5 Makeup Tips for the Cold & Flu Face

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It's cold and flu season (yay.), which means it's time to stock up on the tissues, the decongestants, and the beauty products. It's a little known fact, but makeup is a key ingredient when you're trying to get over one nasty runny nose. Because when you look good, you feel good. That's what we're going with here -- if you trick yourself with a little concealer here and some lip exfoliator there, those cold and flu symptoms may just disappear.

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Here are 5 makeup tips for the cold and flu face.

Concealer is your best friend. Dab some of the thick miracle potion on that red nose and no one will know you were up all night rubbing your face raw with napkins and paper towels since you obviously ran out of those fancy-pants lotion-infused tissues.

Exfoliate your lips and apply light color. Is it just me, or do your lips get mad chapped when you have a cold? Must be all the mouth-breathing due to the stuffed up sinuses. Anyway, wet a washcloth with warm water and gently rub your lips, removing all that gross white skin. Apply a chap-stick then some light, light color. We wanna keep it light because anything too bright might accentuate some of the other unwanted red spots on your poor, sickly face.

Moisturize and use a glossy blush. You're dehydrated when you're ill, so using heavy foundation will just look cakey. Wash with an exfoliating face cleanser and lather on the moisturizer. Use a sticky, glossy blush to add some color back into your face -- avoid blush that's powdery.

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Water-resistant mascara. Avoid eyeshadow, it could wash you out, but don't skimp on the mascara. Use waterproof because lord knows one huge sneeze and your eyes are more watery than Victoria Falls.

Wash and blow dry your hair. It's so tempting just to throw your hair in a ponytail when you're not feeling well, but a hot shower and a blow-dry will work wonders. Yeah, it takes some energy, but I find that if you take the time to do your hair, you'll feel so.much.better. It's a game-changer.

What are your makeup tips for when you have a cold or flu?

Photo via mcfarlandmo/Flickr

Written by Lindsay Mannering for CafeMom's blog, The Stir.

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