Our busy lives often get so hectic that we lose the time we need to pamper and take care of ourselves. Don’t let this be your fate, however, and be sure you take every chance you get to maintain your great looks even if it’s on your lunch break. Enhance your beauty while you make the most of your precious time with these great lunch break tips.
1. Professional Makeup Application
With an appointment and twenty odd minutes, you can achieve a beautiful makeup application. Try this on late Friday lunch when you have a date after work.
A professional with adept skill applying cosmetics can have you looking your very best while you enjoy a sumptuous pampering session. You’d better not put on plenty of make-up in the morning.
Explain what you are expecting for, so that your make-up won’t turn out to be an upset. Sit back and relax for twenty minutes while your makeup professional enhances your beauty. During this time you can complete simple but important affairs that you had no time for.
For instance, call your mom at last, book tickets or make an appointment with you friend. In addition, you can watch the professional carefully to learn something new about color theory or different kinds of brushes.
This way, you can discover new techniques and secrets of ideal make-up. It’s a perfect solution if you don’t want to waste money and time on make-up school. Don’t be afraid to ask them.
The professional will pick up colors that will suit your skin shade, features and clothes. When you return to work, your colleagues are apt to sit up and take note!
2. Pluck Your Brows
This might not be as soothing and relaxing as a massage, but it can leave your face looking polished and rejuvenated. Plus, you will shape your face contour. All you need is a mirror and tweezers to revamp your brows. Chances are you won’t need more than ten minutes per brow.
If you have a private restroom or a cozy nook in your office, you can achieve this simple but effective beauty treatment on your lunch break. I always use cooling gel before the procedure; such a simple trick helps to avoid puffiness and redness.
If you don’t have one, look into your fridge – ice cubes will perfectly substitute cooling gel. When my eyebrows are chilled, I can proceed to the next step. My eyebrows are quite straight, so I usually shape them up a little.
Here I remember three simple tips: straight imagined line from the bottom of the nose to the inner eye corner will mark the beginning of the eyebrow. Then move the line to the eyeball – this is the highest point of the eyebrow.
Finally, move the line to the outer corner of your eyelid and you will get the ending of you eyebrow. Do not try to give your eyebrows extreme arch – it will make angry and irritated expression.
When I am done with plucking I smooth my eyebrows with a tiny mascara brush and add several strokes of a brown eyebrow shadows. My eyebrows are perfect!
3. Moisturize Your Skin
A deep moisturizing session over your lunch break will have your skin feeling revitalized and ready to finish the day. Apply your favorite soothing lotion on all your visible skin to keep it protected from the elements and looking its best.
If you have severely dry and itchy skin, try to prepare such an ointment: take your usual body lotion, add 2 tsp. of warm water and drop a bit of lavender or rosy oil. They are wonderful natural exfoliants. Now you need a piece of soft cloth to spread over your face. Apply the mixture generously and cover your face with the cloth. In 10 minutes rub the remnants into the skin.
You’ll feel refreshed when your skin is treated to a nourishing lotion. I prefer using thermal water when I’m short of time, as it takes me just 2 minutes to sprinkle my face and let it dry. My skin gets oily in the T-zone till noon, therefore I cannot use creams or lotions.
Finally, if your skin is too sensitive, forget about creams that contain dyes and fragrances. Play some soothing music in the privacy of your office and you’ll feel quite relaxed before heading into your afternoon.
4. Relieve Your Puffy Eyes
If you know that morning puffiness is your problem, start fighting it even before you jump out of bed. I begin with a massage of my eyelids. I close my eyes and put a forefinger on a lower eyelid. Then slowly and carefully I pass my hand from the outer to the inner corner so that the extra liquid can go out.
Try not to drink too much water before bed, or you can only make the puffiness worse. But in the morning, water can work wonders! Make sure you drink minimum 8 glasses of water a day to keep the water balanced.
Water decreases high concentration of salt in your body and helps relieve the swelling. If you have cold cucumber slices or some cotton rounds soaked in green tea, you have your beauty treatment at hand.
Yet truth be told, all you need is an ice cube or two and you can rid yourself of the puffiness around your eyes. Simply rub the ice cube around your eye area to rejuvenate the skin and wake up the look of your face.
If there is nothing of a kind near at hand, usual tea spoon will save the situation. Do not forget to put them into the fridge for 10 minutes before using. Finally, give your eyes a break. I take 10-minute rest every 2 hours when I’m at work.
5. Clean Nails
While hitting the nail salon may involve more time than you can spare, you can still take care of your nails by enhancing them with a lemony-fresh cleaning and some shaping with a nail file. Be sure to bring a lemon with you to work.
On your break, simply cut the lemon in half and place your fingertips inside. You only need to keep them submerged in the lemon for about two minutes.
If longer, citric acid can damage you manicure and irritate the skin. Your nail whites will look whiter and you can then shape them as you like.
