How To Fake A Full Night's Sleep With Eye Makeup

We all do it: Stay out partying until the wee hours, pull an all-nighter to finish a term paper or meet a deadline, then pay for it with tired, puffy eyes the next morning. This was the position I found myself in last week as I over-extended myself with too many commitments and not enough sleep. My exhausted look required a bit more than my "brush my brows and apply mascara" routine to get ready in the morning. Luckily, with the following tools and makeup tricks, I managed to look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with minimal effort as I braved another day.

1. Groomed brows make you look polished even if you don't wear any makeup, and it only takes a couple of seconds to brush unruly brows into shape. I got this Eco Tools brow and lash brush as part of my 5-brush Eco Tools set and it's become a morning necessity.



2. A pale or neutral eyeshadow brightens eyes and goes with anything. I use a Cover Girl eyeshadow palette with a pearly pink shade myself, but I would love to own Clinique's Colour Surge Eyeshadow Trio in Come Heather ($21.50) if I ever have to part with my old palette; the shades are very appealing and wearable for daytime. I use an eyeshadow brush to sweep the shadow across my lid and up to the crease for a sheer wash of colour.



3. Almay Bright Eyes Cream Shadow in Golden Gleam has been one of my makeup staples for the last couple of years in creating that bright-eyed look. I blend a bit of this shimmery creamy shadow on my brow bone just under my eyebrows and on the inner corners of my eyes for added radiance.



4. Mascara is a daily must for me. My classic standby is Cover Girl Lash Exact, but lately I've been using L'Oreal Double Extension Beauty Tubes.



5. My brother turned me on to Garnier's Anti-Puff Eye Roller when I swiped his one morning. (I love that he's into skincare products.) The caffeine content and the massaging action of the rollerball aid drainage in the eye area, decreasing darkness and puffiness and making eyes look more alert. I notice a definite difference on the mornings I use it.



All told, from putting my contacts in to putting on that final coat of mascara, this routine takes me 5 minutes tops. And now, I ask you: What are your tools, tips, and tricks for looking well-rested on days when you've had no sleep?

Update: I thought it only fair to you guys to mention it: After a week of using the L'Oreal mascara, I was forced to throw it out. The black brush was just clumping too much. I suspect this has to do with the black formula drying out after repeatedly being dredged up from the tube, exposed to the air, then scraped off and pushed back into the container. My final verdict is that although this mascara works wonders, in the long run if it dries out so easily it's kind of a waste of money.