Morning-After Essentials

Spontaneous sleep over at a new boo’s house? These are the 5 makeup essentials to have in your purse for the morning after.

I think a lot of us can relate to that “oh shit” moment when you look in the mirror after a long night of … exercise (?) and, um, sleeping (?) face down in someone else’s pillow. Smeared eyeliner, falsies hanging on for dear life, crusty spots where your foundation has said farewell, and glitter from your eyeshadow that has somehow made its way to the edges of your nostrils. What’s worse is the realization that all you have in your purse is lip gloss and, if you’re lucky, a pack of mints. And chances are very slim that your sleepover partner has anything in their cabinets to make your situation better—sorry, sir, your 3-in-1 shower gel isn’t helpful to me right now.

Until recently, I would find myself in this situation without anything to help me manage the damage the next morning—not even a makeup wipe. You’d think I would’ve learned sooner. 

I usually keep a basic makeup kit in my car with a toothbrush and toothpaste, makeup wipes, face wash, moisturizer, mini deodorant, concealer, mascara, eyebrow pencil, and a shimmery eyeshadow that I can also use as highlighter on my cheeks. It comes in handy for regular touch ups when I’m out and about, but I found it just wasn’t practical or realistic for impromptu sleepovers. I don’t always drive my car when I go places, so that pretty much defeats the purpose. Other times my car is parked blocks away, and the thought of explaining to my new slumber party friend that I have to take a quick, early morning walk in the rain to grab something from my car had me heavily considering giving that 3-in-1 dude soap a try. 

You never know when your boo thing is going to call and see what you’re up to tonight, or when you run into an old flame while you’re at a club, and before you know it, you’re on your way to their place. So, when the odds are stacked against you and all you have is your purse, you best make sure you’re prepared. You’ll never regret having these items with you, I promise.

Keep these five makeup essentials in your bag, and you’ll always slay the morning after:

1.     Makeup wipe 

2.     Moisturizer 

3.     Concealer 

4.     Creamy lipstick 

5.     Mascara 

Makeup wipe

I know, I know. Makeup wipes aren’t great for your skin. But the only time I use them is in situations like this, and because they’ve saved my life so many times, I blissfully ignore their bad qualities (something I tend to do with men, too, unfortunately). The reason I say “wipe” instead of “wipes” is because bringing an entire pack of makeup wipes is totally unnecessary and takes up too much room in your purse. I like to bring one or two wipes with me in a small Ziplock bag, making them easy to store and keeping them moist and clean all night. If you skip any of the other items on this list, fine, but not this one! I can’t recommend it enough. 

Moisturizer 

We’re trying to be mindful of the limited space in our purses, so try to find a travel-size version of your favorite face moisturizer—bonus points if it smells good.

After removing your makeup, rinse your face with cold water to help wake you up a bit and wash away any remaining makeup grime. Then, go in with your rich, buttery moisturizer to add some life back into your skin. I find that when I sleep in my makeup, my skin is extra dry the next morning so this step is non-negotiable for me. This will also help us when we apply and blend the rest of our morning-after makeup products. 

Concealer 

Concealer is a must-have for obvious reasons—we’re bound to have some pretty hardcore dark circles after our long night of Netflix & chill. And since we slept in our makeup, chances are we woke up with a new blemish or two. 

My biggest tip here is to choose a concealer that’s the same shade as your skin tone. A lot of us have concealers that we use to sculpt and highlight certain parts of our face which tend to be two or three shades lighter than our foundation color. For the purposes of morning-after makeup though, we’re just looking to balance out our skin tone, spot conceal here and there, and blend the product seamlessly and sneakily into our skin. 

I also find that super full coverage formulas do more harm than good in this context. When you go to blend them out, high coverage concealers can get patchy and stick to dry spots, at least on my face. I like to use a buildable medium-coverage concealer, like the Milani Conceal & Perfect. It also helps that the tube it comes in is fairly compact. 

Starting with my under eyes, I use just enough product to minimize the darkness but not so much that it starts to cake up and crease. Again, we’re going with a light layer of makeup throughout our face so be mindful of how much you use here. Next I make my way around my face, adding small amounts to any blemishes, hyper pigmentation, etc., and I blend, blend, blend. 

Creamy lipstick

You’re almost there. You’ve successfully removed all your day-old makeup. You’ve put some moisturizer on and a little concealer on your dark circles and blemishes. But now, you’re looking kind of ghostly and could use a bit of color back in your face. 

When choosing your lipstick, I recommend choosing a formula that’s emollient and blends easily. And since we’re rocking minimal makeup, we want to use a lipstick shade that’s fairly close to our natural lip color. Pick a nice, neutral pink and stay far away from any bold shades. I also try to avoid any lipsticks that are ultra-pigmented because they don’t tend to mix well with the rest of my “no makeup” makeup. Start slow with just a small amount of the lipstick to your lips, building up slowly, and pat it out to keep things natural.

Then—trust me on this one—you’re going to add some to your cheeks too. I certainly don’t recommend putting lipstick on your face on a daily basis, but this is a morning-after hack I wish I had discovered sooner. I usually swirl my lipstick a few times on the back of my hand to warm it up first before tapping it onto my cheekbones. If you have a tissue or cotton ball to apply it with, even better, otherwise your fingers will do. Start with the teeniest amount of product first and then build from there. The goal is to not look like you’re really wearing any makeup. You just want to give yourself a small wash of color so you look youthful and fresh when you walk into the kitchen to enjoy the delicious breakfast your boo just made for you.

Mascara 

If you have space in your purse for mascara, I highly suggest having a tube on hand. Make sure it’s one of your tried & true formulas, too. This is not the time to be experimenting with a mascara you got in a recent Boxy Charm.

I like to put a light coat of mascara on my top and bottom lashes, but again, not too much. We’re going for effortless, morning-after beauty here. We want just enough to accentuate our beautiful eyes, but not so much that it looks like we’re trying too hard. 

Your top five sleepover survival products might be different than mine, but whatever they are, and wherever you go, have them with you. You’ll always be a fresh, morning-after god or goddess and your sleepover companion will be awestruck by your vigor and poise. Thank me later :)

xx,

Whitley