7 simple makeovor secrets: want to enhance your looks without spending a lot of money? These makeup, hair and skin-care tricks will have you looking fabulous in no time - Beauty in Action

Shape, April, 2003 by Daniella Brodsky

Need to look fresh in five minutes flat despite a serious case of jet lag? Chipped your nail polish on your way to a monumental event? No problem! It's easier than ever to perform seemingly impossible beauty feats quickly and easily; all you need are a few essentials and the right know-how. Here are our favorite tricks for getting gorgeous instantly.

Pucker up with full, sexy lips. You don't need collagen injections to get Julia Roberts lips, just the right lipstick application technique. Line lips just on the other side of your natural lip line (be careful not to overdraw too far) and fill in with a matching lip color. Finish with a dab of clear gloss in the center of your top and bottom lips. Up-plumping products also may help temporarily. They contain ingredients like camphor or menthol that increase blood flow to the area, creating a fuller look. Essential stash Opt for natural, juicy reds and pinks. Vincent Longo Lip Pencil in Roseberry and Lip Stain in Cherry ($15, $18; 877-LONGO-99) help enhance lips of every skin tone. There's also the glossy Alex and Ani Lipzotic Lip Plumper ($24; alexand ani.com), which moisturizes with honey and almond oil.

Look like you've just had afacial. It's easy to achieve spa-quality results at home with today's products, explains Janine Handy-Corn, an aesthetician at the Peninsula Spa in New York City. Start with an alpha-hydroxy wash followed by a gentle scrub. After applying a mask, calm and soothe the skin by draping a cool, wet cloth over your face for 10 minutes.

Essential stash Create an at-home spa with the exfoliating Peter Thomas Roth Glycolic Acid 3% Facial Wash ($30), Botanical Buffing Beads ($30; peter thomasroth.com) and a mask like becoming Moisture Meter Intense Hydrating Mask ($13; 866-I-BECOME). Or use Therapy Systems Quick Therapy Purifying Treatment Pads 8% Glycolic ($48; therapysystemsinc.com).

Refresh your manicure. It's easy to fix chipped polish, says celebrity manicurist Deborah Lippmann. Just dip the nail in remover (for an instant) to smooth the edges of the chip, let it dry, then apply a coat of quick-dry polish. No time for even that? Kiss 1 Easy Step nail enhancers ($8; at drugstores) are simple to apply since they look like real nails, are available in a variety of colors and come pre-glued. New York City manicurist Jin Soon Choi, who uses them, adds: "I've even popped them on while in a taxi."

Essential stash Try Lippmann's fastacting lavender-and-aloe remover ($16; lip pmanncollection. corn) and Maybelline Express Finish Fast-Dry Nail Enamel ($3.89; at drugstores). Or smooth polish with Orly Smudge Fixer ($4 at drugstores).

Fake a refreshed look.

Long hours at the office, a late night out -- all realities of an active woman's life and all detrimental to your complexion. No time for R & R? Imitate the look with the newest highlighters or light-reflecting lotions and tints, which help scatter light, leaving you with a noticeably glowing look. Smooth on under the eyes, along the cheekbones, across the bridge of the nose and on the chin, suggests New York City makeup artist Wei Lang. Essential stash Smooth on Lorac Oil Free Luminizer ($28; sephora.com) or Clinique Colour Rub Allover Lustre ($15; clinique.com); each comes in two shades. Or opt for Lancome Fluide Illuminateur Sheer Glow Highlighter ($30; lancome.com). All can be worn alone or mixed with a moisturizer to give skin a radiant sheen.

Get flawless-looking skin -- despite an ill-timed breakout. The secret to camouflaging blemishes: Neutralize their redness. Soak a 0-Tips Cotton Swab in Visine and stick it in the freezer for about 20 minutes (or pre-make some and stash them for future emergencies), then hold the tip to the pimple for a few minutes, suggests Mally Roncal, a New York City celebrity makeup artist. The Visine helps constrict blood vessels, reducing redness while the cold eases swelling. Yellow-toned concealers also even out skin tone. Just dab a tiny amount on the spot with a pointy brush (like Prescriptives Concealer Brush, $17; prescriptives.com) for even, clean coverage. Essential stash Yellow-toned Colorescience Remedy That Red ($17; www.colorescience.com) concealer works on virtually every skin tone, Lang explains. You also can help prevent clogged pores and breakouts before a big event by regularly using salicylic-acid and/or anti-bacterial cleansers and exfoliating masks. Try Noxzema Triple Clean Antibacterial Lathering C leanser ($4.49; at drugstores) and June Jacobs Papaya Purifying Enzyme Masque ($56; 866-JUNE-JAC).

Quickly minimize too-obvious pores. Although visible pores will never completely disappear, regular cleansing, toning, exfoliating and sun protection can help keep them in check, explains Maria Widurska, an aesthetician at Back to Basics Massage and Day Spa in New York City. But one thing that can help them look smaller almost instantly: the right foundation for your skin tone. Essential stash Treat skin with Neutrogena's Pore Refining line, including a fast-acting cleanser, toner and mask ($6-$1 3; at drugstores). Then apply JOEY New York Pure Pores Minimizer Foundation, which is made for camouflaging ($35; joeynewyork.com).