PARTY ON SISTER!     THE Ultimate Party Survival Kit.

Swan into Y2K with everything that’s party-proof and party-glam. Anna Magee shows you how in our ultimate guide to staying (and playing) power.

[pic 1 - choice of two - courtesy of L’Oreal or Max Factor]

Beauty companies are going the distance in the lead up to the party season to end all party seasons.  Suddenly celebratory chic means not only looking gorgeous when you walk out the door, but also when you rock home many, many hours (perhaps days!) later…Such good time girl dedication, requires beauty products with proven long distance track records.  We’ve done some homework for you and found novel new party products that are not only loads of fun, they’re made to outlast the festivities (good luck getting them off!), as well as some old faithfuls to really party proof you. Forget touching up every 15 minutes, you’ve got much better things to do with your time…

FACE

[pic 2 - courtesy of Maybelline NY]

Prepare Yourself: To help make-up stay on, neutralise the skin and prepare it for foundation apply an oil free moisturiser like Pre-Base from Make-Up For Ever £10.95. If your skin is tired or drawn, apply a thin film of Clarins Beauty Flash £20 for 50ml (a true beauty classic) before make-up - it works wonders.

[pix 3, 4 & 5]

Addicted To Base: For an oily skin, Revlon’s Colourstay Make-Up £11.50 is an old faithful stayer that gives great coverage and a matt finish as is the long-time model fave Max Factor Lasting Performance Foundation £9.50.  For a sheer, translucent look with a hint of sheen, Revlon’s Colourstay Lite £9.95 is fast becoming a must-have of those in the beauty know.  Like it’s older sister, Colourstay Lite sets in 60 seconds and has been proven in US consumer tests to live up to it’s budge, sweat and transfer proof image.  If your skin is drier, try Olay Colour All-day Moisture Foundation £8.99, winner of best foundation in the Boots Health & Beauty Awards. Treat skin suffering from late-night overload to Christian Dior’s Teint Diorlift Smoothing Anti-Fatigue Foundation £21.50 with firming, moisturising and anti-oxidant properties.

[pic 6]

Enduring Eyes:  Revlon have done it again. Colourstay Powder Shadows £6.95 feature double ended applicator, great colours and have a lightweight, silky feeling.  Dab a little on the lid and blend quickly - these too set in 60 seconds.  For hot, edgy colours that go on lighter-than-air and can survive a massive onslaught of rain, sweat or tears, take a look at Prescriptives new Eyelights Cream Eyeshadow £16.50. Get extra-special effects and Marlene Dietrich eyes with Lancome’s new Kit Faux Cils £10, a kit of false eyelashes (in sections so they’re much easier to apply) and glue.

[pix 7 & 8]

The Last Lip:  A beauty editor once told me to be realistic in my expectations of lipstick “Ultra long-lasting, moisturising and colour true? Not possible in one tube” - those, her exact words were put to shame by the launch of Clarins Secret de Rouge Long Lasting Lipsticks £13.50.  We’re talking moisture, colour, and endurance - a wonder product if ever there was one.  But not everyone wants dense matte colour.  For the best in lasting, sexy and not-too-greasy (watery lip films are more passè than Bond girl right now) glosses try Ultima II Volumizing Lip Gloss £12.95 (sexy little silver container), L’oreal Rouge Pulp (comes in a seriously hot red) and Dior’s convenient new Tour de Rouge £16, an ensemble of five colours in on compact little case and it’s own brush - check them out quick as they are a limited edition.

BODY

Goodbye Kitsch Glitter, Hello Chic Shimmer

Forget outlandish body glitter and look for subtle luminescence and shimmer instead of hard-core sparkle with Max Factor’s Shimmer Pan Stick in Bronze £7. Or try some shimmering fragrance like Quiddity by Chippie Sparkling Perfumes £3.99 in Riot (fruity-floral-oriental) or Cool Spell (tangy-woody). 

Be Tan-Cheat

no hope of seeung the sun before July? Get a tan regardless with Elizabeth Arden’s Oil-Free Self-Tanning Lotion for face and body. Or try new low-commitment, convenient Tan Wipes £9.95 for 40 wipes that also give great colour and can be layered to intensify effect.  When using sun-free tanning products remember to exfoliate the skin with a loofah and skin scrub beforehand.  Once you’ve applied the lotion, take an old towel and wipe over areas where skin is most concentrated like elbows, ankles and knees to avoid blotches and over-pigmentation.  Allow 30-45 minutes for a coat to dry before applying a second one and use light coatings, not thick ones.

NAILS [pic should be on the email, the rock chick with the pink nails]

Creative Nail Design, big name nail  gurus of the US and pioneers of acrylic nails, insist the nail shape of the moment is oval, the colour bright.  But by far biggest news in nails is texture.  That means smudged, tattered, torn and dented (but not chipped) talons.  Before you try this at home make sure your nails are in great shape. If you can, it’s best to have a nail artist get the initial look for you.  For information on a talented nail tecnician near you phone Creative Nail Design on 00 44 113 274 8486. Revlon’s Streetwear Nail Enamel £3.95 comes in some funky colours and chip-resistant formulas.  If  deep, luscious Elvira meets Morticia violet is more your scene, take a look at Lancome’s Triple Tenue Nail Varnish no.292 £11 in the Pas Sage range (literally translated that means “not good” or “naughty”)

HAIR

[pic 9 - we have permission from L’oreal to use this picture of Ms Aniston without the ugly spray can on the side, as long as Elnett is mentioned in the text]

For superhold hair, L’Oreal’s Elnett Hairspray is another tried and true classic. If your locks are suffering post-party trauma as a result of over-processing, blow-drying or they’re just weak, brittle or lifeless, Kerastase have the cure: (I should know my hair was all of the above before it was subjected to this stuff and I have to say it restored my hair’s sanity!) Resistance Strengthening Hair bath £7.30 and Ciment Anti-Wear Conditioner £8.90. Have some lock-up fun with Wella Shockwaves Magic Colour Gels £4.95 for 30 ml - funky coloured hair gels that hold your locks with vibrant hues of bronze, gold or blue.  Try putting a dab on your fingers and twisting the hair into spikes or curls (Warning: Be near a tap. Although messy, they wash out in shampoo and water).   For a tamer yet longer lasting effect Wella Viva Colour Mousse £3.99 can provide a temporary colour change (there’s all manner of ambers, golds  and mahoganies) or just add a subtle lift and heaps of shine to your current hair colour.

