloat.
Trick 4: Lift With a Pop of Color
Blush is the underdog of the beauty industry, but a few swipes can really uplift a drooping face. Start by smiling and brushing the product on the apples of the cheeks. Swipe the brush back diagonally toward the ear, then down toward the center of the cheek.
You also want to highlight the face with a fluffy brush. Soane used Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick ($45) over the eyebrows, high on the cheekbones, down the bridge of your nose, and on the chin and décolletage.
Trick 5: Soothe Dry Lips
After you smeared off all your lipstick eating sweet-potato pie, add a high-shine clear gloss ($19) to highlight your natural lip or pop up the stain that's left. It will also give your lips a plumper, fuller look.
Trick 6: Distraction
"On days when you're feeling tired or puffy, don't spend time trying to fix that. Instead, overplay something you do like," Soane said. "So if you're feeling puffy around your face, put on a sparkly eye shadow."
Create a base for the shadow by starting with a light color under the brow bone and sweeping it down toward the lashes. Then, build up the sparkly shadow on lids by patting on the product with a dense brush.
Trick 7: Elongate Your Eyes
If your lids are drooping from a turkey coma, finish off this makeup look with winged eyeliner to make your peepers appear more wide set. Soane used Black Scotch Longwear Gel Eyeliner ($24). Just make sure to bring the liner back down to meet the bottom lash line in the outer corner, but skip lower liner altogether. Eyeliner on the upper lids will lift and open up the eye, while lower liner brings the eye down. Do both for a doe-eyed look but never just bottom liner.
