Tell-tale roots look un-kept and when you look un-kept, you loose a professional advantage. If you're neglecting your hair (when it's so easy and inexpensive to do touch ups at home with hair color like Clairol Natural Instincts, $8.99), what else are you neglecting? Something you don't want your boss or any of your co-workers wondering.
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Tip 9: Look alive
Stress and long hours can drain your face of its natural glow. You don't want to look drained or sickly during important meetings and a pop of color is a quick way to bring life to your face. Carmindy suggests a "pop of pink blush high on the apples" of the cheeks "to bring a freshness to the skin." Try mark Just Pinched Instant Blush Tint in Cheeky, $7.
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Tip 10: Beware of happy hour
Yes, rubbing elbows at an office happy hour is a good idea, but that doesn't mean you should knock back a few too many beverages to ease the pain of a long day. Alcohol is a depressant and will leave you dehydrated and bloated the following day at work -- not the best way to be when you've got your eye on the prize. So, when out for an after-work drink, Borden recommends asking for a water to accompany your favorite beverage and alternating between sips of each. She also warns to not go on an empty stomach, because everyone will remember that you danced on the table at the end of the night.
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Tip 11: Don't neglect your hair
Little things can make you second-guess yourself, so don't let noticeable split ends give you an excuse to feel less confident. Carmindy says, "I never feel 100 percent if my hair needs a trim. When everything is locked and loaded I walk differently." So make a conscious effort to keep you hair looking clean and kempt so you don't think about how dry or frizzy your hair must look -- you have more important things to concentrate on.
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Tip 12: Put your best face forward
In a study done by skin care brand Noxzema, researches asked 1,000 women to "come clean" about their "true feelings" about skin care and their complexion. They found that women are "most concerned about their skin when facing co-workers at a meeting," than in any other situations. The last thing you should focus on in an important meeting is your skin, so to get your face looking its best and healthiest, Carmindy recommends using an illumining primer like Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Luminizing Face Primer, $9.99, "so your skin looks and feels silky smooth and the light reflecting particles bounce light from the skin giving you a youthful appearance." Then apply highlighter (use a light champagne colored shadow or cream) in "three key places � under the brows, on the inside corners of your eyes and on top of the cheekbones," she advises.
Getting a promotion, raise, or heck, even keeping your current job in this economy is not an easy feat. The competition is fierce and money is tight. While these tough times can cause even the most competent to feel like a rat in the almighty race, jumping through hoops and over hurdles, it is still possible to achieve what seems like the impossible. Since you aren't sitting in one of those inspirational career seminars, we won't bore you with "You can do it!" or "Believe in the power of you!" spiels. We will however inform you that while we can't walk into your boss's office and demand you some recognition, we can do what we do best and offer up beauty tips that can aide in your "notice me"-plight.
So how on earth can beauty tips possibly garner you a promotion? And why does your appearance make a difference when you are clearly packing some awe-worthy qualifications? Well, recent research by "Newsweek" has confirmed what scientists have long been studying and proving -- your appearance effects the way you are perceived and compensated in the workplace. "Attractive" men and women are paid more than ordinary people for the same work, says the "American Economic Review". The question is � why?
If you think about it, appearance effects how we are treated and treat others all the time. Apparently even babies stare at "good-looking" faces for a longer amount of time. So why would the office be any different? "Newsweek" found that hiring managers rank appearance as the third most important character trait, right behind experience and then confidence. It's a no-brainer that you feel more confident in yourself when you look and feel your best, and that�s where these beauty tips come in.
Here to help us get a competitive advantage is Carmindy, makeup artist from "What Not to Wear" and co-creator of Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy, and Ashley Borden, fitness and lifestyle consultant. Their health and beauty tips along with some recent research findings will hopefully help you finally get the promotion you deserve.