WHAT’S HOT - WHAT’S NOT

Daniel Sandler - London Make-Up Artist

Hot:

Not:

Aisling Eyre - Dublin Make-Up Artist [pic is in U office]

Hot:

Not:

[pix 11 & 12]

Attention Grabbers

No more melting into the anonymous darkness of clubs and late-night bars.  Now beauty extroverts can shine in any crowd with Dior’s new Lumière Noire - Night Glow. A range of Face and Body Pencils, Hair Make-up and Nail Enamels (£11 each) that are all invisible in daylight and phosphorescent under UV light, they come with stencils to make application easy. Apply your make-up as usual then add ‘invisible’ Night Glow that comes to life later on…

Forget “What’s your sign?”. Now you can wear your sign and bypass the small talk with Bourjeois’ funky Limited Edition Zodiac Tattoos £3.95 with free ink pad. The small zodiac symols can be worn alone or in a continous sexy band around your arm.  Wait a few minutes for them to dry before dressing.

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BEAUTY FIRST-AID 

It’s the Murphy’s Law of beauty: You’ve hankered after “soireè gorgeous” all year by scrutinizing magazine beauty pages; painstakingly putting together every final detail of that coveted party look - hell, even practised the Jennifer Lopez pout! Then:  SABOTAGE - a beauty emergency strikes!  Late-running stockings, broken nails, pre-party zit onslaught and all manner of desperation-inducing beauty disasters that can go wrong will before a party.  Prepare yourself with U’s guide to pre-party quick-fixes.

The Glaring Pimple

Resist the temptation to squeeze or pick.  Apply an ice cube directly to the pimple and hold for a few seconds - this should reduce swelling and redness.  Cover the pimple by applying foundation (in your exact skin tone) with a concealer brush then press some powder on top to set.  Repeat the process until the blemish is hidden.

Red Or Dead?

Red Nose: Colds, allergies and sinus problems won’t disappear at party time.  To look great despite them make sure you keep your skin well moisturized. If your nose is resembling W.C Fields’ use a yellow-toned foundation (Prescriptives and Bobbi Brown make brilliant ones) to combat redness.  Keep eyes simple (just in case they water) and carry some foundation and powder with you for touch ups - when your body’s temperature is haywire, make-up may have trouble adhering to the skin.

Red Eyes:  Grab some fast-acting over the counter red-eye drops like Boots’ ColourBlue £3.08 (not for contact lens wearers) and keep them on hand, just in case.  If you’re eyes are still bloodshot, avoid too much make-up especially in brown tones (brown has a strong red pigment and will only accentuate the problem).  Blue-based colours, used sparingly can help take attention away from redness.

Red Face: Start by applying a cold pack to your face then follow with a yellow-based concealer, foundation and powder.  If redness is a constant problem for you, invest in Ambertoner from Make-up For Ever £17, an oil-free lotion that really tones down that red.

All Puffed-Up

Heavy food, too little sleep and too much alcohol the night before can be responsible for turning you into a magic dragon best left in your childhood. Make-up artists have long dealt with models’ puffy eyes and faces with the cold trick.  Try running a spoon under very cold water and placing it over each eye for five to ten seconds.  For whole face puff-sufferers open the freezer door, stick your face in and count to 100.  If you’re ahead of time stock up on some Optrex Fresh Eye Masks (£2.95 for pack of two) with plant extracts and witch hazel to give peepers an instant lift.  Keep them in the fridge for best results.

Long Day = Aching Feet

Add a few drops of eucalyptus oil to any moisturiser or base oil and rub into legs and feet.

Ex-Static

To avoid static hair drama, always use a leave-in conditioner.  If you’ve forgotten and hair is already dry, a silicone based anti-frizz cream can remove static.  Failing that, a tiny spot of moisturising lotion lightly dabbed onto the hair is a great quick fix (the moisturiser trick can also work on tights with static cling).

You can also slide a metal hanger over your tights, under your dress and over you hair as metal neutralizes the electric charge.

The Root Of The Problem

Keep a hair mascara handy in the shade of your hair to touch up roots.  If you hair’s dark, your standard mascara should do fine.

Rebel Hem

The hem on the little black number has unravelled and you have neither time nor desire to sew it up.  Keep some double-sided dressmaker’s tape on hand as a fast alternative to needle and thread, it’s available in most haberdashery stores. Works not only on runaway hems, but also on straps that are too long bra pads that need to be fastened to the inside of your bras (to avoid embarrassing ‘pad fallout’).

Broken Nail Tale

If there isn’t a nail file to be found use the strip of a matchbox to file down sharp edges.

Up The Ladder

Stop a little ladder from becoming a disastrous one by dabbing a touch of clear nail lacquer at the top and bottom of the pull.

Source:  The World’s Best-Kept Beauty Secrets by Diane Irons (Vermilion) £7.90

COPYRIGHT ANNA MAGEE 1999

LINK TO EXAMPLES 3