Any avid people-watcher knows that there are no better people to watch than people that are on a date. First dates are best (particularly those coordinated after weeks of back-and-forth Bumble banter) and third dates have the highest stakes (will they or won't they leave in a taxi together?), but any date will do, really. And once you've witnessed enough of them, you'll also find evidence to support this: There is no such thing as "date-night beauty."
For years, magazines and makeup companies have tried to sell the concept of date-night beauty as one particular thing. Some say it's red lipstick, a shade that alludes to inner strength and sex appeal; others tell you to skip the color and go straight for gloss — more kissable, less likely to stain a beautiful stranger's shirt. Some say slicked-back hair, for those dangerously sexy Sharon Stone-in-Basic Instinct vibes; others insist it's all about loose, tousled Victoria's Secret waves, assuming you are trying to trick your date into believing you are a Victoria's Secret model.
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So what is date-night beauty? What is the difference between this type of beauty and any other hair and makeup you'd wear while not on a date? It's everything and nothing, and anything you want it to be. Hell, date-night makeup could even be no makeup, or at least the appearance of it: As model Suki Waterhouse told us recently, "I always try not to look like I've made an effort in any way, which I find to be very effective."
And really, effective is the only thing that date-night beauty should be. Just get the job done — whether that means securing plans for Valentine's Day or cutting the night short to go home and watch The Bachelor and eat chips on your couch.