3-product Instant Party Face: How to Go from Zero to Sixty like a Pro

In a perfect world, we'd all get ready for a night out with plenty of time on our hands, a full makeup kit, lots of good, bright lighting, and a trusted, makeup-savvy best friend there to guide you through whatever pitfalls (smoky eye meltdown! mismatched foundation!) that may come your way.

In real life party preparation often happens at the last minute, in uncomfortable circumstances, and with a random meager assortment of bottom-of-your-purse products paltry few products. It happens to all of us, no matter what, so your best defense is a good offense: we asked the experts how to navigate these tricky, photo-heavy times and get party pretty on the skimp with three simple products almost anyone has on hand.

Make that Lipstick WORK:
The number one tip from pros we came across was to multi-task your favorite lipstick. Lips, cheeks, eyes, go for it. Everyone from Shine Editor in Chief Jennifer Romolini to top makeup artist Laura Gellar advise taking one great, lipstick - the one that flatters you, looks natural on you, works with your skintone, and smudge it on lips cheeks AND eyes, if you have limited time and resources. According to Laura Gellar, makeup artist, creator of Laura Geller Cosmetics, "using the same color on both the apples of the cheeks, lips and eyelids instantly warms up your whole face and pulls together your look. Choose bronzy shades in fair skin and pinks on medium and dark complexions."

"A tube of lipstick can be a lot of different tones, depending how you apply it," says makeup pro Sonia Kashuk. "You can make the color more subtle by mixing it with a lip balm or a lighter lip gloss, or blend it very well into lips to create a sheer stain. You can also increase the intensity of it by applying layers. It's so versatile, and can take your look from day to night, subtle to sultry."

For those not familiar with how to translate a lipstick into a blush/shadow listen up: You want to apply it in circular motions to the apples of your cheeks with your fingers, little at a time - you can always add more later - till you get a diffused, natural-looking glow. The most important factor is to blend the color very well into cheeks, to avoid clown-like effect.

For the more adventurous, choose a red lipstick for this task. Makeup artist Sonia Kashuk likes the power and versatility of a good blue-red lipstick best of all. "It's such a transformative element. The right red lip will brighten the face and looks super feminine and sophisticated" So find the right red and carry it with you everywhere, adding a tiny pop of it to cheeks for a fresh bloom of color. "Keep the rest of the face fresh and allow lips to take center stage," adds Kashuk. "It's all about the power of one."

Face Powder = Your Best Friend

Besides the fact that it's probably the once cosmetic we all have on hand with a built in mirror, a good compact of translucent powder can work miracles.
Got a pimple? Don't even bother with the concealer or foundation if your pressed for time, according to plastic surgeon Dr. Paul Frank Jarrod, and stick with a few pats of translucent powder to cut shine and even out skin tone. Translucent powder gives a clean, uniform, shine free finish that's as close to covered-up as you can get in a hurry. No, it won't totally cover up the pimple, but it also won't irritate it or, even worse, highlight it, like hastily-applied concealer so often does.

Plus, its the trick to making everything from your eyeshadow and lipstick to last twice as long as it normally does, and the perfect way to make eyeshadow cling to skin, and fix any over-enthusiatic mistakes you might make-too much color? Instead of starting over, blot what you can away with a tissue, pat on some face powder and start again.

Another time-tested makeup artist trick? Thickening and lengthening lashes: apply one coat of mascara to lashes, dust on a thin coat of translucent powder onto lashes -yes, while mascara is still wet - then top immediately with another coat of mascara. That touch of powder will add a surprising amount of bulk to skimpy lashes.


Add a touch of metallic to lips or eyes:

If you really, really want to glow at the party, always carry some sort of shimmer for your face, be it a shimmery bronzer, silvery eyeshadow, even a sparkling lipgloss. A little metallic shimmer goes a long way, with the most minimal of effort.
Rea Ann Silva, makeup artist and creator of beautyblender advises: "Dot shimmery eye shadow," (or whatever shine you have on hand) "onto the inner corners of your eyes. Celebs use this trick on the red carpet all the time. It's like a little spotlight that lights up your whole face in seconds."
"I always have a shadow compact with neutrals and also something with shimmer unhand for when I need to glam up quickly," says Kashuk. "Even a super-subtle metallic-flecked beige shadow brushed along the eyelid - especially paired with black eyeliner - transforms you."