Health and Beauty

After a winter spent battling the elements – brutal wind chills, sub-zero temperatures and Sahara-like dry, indoor heat – we all are dealing with our share of beauty woes: dull, chapped skin or limp, lifeless hair, to name a couple. If you're longing for a head-to-toe makeover but are short on time, try one of the following seven little pick-me-ups. They're quick and easy and, better yet, guaranteed to improve your appearance almost immediately.

1. White now:
Seven days is all you'll need for a whiter smile with Crest Whitestrips® Premium. Clinically proven to remove up to 14 years (yes, years) worth of stains in only one week. These ingenious clear strips not only use the same enamel-safe ingredient as dentists, but they are inconspicuous enough to wear almost anywhere, anytime. Plus, they remove stains beneath the surface of the teeth – something ordinary whitening toothpastes simply cannot do. And, the result is whiter teeth for twelve months.

2. Fringe benefits:
Women across the country are flocking to salons to get themselves bangs. "Cutting bangs can give you a whole new look. They bring attention to the face and show off the eyes and cheekbones," says Elie Camoro, a stylist at Frédéric Fekkai, a salon in New York City. "The look right now is an edgier, graduated bang that starts shorter near the part and gets longer – very sexy and pretty. And it works on short or long hair."

3. Lighten up:
"If a woman gets her foundation wrong, she looks old and tired," says Sylvie Chantecaille, founder of the skin care and cosmetics company of the same name that makes Real Skin. The worst offenses, she says, are picking the wrong color or using a formula with too much coverage. Chantecaille, who admits to having a passion for getting it right, lives by two rules: "If you have yellow-toned skin, use a warm-toned foundation. If you have pink-toned skin, use a cool-toned foundation," she says. "The right color makes you look luminous."

4. Instant lift:
"Shaping your eyebrows makes a huge difference. It's like an instant face lift," says Shobha Tummala, founder and creative director of two eponymous salons in New York City where threading (an ancient Indian technique) is used to remove unwanted hair. "It opens up the face quite a bit." The most common eyebrow mistake? "Over-tweezing at the head and the tail," she says. "The trend right now is a more natural-looking brow. Not pencil thin or too arched."

5. Bronze goddess:
A sure sign of the end of winter? Gorgeously tanned skin – and the spring runways were full of models sporting just that. Thanks to bronzers, risking the negative effects of the sun (premature aging, skin cancer and the like) to get a golden glow isn't necessary. For that I-just-stepped-off-the-beach look, makeup artist Vincent Longo, who seems to have an endless list of celebrity clients, starts by dusting the entire face with powder to ensure an even, blotch-free result. "Apply the bronzer as you would a blush: From the apple of the cheek move outward and upward creating brightness," he says. "Use a soft circular motion and move the brush from the cheeks outward to the temple and blend color through the hair line up across the forehead." Finish with a sweep of color along the jaw line and neck (a white neck will ruin the whole look) and a touch on the nose and under the eyes.

6. Brand new hue:
Thanks to improved technology (less harsh, more conditioning ingredients and easier application techniques), the at-home hair color business is booming. And for good reason. At a fraction of the price of salon color treatments, at-home color kits allow you to add highlights and dimension, deepen tones or do something even more daring (like going from blonde to blazing red) in about an hour – a small time commitment for such a big difference.

7. Rosy glow:
For a worn out, dull complexion, microdermabrasion is a great 30-minute fix. It's a non-surgical treatment during which micro-crystals and a hand-held vacuuming device are used to polish the skin. This exfoliating procedure removes the top layers of dead skin cells, leaving fine lines, acne scarring and age spots less visible. "After your treatment, your skin feels super clean," explains Jillian Wright, owner of Glow Skin Spa in New York City. "It also promotes healthy collagen and elastin growth so your skin feels tighter and plumper. You leave with a healthy glow." Though you'll notice improvement after just one treatment, a series of 2 to 12 (depending on the condition and age of your skin) is recommended for maximum results.

Jennifer James is a freelance writer for national magazines, newspapers and corporate clients. The former beauty and health director at Teen People, James has written for Shape, Lucky and The Washington Post and has more than five years experience reporting on beauty- and lifestyle-related topics.