Some of our favorite nights are those spent making relatively bad
decisions. Was it smart to stay out until 2 a.m. on a weeknight? Not
exactly. Was it wise to have a martini or two before dyeing your hair at
home? Probably not. Did you really need to binge-watch all of season
three of The Wire on a Tuesday? Well, that last one's
debatable. The point is, some of our fondest memories are forged on
those evenings when we're not making the wisest of choices.
The only complication is when you can see the evidence of these
adventures on your face (or hair or neck or teeth) the next day. It's
not that you're ashamed of that hickey—it's that you don't want to deal
with any questions your boss might have. Ahead, 10 bad-decision beauty
problems and how to fix 'em—because you look kind of crazy holding that
cold spoon to your neck.
1. You Gave Yourself a Bedicure
So you decided to leave your nail painting until the last minute. We can see it now. It's almost midnight. "It's OK," you tell yourself. "I'll just sleep with my hands flat on top of my belly, and my polish will dry just fine." Fast-forward six to eight hours later, and you're looking at a bedicure. And it's ugly.
So you decided to leave your nail painting until the last minute. We can see it now. It's almost midnight. "It's OK," you tell yourself. "I'll just sleep with my hands flat on top of my belly, and my polish will dry just fine." Fast-forward six to eight hours later, and you're looking at a bedicure. And it's ugly.
The term was coined by Rouge18's Amber Katz, who found the perfect
word for that small hell we all create for ourselves on the regular.
Manicurist Madeline Poole says if you absolutely have to do the
midnight mani, make sure you're using a quick-dry topcoat. (She
recommends Seche Vite Quick Dry Topcoat and Sally Hansen Insta-Dri.) And
remember the trick to the bedicure is all in the coats. "The thinner
your coats of nail polish, the faster your nails will dry,” she says.
“One coat of a sheer color will dry very quickly (like Jin Soon Tulle),
and a topcoat helps cure the color beneath it, speeding up the dry
time—despite the fact that it's another layer.”
If you still wake up with those smudged, weird-looking nails, Poole
has some ways you can correct it: "Take a buffing block, and even out
the wrinkles, smoothing out the nail to an even plane. You'll probably
have to put another coat of color on toward the tip wherever there's
bare nail showing. Don't glop it on! Then put one more coat of topcoat
to seal the deal." Boom.
2. You Plucked The Bejeesus Out of Those Eyebrows
Tweezing can be a slippery slope. Once you get going with those tweezers, it can become difficult to see the forest through the trees. So when you wake up and realize you've gone too far, you're probably going to freak out. Brow expert Kristie Streicher has some solutions for both a temporary and long-term fix.
Tweezing can be a slippery slope. Once you get going with those tweezers, it can become difficult to see the forest through the trees. So when you wake up and realize you've gone too far, you're probably going to freak out. Brow expert Kristie Streicher has some solutions for both a temporary and long-term fix.
To start, you should go ahead and hide those tweezers because you two
are officially on a break. Streicher says the only way to get your
brows back to normal is to put them on a growth-promoting program. We're
talking six to eight weeks here, people. "This means refraining from all tweezing—even the random stragglers that grow way down or out away from your brow," says Streicher.
According to our brow expert, tweezing like Shakira (whenever, wherever) confuses the growth cycle. As a result, your eyebrows won't grow to their fullest potential. "The first 'grow-out' cycle is often the hardest," says Streicher. "But you can enlist the help of growth serums to aid in the process."
While you're on that tweezing diet, she recommends concealing the straggler hairs you'd normally pluck with something heavy-duty, like Clé de Peau Beauté Concealer or Dermablend Quick Fix Concealer. "This will help you to look and feel cleaner without affecting the growth cycle in between shapings," says Streicher.
3. You Drunk-Dyed Your Hair
A bottle of red. A bottle of white. If one of these bottles was wine and the other was your hair dye, you probably woke up with a strange color situation. Mark Hampton, global ambassador for Toni & Guy, isn't judging you. But he does know this can be a big problem. "In this situation, the best thing to do is seek professional help from a salon stylist,” he says. “Don't try to fix it yourself." Fair enough because you've already shown your lack of at-home coloring prowess.
A bottle of red. A bottle of white. If one of these bottles was wine and the other was your hair dye, you probably woke up with a strange color situation. Mark Hampton, global ambassador for Toni & Guy, isn't judging you. But he does know this can be a big problem. "In this situation, the best thing to do is seek professional help from a salon stylist,” he says. “Don't try to fix it yourself." Fair enough because you've already shown your lack of at-home coloring prowess.
Since you may not be able to get a colorist appointment right away
(you know, like in the next 15 minutes), you can temporarily hide the
botched job. "If you need to camouflage the damage for a few days until
you can get to the salon, your best bet is to style your hair into a
messy top knot, which is one of my favorite looks," says Hampton. "Just
gather hair into a high ponytail, and wrap into a bun, securing with
hair pins along the way. Pull some pieces down in front of your face and
out of the bun for an undone, cool edge." Hampton's a bit of a top-knot
expert—this is similar to the look he created for the Marchesa fall '14
show earlier this year. So he basically just took you from tragedy to
runway.
4. You've Got Hickeys on Your Neck
In the heat of the moment, a makeout session can transition to, well, your neck. And, while hickeys themselves are not a bad decision, they're also not something you want to flaunt in front of your boss. So unless you've got a wardrobe filled with turtlenecks, you're going to need some beauty help. Dermatologist Francesca Fusco, M.D., reminds us that hickeys are, in fact, bruises—and should be treated as such. "They're hematomas—black-and-blue spots that are the result of trauma from suction." Fusco has a special laser—the V Beam—to treat this if you're desperate for an ASAP fix. But if you'd prefer a homeopathic remedy, she recommends Traumeel Ointment or arnica gel, applied topically.
In the heat of the moment, a makeout session can transition to, well, your neck. And, while hickeys themselves are not a bad decision, they're also not something you want to flaunt in front of your boss. So unless you've got a wardrobe filled with turtlenecks, you're going to need some beauty help. Dermatologist Francesca Fusco, M.D., reminds us that hickeys are, in fact, bruises—and should be treated as such. "They're hematomas—black-and-blue spots that are the result of trauma from suction." Fusco has a special laser—the V Beam—to treat this if you're desperate for an ASAP fix. But if you'd prefer a homeopathic remedy, she recommends Traumeel Ointment or arnica gel, applied topically.
Makeup artist Fiona Stiles also has some hickey-coverage tips. Be
sure to start with a good concealer palette. "It's tricky because you
need something a bit yellowy/green to counteract the maroon in a
hickey," she says. "I would get the heaviest concealer you have and pat
it on with your finger, blurring the edges the best you can (use a brush
to feather out the edges). Then, take a latex wedge or a powder puff,
and press powder directly onto the concealer to set it. If you have a
shimmery powder, do a light dusting of that over the powder to bring a
bit of life back into the skin. Dust just a little on the rest of the
neck, too, so the skin all has the same texture/glow." And maybe wear
your hair down, you saucy minx.
