I’ve been inspired by what I’ve gone through this week: I caught a doozy of a cough+cold that’s been making the rounds. It hurts, and sounds like I’m coughing up a fur ball.

I’m finally getting better (hallelujah!) but being sick has made my skin red, dry and flaky. I thought it might be helpful — for the many people who are sick this time of year — to show you what I’m doing to avoid looking like death.

For the interest of this tutorial and to keep it real, I haven’t Photoshopped my skin here (!!!). What you see is what you get.

Step 1. Fill in the brows. You already knew that. I’m using my trusty MUFE Eyebrow Corrector.

Step 2. Skip heavy foundation and lightly conceal problem areas only instead. The keyword here is lightly. You don’t want concealer to cake up on dry patches. I applied the light side of Laura Mercier Secret Camouflage in SC-5 ($35) with a brush on my undereye areas, around the nose, blemishes and red patches on my cheeks.

Look, I’m already starting to look normal!

Step 3. Brighten the under eye area further. I like YSL Touche Éclat in 1.5 ($50) applied to the shadows formed by my eye bags.

I hate those words, eye bags. Gross.

Step 4. It’s all about the complexion, babe. Get some of that healthy glow back with strategic placement of a highlighting cream. I am using Laura Mercier Primer in Radiance ($40) everywhere. Well not everywhere, but almost: brow bones, cheekbones, down the centre of the nose, on top of the lips and chin.

Keep reading to see the rest of the tutorial.

Step 5. So you’re looking kinda pale, eh? Blush fixes that. I layered a cream (Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Cream Blush in Nectar) and powder (Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Blissful) for maximum staying power.

A tip: when you’re sick with a cold, you’re likely to get redness around your nose area, so stay far away from this area when applying blush. Otherwise, you’re making yourself look sick again. We don’t like that.

Step 6. You’re probably noticing the highlighting theme here, and the same applies to eyeshadow. A light, low-shimmer peach on the inner corners of your eyes brightens instantly. I love the one from my shu uemura palette in Orange & Pistachio. I love it so much that I’m smiling so widely here.

Step 7. Finish up with a trusty non-smudging mascara (Annabelle Le Big Show) and a long-wear gloss stain (L’Oréal Colour Caresse Shine Stain in Pink Resistance). The glossy finish hides any lip flakies and the stain formula means your lipstick doesn’t end up on your yucky tissues.

Optional Step. If you have oily skin, go ahead and powder as well. Go lightly to avoid cake face!

All done!

I can almost pass for a human being again… and not a kitty stuck in a human’s body, sleeping all day.

Do you have any makeup tricks when you’re feeling under the weather? Share them in the comments.