Touch-up tips for women on the go - makeup and other beauty tips

Ebony, August, 1997

Your work is impeccable, and you should be going places. But there's just one, itty-bitty problem: Your makeup is caking, your lipstick is smudged, your hair is disheveled, and you just chipped--not one, but two nails. It can happen to any working woman at any particular time. But if your pulled-together look regularly fades before noon and continues to unravel as the day wears on, you may discover that your appearance is hindering your career progress.

That doesn't have to be your fate.

With a little careful planning, even the most frazzled and frenzied professional woman can maintain a cool, calm and collected image from dawn to dusk.

Judith Colbert, a partner with a major Tulsa-based law firm, is among the numerous working women who take their beauty touch-up regimens seriously. To make sure she's prepared, Colbert carries a hefty bag of toiletries to the office with her each day. "If I'm going to be working late and meeting with a client for dinner, I will keep a whole bag in the office, which usually includes mascara, eyeliner, blush--everything that I use in the morning, except the facial cleansers," says the busy attorney.

Human resources specialist Alexus Ryan of Austin, Texas, also keeps her touch-up necessities at the ready. The demands of her job, Ryan says, requires that she carry in her purse touch-up cosmetics that include translucent powder ("My powder is essential to keep the shine off"), lipstick body sprays, perfumes, even eye drops.

As director of talent development for the Disney Channel, Tina Treadwell, who oversees casting of original series and movies, must present a sharp, sophisticated image during day and evening hours.

"I won't say image is everything. But one's image reflects the outside world and what's important to you. If details are important on the personal level, many times people think that they are important on the professional level, too," she explains. "Besides, I enjoy looking good."

Make Makeup Work For you

Makeup is a must for women who want to look crisp and polished all day, beauty experts say. To maintain a polished appearance, there are a few essential items every working woman should have in her possession.

"Professional women should carry whatever makeup items they may need throughout the course of the day," says Bettye Odom, a 20-year veteran of the skin-care business. Those beauty "tools" may include pressed powder; a retractable blush brush (that has already been dipped in blush), lipliner, lipstick and facial tissues to smooth trouble areas around the nose and eyes, where makeup tends to dry and cake.

The main thing to remember, Odom and others say, is that time is of the essence. You shouldn't have to take a special break to touch up your makeup. Work it into your schedule. It should only take a moment to powder your face, freshen Your lipstick, and basically make sure that you remain radiant throughout the day.

A compact of pressed or loose translucent powder, which helps to lessen an oily glow, is an essential pelt of the working woman's cosmetic arsenal. "The natural look is in, but you want to make sure that you're not shining," says New York hair and makeup stylist Gerard Dure.

Los Angeles makeup artist Pauline Terry agrees. She suggests stashing a few blotting cloths that already contain powder in a purse or convenient office desk drawer to take care of excess oil.

If you choose to use pressed powder; Terry and others say, remember to do what the same implies--press it rather than streak or smear it across your face.

Aerosol facial mists are also a must to keep the face feeling and looking clean from 9-to-5, some say. "Women can spray the face with the fine mist, and it refreshes the face and feels like you've washed it," says Odom. "But it doesn't disturb the makeup."

After a quick misting, Odom suggests reapplying the pressed powder; taking care to check the comers of the eves, where it can cake up. Women should check this area of the face regularly during the course of the day, she says.

If you're planning to have lunch outdoors, dab on a little sunscreen first, experts advise, to avoid skin damage. Applying sunscreen is necessary during both warm- and cold-weather months, Odom says, because "even on cloudy days the sun still shines."

Women are advised to steer clear of deep, dark lipliners for office wear: "Black lipliner is out," says Terry of Los Angeles, "so stop wearing that. It gives a hard look. You walls to go for something that's soft and feminine. As a rule of thumb, your lipliner should be two to three shades darker than your lipstick."

Periodically throughout the day, Terry suggests that women check their makeup, particularly their lipstick, to see if it's time to reapply. "Freshen your lipstick after eating or drinking anything hot," the veteran makeup artist says, "and drink out of a straw so that you don't mess your lipstick up."

Keep Your Smile Bright

Your teeth say a lot about who you are and what you value. When you flash a smile, you want to do so with confidence.