In Mumbai, the weather has been phenomenal! The rains, the overshadowing clouds and the laziness that comes with it, it’s my favourite time. But there is a downside to loving this season too much (and “forgetting” the umbrella at home every time I leave the house). Yep, the one and only common cold. It hits me every single time the season changes and of course gets aggravated with getting drenched one too many times.
Today was one such day. I woke up with a bright red nose, a splitting headache and highly irritated skin. All I honestly wanted to do was just chill, watch my fave movies and wallow in self-pity. But of course, grown-up life intervened and I had to make it to work. Sound familiar?
Well if you’re going through this or are planning to get drenched, here is my sick day skincare and makeup routine for the days when you just can’t curl up and become a blanket burrito. Before you do anything though, get out of bed, make yourself a cup of green tea and keep sipping on it until the very end.
1. Cleanse
Your skin is dehydrated, flaky and irritated. You need to make sure you clean it up, especially the area around your nose. But before you touch your face please make sure to cleanse your hands thoroughly. That’s where the problems begin. I went in for a simple double cleanse thing morning with a mild facial foam and oil-based cleanser. I was feeling particularly icky, but you can choose to do either.
2. Mask It Up
You thought I was going to tell you to tone your skin now? Normally I would do that. But my skin was feeling dull and I was feeling sick. I got my super awesome sheet mask out of the fridge and slipped it on for about 10 mins (actually 7 because I had to sneeze). Then I massaged the leftover product into my skin and sipped on my green tea a little more.
3. Moisturise
My skin was already feeling much better. So, I just went ahead and applied my regular moisturiser. I also applied some eye cream because of my delicate under eye area and applied my favourite lip balm.
4. Base Makeup
Normally I would stop at the moisturiser and lip balm but I had a meeting today and I couldn’t have looked completely dead. With makeup, I like to keep it super simple and really sheer. I steer clear of the area around my nose and mouth because I know at some point I need to be blowing my nose. So I started with a concealer under my eyes because that’s the area that needed to wake up the most and I buffed that into my skin. I set that with a light dusting of compact, and took that around my face.
5. Eyes
Thanks to the common cold, my eyes were all puffed up. The concealer helped my under eye area but I still needed a little pick-me-up. I used a brown eyeshadow stick as an eyeliner, then smudged it out a bit. Then I curled my lashes and added two coats of mascara to open up my eyes. Ensure the mascara is waterproof so you don’t keep getting crumbs when you scrunch your eyes to sneeze for the hundredth time.
6. Blush
My face was already red, so I just added a hint of cheek tint to use it to my advantage.
7. Lips
Finally, I just used a tinted chubby stick on my lips so it’s not harsh and dehydrating and can be reapplied regardless of a mirror. Do not forget to sip on fluids throughout the day especially vitamin C enriched fluids and PLEASE go to a doctor before the common cold becomes uncommon!
Bookmark this article ladies, I know we’re going to need this a lot this month!
Images: Shutterstock
