Tips to Look Refreshed When Tired and Stressed Javascript must be enabled to use this site. Please enable Javascript in your browser and try again. × Search search POPULAR SEARCHES SUGGESTED LINKS Join AARP for just $9 per year when you sign up for a 5-year term. Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Leaving AARP.org Website You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. A different privacy policy and terms of service will apply. Close
11 Ways to Look Well-Rested When You re Not
Fake away fatigue with these quick fixes
Getty Images Does any of this sound familiar? You're stressed out; didn't sleep; binged on cookies, eggnog and caramel popcorn; and stayed up till 3 a.m. gift shopping online. You're so tired that walking the dog gives you jet lag. Maybe you're fighting a cold, too. Whatever the reason, the mirror is confirming red eyes; a puffy face; dry, dull splotchy skin; and an overall blah look. We've all been there, and it's inevitable we will be again. My prepare-and-repair tips can fake you awake and refreshed in no time. 1 Add an extra pillow in silk
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine. Any grown woman who binges on salty snacks, processed foods, carbs or alcohol knows her face and eyes will pay a puffy price by dawn. Snoozing on two pillows instead of one can minimize the resulting fluid retention. Silk pillowcases like the 100 Percent Pure Mulberry Silk Pillowcase ($20 and up, amazon.com) or SLPBaby Silk Pillowcase ($20 and up, amazon.com) not only help defy sleep creases (especially if you're a side or stomach snoozer), but also keep your blowout or do intact. 2 Mask overnight
Get an extra dose of hydration with an overnight mask like Olay Masks Hydrating Overnight Gel Mask ($27, cvs.com), Laneige Lavender Water Sleeping Mask ($25, sephora.com) or L'Oréal Paris Revitalift Triple Power Intensive Overnight Mask ($25, ulta.com) instead of your usual moisturizer. The creamy formula is amped with line-plumping humectants like hyaluronic acid and glycerin to give you a head start the next day — especially if combined with my pillow power tip. Be sure you remove all your makeup before applying the mask, and just rinse off in the morning. No worries: These creamy formulas really absorb, so that silk pillowcase stays pristine. 3 Chill in the a m
If puffiness persists, try cold therapy. Keep bags of frozen peas on standby. Press the pack to your face while you hit the snooze button for 10 more minutes. Cosmetic surgery patients do this at home to reduce swelling, but it works for us, too! It's the cold (not the veggies) that constrict blood vessels and reduce inflammation, of course. 4 Deflate eyes with caffeine
Entertainment $3 off popcorn and soft drink combos See more Entertainment offers > This is not the time for complicated regimens or steps. It's trouble enough to work the Keurig and add water to oatmeal. Make your first choice a do-all — like Physicians Formula Argan Wear Ultra-Nourishing Illuminating Argan Oil Touch of Gold ($17 cvs.com), Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentré ($28, amazon.com) or Josie Maran Argan Infinity Cream Intensive Creamy Oil ($28, sephora.com) — that brightens, smoothes, moisturizes and primes mature skin for makeup. The massage itself is soothing and helps ease tension lines. Use the cream on your hands to groom brows, smooth split ends and soften cuticles as you apply. 6 Fake healthy skin
A just-back-from the gym/SoulCycle/brisk walk glow is what you want, and a CC Cream or tinted moisturizer will provide it. A full face of makeup and heavy coverage will only look masklike now. The key is choosing the closest match in skin tone with a dewy fresh finish. Brands with a more extensive shade range (between 12 and 20 skin tones) — like IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream Illumination with SPF 50+ ($39, sephora.com), Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer Natural Skin Perfector Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($47, sephora.com) or BareMinerals COMPLEXION RESCUE Tinted Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 ($32, sephora.com) — are worth the splurge. You just might make it your daily choice. 7 Choose a peach concealer
The combo of thin skin and the slippage of underlying fat pads due to age make dark circles more visible. Unfortunately, they look even darker with fluid retention and lack of sleep. To simplify things, just know a warm orangey color counteracts blue or purple shadows better than a skin-tone shade. Choose a multishade palette with tints of peach, apricot, yellow, pink and melon like NYX Professional Makeup 3C Conceal Correct Contour Palette ($12, ulta.com), Milani Conceal + Perfect All-in-One Palette ($10, target.com) or Black Radiance True Complexion CC Palette ($8, target.com). Blend your own best peachy shade of camouflage to suit your individual complexion and degree of discoloration. 8 Add radiance to your makeup
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