We all know how difficult it is to come back to work after nice summer vacation. To make the come-back easier ten beauty and fashion experts share their back to work tips:
1) Bobbi Brown, make-up artist
Use most natural-looking bronzers to achieve a year-round glow. Avoid orange-toned or frosted bronzers. Pick your shade based on how you tan naturally. If you have a porcelain complexion use a soft pink or apricot blush to warm up your complexion. Apply bronzer only where the sun would hit your face - your forehead, cheeks, nose and chin. Every make-up bag should include: moisturizer, a good face cream, concealer, foundation stick and a blush.
2) Veronique Henderson, director of Colour Me Beautiful and co-author of Colour Me Younger
Choose colorful outfits, people will smile at color and print, and it's exactly what you want when you get back from holiday and the weather, the newspapers - everything - is grey. Red is the color of this season and people will notice you when you wear it. It is time to stand out in a crowd. Red doesn't need to be worn from head to toe - a cardigan, jacket or skirt will all give you a boost.
3) Annabel Hodin, personal stylist
Tell people that you are back two days after your actual return. That way, you won't have to rush. Break down the autumn/winter look into four categories: coloor (mustard, emerald, berry reds, black), shape (modern, minimal curves), hair (sleek) and make-up (dark lips). If you already have a good staple wardrobe, it will just be a case of adding in extras. Try to do things differently. Finding something fresh can make you the same carefree, happy person you were on holiday.
4) Nicky Kinnaird, founder and president of Space NK
Face and body scrubs will get rid of dead skin cells so that skin is freshly polished and ready for moisturizing. Book in for a pedicure, to get rid of any hard skin from walking in the sand. And this is the last chance to wear brightly colored nail polish before dark winter colors set in.
5) Charles Worthington, hairdresser
The quickest way to get hair back into condition is to trim off all the dry, split ends that leave it looking dull. Once hair has been cut back into shape, it will look sleek and shiny without much extra effort. Diet plays a huge part in the health of our hair: to boost condition, you need all the B vitamins, gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), fish oil, linseed oil and antioxidants including beta-carotene, vitamins C and E and the minerals selenium and zinc. And keep your protein levels high.
6) Maria Grachvogel, fashion designer
Choose your everyday wardrobe with which you have an emotional connection. These are usually the “favorite pieces” in your wardrobe - the ones you have had for ever and still absolutely love because they really suit your body shape and express your personality. This will lift your mood.
7) Anya Hindmarch, accessories designer
Stay bare-legged as long as you can. There is something so nice about brown skin with grey flannel trousers or a black lace dress. It makes you feel sort of Italian Once, I managed the bare brown leg look until Christmas.
8) Marcia Kilgore, founder of Soap & Glory and FitFlop
Use self-tanners to keep the body glowing, and have the added benefit of making limbs look somehow longer and more graceful. Just be sure to exfoliate carefully before applying it, to ensure that the color goes on evenly. If your skin is dry and peeling, a deluxe body-smoothing cream will replenish and hydrate it. Covering your skin with a good moisturizer every morning will also prevent the TEWL (trans-epidermal water loss) that happens as skin gets older and the intracellular lipid barrier weakens. Ultimately, a positive attitude will serve you best - you may be in your first week back at work, but you are also one week closer to your next vacation.
9) Dr Nick Lowe, consultant dermatologist, www.drnicklowe.com
To boost your skin post-holiday, some of the work should have been done while you are away. Wear an adequate sunscreen and, if necessary, a hat. When you return, invest in a good recovery cream and a soap-free cleanser - Dermol 500 is brilliant. If you are a smoker, make a resolution to stop again. People lapse on holiday, but smoking ages the skin, while excess drinking can increase the number of spider veins.
10) Kate Bostock, executive director of clothing, Marks & Spencer
Return to work can be a great opportunity to refresh your wardrobe and get some new looks for autumn. A sharp trouser suit (trousers are essential this season) is a must. Wear it to the office with a crisp shirt, or a silk top for the evening. A new pair of shoes is another quick way to update your look. Failing that, treat yourself to a new hairstyle or some new make-up colors. These will give you a boost and help you to feel in control and full of ideas for the first day back at your desk.