Working From Home Beauty Tips that will boost your mood

Many of us have made the move to a working from home arrangement in recent weeks, and while the commute from bed to our desk is significantly shorter, our energy levels have also been halved.

Working from home and spending weekends and downtime in isolation can have a serious effect on the mood and adjusting to our new normal has required both a physical and mental shift.

While we would never claim that beauty is a cure-all, we can speak firsthand to its mood boosting qualities. For us, working from home happily and effectively is about maintaining our existing work habits and routine- and that means taking a few minutes out of our morning to play with our favourite beauty products. Improving our mood and productivity from home doesn’t require hours spent applying a full face of makeup. It comes down to a few key, clean beauty products that deliver glowing, energised skin to make us look and feel good. 

Our go-to Working From Home beauty look (perfect for Zoom!)

While makeup is never essential, it definitely gives us a little confidence boost- and confidence is essential if you’re taking control of your new working from home setup!

Perfecting your Zoom call beauty look doesn’t require hours spent applying a full face of makeup. All you’ll need is a few key products to give your skin a glow and make your beautiful features pop.

When we’re putting together a seriously quick beauty look, we spend the majority of our allocated time working on our complexion. Energised, glowing skin is the perfect base for any beauty look, and well-applied foundation will ensure the rest of your products sit beautifully on the skin. Our number one hack for glowing skin? Mixing one-part Smooth Affair Facial Primer & Brightener with one-part Glow Time BB Cream. The primer will ensure the BB cream glides onto the skin while sheering out the coverage, leaving you with a “your skin, but better” finish.

Remote work call lighting and camera quality is rarely ideal and can leave you with dark circles and a washed-out complexion. Counteract that camera quality by adding a wash of colour to the skin using our Moonglow Bronzer and brightening the eye area with the Active Light Under Eye Concealer. Blush is our secret to looking healthy, fresh and well-rested, so add a light flush to the cheeks with the Awake PurePressed Blush.

Make your eyes pop with the Retractable Brow Pencil, PureLash Conditioner and Longest Lash Mascara, and complete your look by amping up your glow. Simply take your Moonglow Bronzer compact, then using our White Fan Brush to pick up just the lightest shade. Apply this to the high planes of your face (the cheek bones, brow bone and cupid’s bow) for bright, glowing skin. Finish with your favourite lip shade (and make sure it’s hydrating!)

Isolation beauty tips

We’re relying on the mood and confidence boosting powers of beauty in our downtime, too. Beauty should be fun, and there’s never been a better time to start really playing with makeup!

Do you never stray from a nude lip? Now is the time to try a pop of colour. Swear by liquid foundation? Now is the time to give a powder formula a go. Never been able to master a precise winged eye? Turn mastering the art of winged eyeliner into an isolation activity. We’re all looking for fun weekend activities to break up the day, so jump on YouTube, find a beauty tutorial for a look you love, and treat yourself to a makeup masterclass!

Our at-home, clean beauty essentials

Beyond the beauty products that help us glow on those Zoom calls, there are a few clean beauty essentials that we’re relying on to get us through the changing climate- both the weather and the state of the world.

Now that most of us are spending our time at home, it’s easy to get a little lazy with skincare. Regardless of whether you’ve worn makeup during the day, it’s important to cleanse thoroughly both morning and night to remove surface grime, bacteria and remnants of cosmetics that are still sitting on the skin and in the pores. We love using our Magic Mitt, either on its own or with our favourite cleanser, to ensure we start and finish each day in isolation with beautiful, clean skin.

Sitting indoors under air conditioning and heating can seriously dry out the skin. This, combined with stress, genetics and changes to our general routine and diet, can leave the skin feeling tight and irritated. Combat this by keeping your favourite Hydration Spray on hand to spritz the skin throughout the day, revitalising both the skin and the mind. Our lips are often the first spot to show signs of dryness and dehydration, so opt for a clean lip balm, like our LipDrink, to deliver intense moisture to sore, dry lips.

Another area prone to dryness? The hands. We’re all washing and sanitising our hands more than ever, which means we’re stripping the skin of it’s all important protective barrier. Work to restore that barrier and reduce your risk of chapped, irritated skin on the hands by applying the HandDrink Hand Cream to dry skin to keep hard working hands moisturised.

Share your at-home makeup looks with us on Instagram, tag us @janeiredale_australia and let's stay connected!

Words and images by @gemkwatts

Editor's Note: This post was initially published by Gemma Watts @gemkwatts in April 2020 and the copy has recently been updated for accuracy, freshness and comprehensiveness by jane iredale Australia in July 2023. Please note: some product packaging has been updated so images may not be accurate.