Look and Feel Better Under the Weather

Fall has arrived, which means cold and flu season is upon us. To avoid being one of the many students falling victim to germs, here’s a list of tips and tricks that always help me look good and feel better when I’m sick.

LOOK

Moisturize More: With illness comes dehydration, which can make your skin look just as unhappy as you feel. Be sure to moisturize especially well to prevent dryness and flaking. Fresh’s Rose Deep Hydration face cream is amazing for the colder weather, thanks to its time release technology to target the parts of your face that need extra love. If you’re not looking to splurge, CeraVe is great too and you can find it at almost any drugstore.

Add some color: Add some color to your face with a warm bronzer or blush. Peach tones are great for a healthy-looking glow to add liveliness. The Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick is my go-to for a boost of energy!

Lose the puffy eyes: If you have puffy eyes, grab some cucumbers or two cold, wet tea bags and place them over your eyes while you lay down for 15 minutes. When you remove them, your eyes should look and feel less puffy.

Brighten your eyes: Add a light-colored eyeshadow to the inner corners of your eyes to make them appear brighter. Doing this even when you aren’t wearing a full face of makeup can make your skin look lighter and happier, which is especially helpful when you’re feeling sick. My favorite inner corner eyeshadow color is by NYX. If you don’t feel like wearing makeup, try Origins GinZing Eye Cream - you’ll be able to trick anyone into thinking you got a full eight hours of sleep.

FEEL

Splurge on nicer tissues: Blowing your nose with paper towels will only make everything worse, and you deserve a little extra TLC. Try using Ultra Soft Kleenex or Kleenex with lotion built in.

Invest in Emergen-C: I swear by Emergen-C. While drinking orange juice and eating orange slices will essentially do the same thing, Emergen-C makes it easy by giving you both the hydration and dose of Vitamin C that you need at once. There have been mornings where I’ve woken up feeling sick and avoided the full-blown cold after I tossed a packet of Emergen-C in my water in the morning.

Hydrate: This one is self-explanatory. Grab your favorite water bottle and keep filling it up throughout the day. Drinking lots of water helps replace fluids lost from fever and loosens mucus.

Eat something – even if you don’t want to: I rarely have an appetite when I’m sick, but I have to keep reminding myself that if I don’t eat, my cold will only last longer. Your body needs energy in order to fight off the cold and if you’re not eating it’s going to have a much harder time doing so. Try eating simple foods that’ll be easy on your stomach, like chicken noodle soup or plain bread.

Rest up: I’m the worst at following through on this one because it seems that whenever I try to go to bed early, my mind can’t settle. I really can’t emphasize how important it is to get enough sleep when you’re feeling under the weather. Sleep is important even when you’re healthy, so when you’re sick, your body needs even more of it.

Protect your pout: As the season starts to get drier, lips tend to chap more easily. Grab a warm washcloth and gently rub your lips to get rid of some of the dead skin – an exfoliating treatment, if you will –  and then apply your favorite chapstick periodically throughout the day.

Medicine: Sometimes you just have to grab some DayQuil and admit defeat. Just make sure you don’t take more than the recommended dosage, even if you’re feeling especially terrible.