Emergency Beauty Tips for the Office

I arrived late to work one day only to discover that I'd forgotten one minor, yet very important detail. Deodorant! It was 8:15 am... I had a good 9 hours of the day left to go...and I had no deodorant.

Naturally, deodorant isn't something you can exactly bum off of a co-worker, like a cigarette or a soda. It's deodorant for goodness sakes! My own sister probably would not even let me borrow her deodorant. So I was really in a dilemna.

To make a long story...really, really short. I discovered that Febreze can double as deodorant...in a pinch. Just spray a bit onto a paper towel and run the paper towel over (or under) your armpits. You may have to repeat the process, if it stops working later, but it's easy enough to do.

Over the years I've picked up a few other "emergency beauty tips" for when I'm at the office or away from home. I hope they help you as much as they've helped me.

Forgot your lipstick or lip gloss?

Use Vaseline (every woman should have a tube of this stuff in her desk drawer - it works for everything!). If you want a little color, simply scrape some blush into the palm of your hand and mix in a dab of Vaseline. If you have no blush with you, use a pink highlighter as a makeshift lipstick, then just go over it with Vaseline to soften color and give you shine.

Nails looking dull?

Hairspray can make them shiny in an instant. Or massage a bit of Vaseline onto nails and cuticles for a quickie nail treatment.
Hair a little limp?

Sprinkle baby powder onto your roots. Then brush hair or simply dust off the excess while styling your hair into place - gives you instant volume!

Hair frizzing out?

Apply hand lotion to your hands, then gently smooth hands over your hair. This will help to tame unruly hair. Or use the tiniest bit of Vaseline on your ends.

No eyelash curler?

My best friend uses a spoon to curl hers. I never mastered this technique, but I guess it CAN be done. My guess is it's something like curling ribbon with scissors. But don't use scissors to curl your lashes!

No mascara?

Vaseline to the rescue again! Put some on your finger and then go over your eyelashes gently to make them shiny. Lashes really POP with this trick.

No eyeliner?

Use a black Sharpie. Just be sure that youre a pro at applying eyeliner, otherwise you may have to live with the mess-up for several days.

No make-up remover?

Use a moist towelette to clean up any make-up messes or a tissue w/a little bit of Vaseline!

Of course, the best tip is to be prepared for any kind of beauty emergency. Grab an old make-up bag (or a Ziploc bag) to stash at the office and fill it with these essentials:

Vaseline
Q-tips
Small tube of gel/anti-frizz serum
Nail Clipper
Nail File
A few make-up basics (powder, lipstick, eyeliner, mascara)
Moist Towelettes
Toothpaste/Toothbrush
Deodorant

You can either take from your stock at home or buy travel-size items at your favorite discount store. Add any other items you may frequently use (and run out of) and you'll be prepared for whatever life may throw your way.