Tips for Office: How to look sick without looking SICK :)

This is something that I thought of, as part of 2 different scenarios:

• One, my colleague came after 2 days of sick leave looking pretty fresh and with good makeup...Her boss remarked to me - 'Looks like someone took sick leave for a vacation, she doesn't look like she was sick!'
• Two, another colleague came after a cold & flu bout looking like fresh out of sick room and my friend said, 'I am not going to talk to her, she looks pretty sick and yuck!'

So, I thought, how to strike a medium? I have  written a post previously on How to Dress when Sick... but that article is when you don't want to look sick when you are sick.. This article will help you on how to dress without either making people wonder where you actually were or looking like a zombie from hospital..

The concept is to avoiding looking fresh or bold while adding fragility to your look; Elegance is the key.

Here we go:

Avoid fresh or bold lip colors
This is the best time to go for nude or neutral colors. If you are not a fan of nude colors, or find it boring or is wondering how to use it, you can try them for 1-2 days after your sick leave.

My pick is Revlon's Ginger Rose or Demure from their Super Lustrous line.

Avoid Blushers, Bronzers or Highlighters
I know, this is the hardest step for me and for many... But trust me, nothing makes you look a bit tired than skipping that blusher. If its real hard for you, go for your fall shades -dark mauvish ones.
Also avoid cream blushes  - you don't want a dewy glow!
My pick would be NYX Dusty Rose.

Say No to Bold Eyes
Again, a very hard thing for me to do, but nothing brightens your face like a nicely done eye look, so try avoiding that. This doesn't mean ignoring your eyes completely. I suggest either skipping your mascara or liner or toning down the intensity a bit - if you usually apply 2 coats of mascara, go for 1. Also avoid any Cats-eye, winged eyeliner looks.

Also, avoid black for your eyeliners; instead go for shades of brown. The intent here is to look tired yet perfectly made up.

Say Yes to Clean Matte Look
A dewy look is again NO NO - go for a clean matte finish, so bring on your powder foundations to get that clean, elegant yet fragile look.


These are my tried and tested ideas... Let me know how this work for you and also if you have any ideas :)