The easiest way to go from office to a hot date
is to augment your makeup and add accessories, says
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Architect Sandy Dumont. Wear lipstick in a brighter shade and
add "smoky eyes" for a sexy evening look and top this look off with
a pair of dynamic earrings, like chunky hoops. "All heads will turn
when you enter the room!" she promises. If you've got on a business
suit, roll the sleeves up and pull the collar up "runway style." Or,
if you can carry it off, take off the top underneath your suit and
wear the jacket buttoned up, revealing a little décolleté.
To transition from day to evening you need to find a dress that
offers versatility. The right dress can create an outfit that is
polished and chic for day but that turns your look into a sexy
evening option for night," offers Joanne Stoner, CEO of
EDressMe.com. Micro minis are excellent choices to fill this need
because they work overtime. In the day, they are smart business
options when paired with pants and a simple gold necklace. Minis
come both fitted and loose so if you opt for a looser fit, you may
want to belt your mini to create a slim silhouette.
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Bring an extra bag to work so that when you are ready to leave
work to meet your date, you can simply change out of your pants and
apply extra moisturizer to those bare legs. The pump that you've
worn during the day can serve you for evening as well. Add an extra
long necklace and some hoop earrings, store your extra bag in the
office and you're ready to go.
Marshalls style expert Amy Cafazzo
says smart choices with perhaps a few quick style changes can make
the difference from day to night:
- Add a thick patent belt in red to a form fitting black pencil
skirt and white blouse. Pair with ankle boots instead of pumps and
your good to go.
- Swap your bag to a metallic clutch.
- Wear flats during the day, then switch to heels for evening to
keep from tiring out your feet before a night on the town or find
a pair of shoes that work for both day and night, but change the
dress pants to a skirt or pair of fitted jeans.
- Wear a fashionable camisole under a structured blazer during
the day that you can just take off or pair with a snug cami at
night.
- Pick blended fabrics that don't wrinkle as easily as cotton or
linen.
- Add a few extra accessories including jewelry and a fun clutch
to add flair before an evening out.
- Dresses are great for both day and evening: add a jacket while
you're at the office and a pair of heels for night.
So you have the clothes...what about the makeup? "It it's all
about eyes!" instructs Elsie Loreus, owner of the Paradise 54 salon
in New York City. She maintains here are three different
applications you should do throughout the day. In the morning, avoid
anything too drastic. You should apply soft, light colors for the
morning look. In the afternoon and cocktail hour, line both the
inner and out lines with a black pencil. Then, in the evening, add a
little sparkle for panache.
In the morning, create a soft, fresh look with your makeup,
suggests Laura Laires, Motives International Trainer and Master
Makeup Artist (Motives is a brand-new luxury makeup line available
at www.marketamerica.com). She says to first apply bronzer to create
a healthy sun-kissed glow... apply wherever the sun would naturally
hit your face including the apples of the cheeks, nose and temples.
Cheeks should look healthy and flushed... create this look with a
rose-colored blush. Use a pale, shimmery neutral eye shadow color
and finish with mascara. Use a rose-colored lip gloss to finish the
"day" look. Laura says the key to taking a "day" look into a "night"
look is having a good base, upon which you can add product to create
a more adventurous daring "evening" look.
Before going out at night, touch-up your base by covering up any
spots or discolorations. Reapply bronzer and blush (staple products
in every girl's beauty stash). "My favorite (quick and easy) way to
transform your look from "day" to "night" is to play up your eyes. I
love layering a bright color on top of the shimmery "day" eye
shadow. This creates a gorgeous depth without spending hours
layering and blending shadows," she says. The best colors right now
for evening looks are purple, navy blue and silver/platinum. Apply
the colored eye shadow up to the crease, blending well. With black
eyeliner, fill in the lash line, which will give the illusion of a
thicker, fuller lashline. Reapply mascara. Because the eyes will be
the focus on this sexy evening look, lips should remain muted. You
can use the same rose colored gloss or try one of the newest pale,
neutral glosses to finish.
According to celebrity makeup artist Robert Jones, creator of Simple Beauté, a
web-based company that carries a large variety of makeup tools and
accessories and author of Makeup Makeovers, the first thing you need
to do in order for your makeup to last longer is to make sure your
skincare routine is correct. "If you are not using the products your
skin needs (like oily skin products for oily skin and dry skin
products for dry skin) it can cause everything from shifting of
color to absorbing of product, thus causing it not to last," Jones
says. He also advises:
- Use a primer on your skin before you apply your foundation. A
primer helps set the makeup and acts as a barrier between your
skin and you makeup, which helps things like oils in your skin
from getting to the makeup and breaking it up.
- If your problem is oils in your skin breaking your foundation
and color down, you could use an oil mattifier underneath you
foundation. It will absorb oil all day and help everything last
longer.
- You have to powder your foundation after you apply it. Even if
it is just the tiniest bit of powder! That will set it and help it
last. Jones prefers to use a powder puff to apply my powder,
because I feel it goes on more evenly and you can really push the
powder into the foundation helping it all to become one with your
skin.
- There are two ways to get your eye shadow to last longer 1)
apply concealer and loose powder to your eyelid before you apply
color, this will help everything last and will help the color
blend. 2) Use an eye shadow primer before you apply everything
else. An eye primer is a product that will create a barrier
between you eyelid and the eye shadow. Oils from your lid could
get to the shadow and cause it to crease. This product prevents
that from happening.
- If you want your lip color to last longer, simply apply lip
liner over your entire lip, this is you first step in getting the
color to last. Lip liner has a drier texture than lipstick, so it
will really last longer. Next, apply a layer of your favorite
lipstick, then take a tissue and blot. You will remove the layer
of moisture from the lipstick and be left with a layer of pigment.
So far, we have a layer of lip liner and a layer of lipstick
pigment. Next reapply your lipstick but do not blot. You will end
up with a layer of lip liner and two layers of lipstick pigment.
That color is definitely going to stay!
- When you are completely finished with your makeup you can
sprits your face with a finishing (setting) spray. There are many
different brands that I like to work with, but you have to find
one that works for you, for your skin.
- Lastly, make sure you always blot (with makeup blotting
papers) and powder throughout the day. It is really important if
you want everything to stay!
The difference between day and night can be a matter of adding a
little shimmer, says Loreus. For that perfect glowing face, she says
to apply a dry oil shimmer spray. For an even easier fix, mix a
little body cream with oil. Either one will give that perfect shine
anytime of the day.
How your hair lasts the transition may be the biggest factor of
all. Put your hair up in the morning for work, preferably in a style
with a little volume at the top, advises beauty expert and author Nada Manley.
Then, before you leave the office, use hot curlers to add some sexy
waves to your hair, or achieve a similar look with a curling iron.
After removing the curlers, flip your hair upside down and use a
little hairspray to lock in the volume and bounce. An alternative
would be to curl your hair in the morning and gently put it up for
the day. "But the look should be professional and not like an
evening updo!" Manley warns.
Harley DiNardo, owner of Shampoo Avenue B salon in New York City suggests
utilizing Aveda's Hair Potion. "It's a powder that turns to a liquid
in your hair," he says. After a long day you can let your hair down,
sprinkle some of this magic potion in your hair, and create a sexy
just-off-the-beach look.
It's a busy world, and you are a busy girl. Stay on top of your
game by day, and you'll be sexily sipping martinis by nightfall!
