The Ultimate Beauty Guide

As we all know, dating can be tough. Between finding the perfect outfit and hoping the awkward pauses are kept to a minimum, we have plenty to worry about. The one thing that shouldn’t stress us out? Our beauty routine. But sometimes, no matter how perfect we plan on making our hair and makeup, disaster strikes. Use these tips to stop these common beauty bummers from ruining your night.


1. Bad breath strikes:
Be careful what you order for dinner. You don’t want to run the risk of repelling your date with garlic breath. To be safe always carry mints, not gum (chomping away all night isn’t the best idea either).


2. White deodorant stains on your clothes:
Picture this: You’re finally putting on your date outfit, and when you go to look in the mirror, you’ve somehow gotten lines of white deodorant all over it. We’ve all been there. Luckily there are easy solutions. Dab away at the stripes with baby wipes or the foam rubbers that are on most hangers from the dry cleaners, or even a pair of old stockings.


3. Your hair frizzes:
Sometimes, we’ll leave home with commercial-worthy hair only to arrive at our destination with strands that are more frizzy than fabulous. The secret to keeping your hair shiny and smooth: Hair oils and a little bit of hairspray. After you finish styling your hair, smooth some frizz-fighting serum through your hair and finish it off with a light mist of hairspray. Tame flyaways and baby hairs by spraying a toothbrush with hairspray and gently brushing hair back.


4. Your mascara smudges:
To keep the windows to your soul bright and smudge-free, always swipe on waterproof mascara. Also, stick with a formula that you like and know won’t smudge—a date isn’t the time to test out something new!


5. You have a huge zit:
The best thing you can do when you spot a giant pimple is just to leave it alone. But that’s probably the last thing you’d like to do before a big date. If you absolutely can’t resist, pop the zit very carefully a night or two before (to give it enough time to heal). Then, on the day of, use a heavy-duty concealer to mask the redness. Just remember to blend, blend, blend. For extra redness help, use a few drops of redness reducing eye drops on the area.


6. Lipstick gets on your teeth:
The easiest way to avoid getting lipstick on your teeth (and having your date stare at it all night long)? Just don’t wear it. While it’s generally best to stick to a softer lip color on a date, that doesn’t mean you have to forgo painting your pout altogether. Ditch heavily pigmented, bright lipsticks for more subtle colors, or even swap them out for a lip tint or a lip stain. Also, consider test-driving the lip product you’re going to use before a date. If your guy’s taking you out to dinner and drinks, give your lip color a trial run the day before to see how it lasts through the night.


7. You get shiny:
Unless your skin is magically matte on its own (in that case, we envy you), you’ll probably end up a little shinier than you’d like on your date. To cut back on shine, prep your skin with a toner that has salicylic acid and use oil-free products. Be sure to also carry blotting papers in your purse—they’ll soak up any excess oil without ruining your makeup.