Aspiring beauty blogger: Simone Lawrence

Hues of break-up blues: post-break-up beauty savers

Break-up face. We’ve all had it- horrid puffy eyes, streams of mascara, the red, runny nose worthy of Rudolph and ruined makeup. Then there’s the obvious torrent of tears and constant nausea. We often look as bad as we feel.  

Too often after a break-up we tend to immediately self-doubt and critique ourselves for some form of (often physical) reason why we weren’t good enough for our ex. This is neither logical nor normally accurate, but our fears are usually reinforced by how horrid we look after all the crying. Help stop your tears and the negative thinking with these few tips.  

Soak it Away

Run a bath with an indulgent bath bomb or have a shower with an aromatic and soothing shower gel with notes of lavender to calm your nerves and clear your head. (Try Lush’s Twilight Bath Ballistic or L’Occitaine Lavender Harvest Shower Gel.) Take your time and make sure you grab your fluffiest robe and slippers for afterwards.

Save Face

Accept that after crying, nobody looks good, even Miranda Kerr (probably). Grab a makeup wipe (try Swisspers Cucumber Wipes) to get rid of any traces of makeup, and then follow with your normal skincare routine, focusing on hydration. Apply a de-puffing eye cream and the most indulgent body cream you own. (Origins GinZing Refreshing Eye Cream is brilliant, as are The Body Shop Body Butters.)

Restore

Limit your alcohol intake. Those few bottles of pinot may drown your sorrows, true, but they will dehydrate you further and give you the headache of a lifetime- and you’ll look worse in the morning. Try to stick to herbal tea and plenty of water. (Berocca Twist ‘n’ Go may be required for those who choose the wine.)

Focus On Work

If the next day is a work day, get your butt there on time. Slick your hair into a no-fuss pony tail and apply the bare minimum of makeup: foundation or tinted moisturiser, waterproof mascara and lip balm (try Nars' Pure-Radiant Tinted Moisturizer, Clinique High Impact Waterproof Mascara and Nivea Lip Butter) then arm yourself for any post-tears touch-ups. Concentrating on work will lessen the time spent thinking about him and even a little time spent on yourself that morning may prevent any co-workers from clueing-in on your mood. This may side-step the dreaded “Are you okay?” which may cause you to hurl your chair in their general direction.

Pamper Time

List your favourite “me-time” beauty rituals and pick as many as you can afford/have time for. Attention lavished on you from someone paid to make you look good will work wonders. Grab your bestie for a Saturday of pampering and lunch.

Just remember, even all the makeup and beauty products in the world will never truly mask your pain, so remember to give yourself time to heal. As Bruno Mars so beautifully says it, “You’re beautiful, just the way you are.”