Business-Meeting Beauty + Fashion Hacks: Cut Your Prep Time in Half + Still Look Great

Guest Post :: Starting a business means you’re easily clocking 14+ hour days toggling between calls, meetings and in my case, literally rolling up my sleeves to blend a DIY beauty recipe or pack boxes. This doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for pampering. Or beauty “gardening” as I like to call tweezing, waxing and the occasional poke or squeeze. And while hiding out at home in front of a computer screen used to be an option, today, with Facetime, Google+ and Skype, pesky peeps can catch you unawares in your PJs and frizzy hair 24/7.

The quick fix? My stash of fool-proof hacks. With these, I’m ready for any type of meeting, live or virtual:

1. Night-time pre-prep: Need a re-boot? Do your face scrub or mask the night before an important meeting. Seriously, walk away from the computer and give yourself 10 minutes of “me” time. The break will do so much to alleviate stress and center you, while the mask or scrub restores your rosy glow.

2. A targeted spritz of dry shampoo or bangs-only wash: If I swap-out spin class for Barre Burn and save myself a bucket or two of sweat, a good blow-out can last me five days. Still, around Day 3, I started to notice less pouf. Enter dry shampoo. When spritzed at the roots, it sops up oil and restores volume. But don’t overdo it, and make sure to brush it out thoroughly so you’re a flake-free zone. Another fast-track trick: Just style the hair that frames your face. Pull your locks back in a pony and use a comb to coax out bangs or shorter, wispy face-framers. Wash with a pea-size drop of shampoo, towel-dry and get blowing. (And going…out the door.)

3. Nude nails – always. While my toes are often painted a flashy red, I can always tuck them in shoes if they’re chipped. Not so with fingernails. Your hands are always on display. (Unless you plan to wear gloves while you’re video-chatting…) By choosing a nude, or pink-toned shade, you’ll all but guarantee that any chips will fly below the radar. These lowkey hues, which are more “forgiving” than brighter tones, also lend themselves to lickity-split touch-ups.

4. Cold freeze: Even the way you wash your face can make a difference. Warm water dilates blood vessels, making patchy red skin look worse. A splash of cold H20 will do the opposite. For eye puffiness, soak your washcloth in cold water, fold it into a rectangle and pop it in the freezer for a few minutes. Then apply it like a compress to your eyes while you mentally prep for your meeting.

5. Go-to white shirt & black blazer: I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at my watch and realized I have exactly five minutes to get dressed and out the door or parked in front of my computer monitor for a call. For in-person meetings, I rely on my default outfit of leggings, crisp white tailored shirt and black blazer. (I have two sets. One in my closet, one at the drycleaners.) For video conferences, I pair a great shirt with a bold, chunky necklace so I’m super-polished from the waist up.

6. Handbag ready-set-go. I keep one neutral, goes-with-everything handbag fully stocked with a makeup set, extra phone and computer charger, metro card and small umbrella so that it’s always ready to rock and roll. Sometimes you just don’t have time to think about everything you might need while you’re out and about.

8. Meditation. Two minutes en route to the meeting or before the call can help you enormously. It can even change the way you look (better! younger! more vibrant!) by changing the way you feel.

Tina Hedges is the founder and Chief Recipe Keeper of LOLI (Living Organic Loving Ingredients,) a highly curated, eco-aware, blend-it-yourself subscription beauty service. As an entrepreneur and former product development exec at top global cosmetics companies, Tina has looked polished and professional in business meetings all over the world, from Paris to Peoria, and Shanghai to SoHo.