I used to add some olive oil to fortify my nails and to soften the cuticle. Then it’s easier to remove it and to shape the nail. After the procedure I always moisten my hands with hand lotion and put on cotton gloves for about five minutes.
I suggest you to do this before bed so that you can sleep with the gloves on your hand all night. But even 5 minutes during the break will strengthen your nail and prettify your hands.
Repeat the procedure at least two times a weak. This easy treatment is the perfect beauty enhancement to enjoy on your lunch break.
More: 10 Steps to a Perfect French Manicure
6. Strawberry Teeth Scrub
Pearly-white smile is the best compliment to your cherry-colored lipstick, isn’t it? But we know that most whitening procedures are too expensive and can damage the sensitive tooth enamel.
I suggest you to try this extraordinary and efficient way to whiten your teeth at home or during the break. Save some of the strawberries from your lunch and mash them up into a paste. Add 1 teaspoon of baking soda, if you have one and blend the cream.
Leave this mixture on your teeth for at least 5-7 minutes to reinforce the effect. Then rinse your mouth cavity with warm water and brush it again with your usual tooth paste. I always use a dental floss after each brushing, to clean the space between the teeth.
When you brush your teeth with this natural whitening agent, you’ll not only enhance your smile, you won’t even take up much time doing it. You’ll only require about ten minutes to perform this great treatment.
I advise you to repeat the cleaning once a weak, as the malic acid can be rather aggressive to your enamel if you overdo it. Thus, strawberries can be a cheap, tasty and useful alternative to the beauty products in salons and shops.
7. Lip Scrub
There are many great lip enhancing products on the market. You can slough away those flaky lips in ten minutes by applying a sugar-based lip scrub that soothes and nourishes your lips.
Not only will your lips be softer, smoother, and moisture-rich, they’ll even be more firm for applying your lip color. This is an easy treatment you can perform on your lunch break quite often for great effect.
If you have the time you can also make your own DIY lip scrubs using ingredients like sugar, honey, and olive oil. Remember, that lip skin is the thinnest on your whole body, so be careful with any exfoliants, you don’t want to damage you skin.
Here’s one lovely recipe I use mostly in winter when my lips are sensitive and dry more than usual. You will need 1 tablespoon of white or brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of jojoba or olive oil and 1 tablespoon of honey.
I prefer grated white sugar since it gives less traumatic substance. Mix everything to the paste condition, and apply some amount to your lips using your forefinger. Rub the mixture gently for about 3 minutes and rinse away. Afterward, use nourishing lip balm to moisten the skin. 2 times a week will be enough to keep you lips soft and supple!
8. Get a Trim
You don’t always need a brand new hairstyle to rev up your looks. Just maintaining your tresses will go a long way to bolstering your look. You can simply have your ends and bangs trimmed for an instant beauty enhancement.
Your hair will look revived and healthy with just this simple trim. I always know that I have to visit my hair-dresser when I notice at least one of the following signs.
The most frequent token that I need a trim is when my ends become dry, dull and lifeless. In this case even the most wonder-working hair care products cannot help me.
Secondly, I notice that my hair ends begin to snap off and it seems my hair doesn’t get longer. It happens because of my frequent use of hair-dryer and iron. And this is the third reason to visit your hair-dresser.
If you use heat too often and as a result you have split ends, you need to get a trim. I don’t believe products with label “for split ends” that’s why the only way out for me is to remove them. I try to do my hair cut regularly – every two month – it helps to keep my hair strong and renewed.
Remember these simple options and enjoy your beautiful hairdo! It won’t take a capable stylist long to give you a quick trim up, but it helps to have an appointment so you can be in and out and back to work in no time with your great hair!
More: 10 Easy Ways to Switch Up Your Look
9. Massage
Treat yourself to a soothing massage. A thirty minute massage will help alleviate stress. You may not regard this type of treatment as a beauty enhancement, but a stress-free face is a thing of beauty, indeed.
If you can spare forty minutes so much the better! Supplement the procedure with lavender or rosemary essential oils – they will enliven your senses and settle your nerves. Use it either directly for massage or add to aroma lamp. 15-20 drops will be enough to create the necessary mood.
It’ hard to overestimate oil benefits since they improve circulation, detoxification and metabolism. What you will choose – pure oil or a blend – depends on what effect you want to achieve.
Plus, here’s one more way to use oils: I always take along an oil roll-on. It’s convenient and small package enables me to apply it wherever I am. Natural aromas are made to calm and relax your body, mind and relieve the stress. Switch on calm music, close your eyes and enjoy the feelings.
Top off your massage with a delicious and healthy smoothie and you’ll feel like you’re walking on air! Once you make an appointment you’ll have something to look forward to all morning long.
A lunch break is not only about replenishing healthy calories, it’s a great time to enhance your beauty. What’s your favorite beauty treatment to do on your lunch break?1