How to hide a hangover: the make-up tips and tricks

Broadly speaking, we live in a time when make-up rules are redundant. It is the era of do as you will, adorn yourself as much or as little as you please, pick whatever colour you want and put it wherever you want.

I, like any true make-up fan, applauds this. Where’s the fun in a paint-by-numbers face? Why not find joy in experimentation and doing whatever you think makes you look good that day? Doesn’t homogeny in make-up look very boring? Etc.

There is however a note-worthy exception to the rule about no rules: when a hangover has befallen you. Your eyes will be red, your skin will be pale and slightly water-logged, and your entire face will likely be bereft of inner vim and vigour.

In short, you’ll look c**p and you’ll feel c**p and if you must socialise during the period of the hangover, you will need to employ strategic make-up to hide the signs. Crucially, said make-up must not require much effort or ingenuity on your part — because the last thing you want to do when feeling desiccated from within is faff over details.

Here are the top five tips I’ve relied on over the years, having learned them both from having to cover my own sizeable festive hangovers, and from makeup artists who’ve dealt with the hangovers of big celebrities for whom the stakes is much, much higher:

Don’t overdo your base

A cardinal rule, this one. Don’t be fooled into thinking that a blanket of foundation will make your grey skin look better. It’s likely it will have the opposite effect. Rather than being heavy handed here, just go in where needed with a light-weight layer, then add concealer only where needed.

Blush over bronzer

It is so temping to go for it with bronzer in an attempt to add life to the face. This is not the way — bronzer adds warmth, but not a flush. Reach for blush instead, ideally a balm or cream formula, and apply it to the apples of your cheeks.

Open up eyes

Two things will do this most successfully: a whisper of highlighter (powder or liquid will do) hugging the inner corner of your tear duct, and a hell of a lot of mascara. Make-up artists who’ve spoken to me about making eyes appear wide open via mascara tell me that you want to really wiggle the wand from roots to tips, targeting all the lashes from inner to outer, creating a universally-flattering fan.

Skip eyeshadow

Nothing more quickly makes you look tired than shadow clinging to a poorly-hydrated eyelid — and the area will absolutely be poorly hydrated if you have a hangover. If shadow is your thing and you can’t be without, try a liquid with a hint of shimmer to bounce light and give the illusion of greater juiciness of skin than you possess.

Pick a lively lipstick

The one feature that doesn’t suffer much when hungover? Lips. Lips remain by and large resolutely their usual selves, and so leaning on them to light up your face is a really easy win. Here, use whichever texture you usually prefer, but make it as bright as you can possibly stand to divert attention from other features that fared less well.