When she’s not 9-to-5′n it as a Corporate Learning Professional, Anjali Handa is a Makeup Artist and Blogger in the Toronto area. Follow her weekly musings on all things beauty- and lifestyle-related at Rock that Look (www.rockthatlook.ca).
Congratulations! After all the emailing, SMSing and profile stalking you’ve found enough chemistry with your online match to give the real-life thing a shot. Your first date is around the corner and if you’re the Type A kind, you’ve probably planned the perfect outfit with the perfect shoes, perfect jewellery and perfect hair to match. Kudos to you for all your planning. But have you planned for beauty mishaps?
My general rule of thumb for first-date-makeup is to use products and styles that you’ve tried before and are comfortable with. There should be no surprises on your first date – this is NOT the time to experiment with new products! If you follow this rule, you should have a generally safe night. But just in case, here are a few items to keep in your makeup bag:
1. Lip Product. This is a no-brainer. Whether it’s a berry lipstick, a sheer gloss, or a tinted lip balm, always keep it on hand! Lip product fades as you drink, eat, and *ahem*… so having your lippy close by will ensure you can touch up and stay moisturized throughout the night.
2. Face Powder. If you’re anything like me, you’ll leave the house with a nice matte face only to look back on pictures and see shine where you didn’t even know shine could exist. So, have a face powder handy – that way you can touch up oily spots as the night progresses and he won’t have to see his reflection on your face. Don’t use face powder? A good alternative is blotting sheets – dab them on the oily spots to absorb the oil and leave your face shine-free.
3. Refreshing Body Spray. Remember walking out of a restaurant smelling like the food? It’s happened to me many times and trust me, when you’re holding hands or snuggling up to someone for the first time, the last thing you want to smell are the Thai spices from your green curry chicken. Keep a small spray bottle with a refreshing body mist handy – it’s easy to pop into the ladies room to give yourself a light spritz at any time.
4. Dental Floss. He’s already eaten dinner – there’s no need to feed him a snack with that goodnight kiss! And esthetically speaking, it’s never appealing to see piece of spinach stuck in a date’s teeth. So be sure to keep some floss handy, and while you’re at it, choose a mint flavour to help freshen up your mouth after a meal!
5. Tweezer. Have you ever spent the night cleaning up your eyebrows only to find at work the next day that you’ve missed an entire line of stray hairs? Kind of embarrassng. You never know when you’ll find your next stray, so keep a tweezer close by so you can pluck and remove as you find them!
With these five items on hand, you will be ready to counter any beauty mishap. Good luck ladies – happy dating!
- Anjali
“He’s already eaten dinner – there’s no need to feed him a snack with that goodnight kiss!”
That part made me LOL. Great tips