You want your everyday makeup to look polished and professional no matter where you work. It’s all about adapting to your work environment, whether it’s corporate or creative. No matter what, you should always wear makeup that makes you feel good about yourself and doesn’t get in the way of your job.

Do these ‘rules’ seem to contradict one another? Do they make sense to you? Whether you barely ever wear makeup but you want to start when you’re at work, or you wear it all the time but feel you need to change your style to reflect your workplace, it’s important to know what’s what. With that in mind, here are some great tips for wearing makeup at work that will help you feel confident and creative and perhaps even boost your productivity. 

Photo by Adrienn

Cleanse And Moisturise 

Your daily routine should begin with a thorough cleansing of your face with a cleanser formulated for your skin type. When washing your face, splash it with a lot of lukewarm water to wash away the dirt and oil. Gently pat it dry using a cloth.

The next step is to apply moisturiser. Again, you need to moisturise with a product that has been designed for your specific skin type. Applying moisturiser first thing in the morning helps your skin stay supple and nourished all day long. Moisturisers come in the form of gels, creams, and lotions, so you’re sure to find something that will suit your needs. 

It may seem as though all of this is unnecessary or time-consuming, but having a clean, fresh face makes putting in makeup much easier, and it will make you feel more alert and awake, which, with a full day of work ahead of you, is always a useful thing. 

Make Sure It’s Appropriate 

Your makeup routine for work should be appropriate for where you work. If you work in a lawyer’s office, there is a look that will be expected. There’s probably a rather different look for people who work at a magazine or a more creative office. It’s usually best to follow the crowd and know what to expect. For a normal day at work, you want to look polished. You don’t want to look shiny, and you don’t want to wear heavy makeup like you might for a black-tie event or other special occasion.

This is the first hurdle to get over. We’re always told that we need to be ourselves and express individuality when we can, and for a lot of people, that will be through clothes, hairstyles, and makeup. Yet when there is a certain dress code and standards to adhere to, this is not always easy. We can’t help with this; rules are rules, and if you want to get on, you need to abide by them. If you don’t like the look of your office makeup enough to wear it all the time, go wild at the weekends and experiment a bit more then. Keep it appropriate for work, however. 

Go For A Natural Look

Colourful makeup is fun, and even neutral colours that are laid on heavily are wonderful. However, purple eyeshadow, bright red lipstick, and long false eyelashes are probably not an ideal combination for the workplace (although, as we’ve said, it will depend on where you work and what you do – it could be the perfect look!). 

The best thing to do is to go natural with your makeup. Use natural tones that enhance your features but don’t draw too much attention to them. You don’t want people to be distracted by your amazing shapes in eyeliner but not notice the hard work you’re putting in when it comes to your job. 

Be Prepared To Do It All Again

Ideally, your office makeup should not take a long time to apply. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that, unless you particularly want to get up an hour earlier than you really have to, you can get more rest and be more alert by shortening your makeup routine and making it quick. 

Next, it’s highly likely you’ll need to reapply some, if not all, of it during your lunch break. With all the potentially dry air and bright fluorescent lights in an office space, the humid air in a restaurant, or the fresh air if you’re working outside, it’s possible that your makeup will fade away or need to be freshened up at the very least. 

Make sure you are able to do it quickly, and you won’t waste your entire break redoing what you already did. On top of that, keep a spare set of makeup and makeup brushes in your desk. In that way, you don’t have to carry it all around with you every day, which, when you’re commuting, isn’t always an easy thing to do – the less you have to carry, the easier your journey will be. 

Wear Multi Use Products 

Convenience, especially for touch-ups and prolonged wear, is a major selling point for multipurpose cosmetic products and stick makeup that can be blended with the fingers. Stick eyeshadows are convenient for applying eye colour quickly and easily. You can just smear them on, mix them, or use a tiny bit to highlight beneath your eyes, and you’ll look put together. Stick makeup is convenient since you can use your finger to apply it if you don’t have time to do anything else. 

In essence, when it comes to office makeup, speed and convenience are a crucial combination to get right, and this type of makeup will help massively with that. 

Be Comfortable 

The most important thing, bearing in mind everything we said above, is to be comfortable with the makeup you’re wearing. Even if it isn’t your usual style or what you would wear if you had a real say in the matter, you still need to be happy to wear it. 

If you’re not comfortable with your makeup (or your clothes, shoes, hair – or anything else), you’re not going to be as productive as you otherwise would be. You’ll be too focused on worrying about how you look or feel and less focused on what you should be doing. This can lead to big problems at work, so it’s well worth experimenting with your makeup to see what works within the confines of your workspace rules.