Japan is the land of two-fisted drinkers. The war stories are ugly. I’m not a drinker, but I’ve heard tale on more than one occasion of teachers passing out on trains and ending up in the middle of nowhere, left to scramble their way home for a quick shower and head into teach on two hours sleep. It’s hard to be genki when your head is pounding and you’re preoccupied with the inevitable Morning After questions: “Where was I last night?” “Did I make out with that dude with the eye patch?” “Who keeps texting me these horrible pictures?”
Well lovelies it happens to all of us at one point or another. You already know the usual remedies–red beer, eye drops, voodoo chanting– but here are a few hangover beauty tricks if you took your night to an advanced level.
The biggest giveaway that you have had no sleep is your eyes. They look like hell. You look like you’ve gone three rounds with Tyson, and the bags are big enough to stuff laundry in. You gotta fix that, in like five minutes.
1) Ice.
You know those little ice packs you get at the market when you buy perishables? Keep all of them. Not only are they great for chilling water bottles, but they feel amazing on sore eyeballs and reduce swelling.
2) DePuff.
You need a great eye cream or serum. You can even keep this in the fridge if you want, but if you apply this post-ice you’ll see a dramatic difference in darkness and baggage. Also great for insomniacs of both genders. Bioderma’s gets amazing reviews on the MUA boards and I personally love it.
3) Conceal.
Here’s a great visual tutorial on proper eye concealment and it totally works. Creating a triangle under the eye flattens the entire area, which is a good thing, hungover or not. Use a flat brush (not your fingers) and gently blend. If there was ever a day to put a little extra makeup on, it’s Hangover Day.
4) Lashes.
I know there’s no way you’re even considering a layer of fakes in your condition, but tube mascaras are great for faking fake lashes and opening up your eyes. I always curl after I apply mascara because they stay curled… but only do this is you’ve done it and know how. Curling makes a huge difference in how awake you look, so no matter your brand you gotta do it. L’oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes is my all-time favorite and I’ve tried them ALL, and it’s under JPY2000. I brought six tubes with me from the States (where it’s about $9.00).
To prevent Death Face in the first place, a reputable source and long-time resident of Japan has clued me in to the preventive treatment the locals use. Ukon no Chikara is a pre-treatment that enables your body to break down alcohol faster. Here’s the medical illustration from their site:
It’s effective and sold at conbinis everywhere.
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