You know when it’s 6 pm and you have drink plans that started ten minutes ago, yet you’re still chained to your desk? If yes, then you're likely familiar with the concept of commuter make-up - that special beauty routine us women undertake with one hand poised to grab a handle if the tube/bus unexpectedly lurches while managing to beat our face without elbowing any fellow passengers or dropping a precious compact. It’s rocket science, really.
If you don’t fancy the unapologetic stares of the gentleman next to you as you attempt to apply foundation on-the-go, have you considered primping out your desk? Open-plan offices may be wonderful for team bonding and collaboration, but they make getting ready for a night out a tad tricky. Let’s get real, you don’t want your boss walking past as you bake your face, which leads me to the question: how do you make that 6 pm switch-up dramatic without being traumatic?
For the uninitiated, YouTube is a wonderland of beauty tutorials, which for the desk-bound is just the fodder you need to glow-up at the last minute. But, which work, which suck, which won’t make you look like an escapee from RuPaul’s Drag Race and which (most importantly) can you do in the office? In the name of investigative journalism, I’m putting them to the test.
Lip art in its many permutations is having a moment, in fact, it’s trending on YouTube. Certainly, ombré lips are its easiest iteration, but by no means its least effective.
It calls for two things: lip liner and lipstick, plus a lot of precision. Simply put, you need to heavily line your lips and then fill in the centre of your pout with a brighter, vivid lipstick and then dab them together so they bleed into one another. While it looks dramatic it only takes mere minutes to achieve, which makes it perfect desk-to-drinks fodder.
Using my mobile phone's front screen camera as a mirror (high-tech, I know) I used ASOS’ creamy scarlet lipstick ([£7](http://www.asos.com/asos/asos-design-makeup-matte-lipstick-out-there/prd/8026741/8026741)) and Collection’s Lip Liner in Damson (£2.79) to create the look. As a relative beauty novice, my advice is simple: steady your hands and have a concealer nearby in case you need to cover up any shakey liner lines. However, if I can achieve this, anyone can. Now go forth and make your Friday night fierce.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.