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treatments, as well as exploring other options to tackle the depth and style of scarring. "In a pinch, you can improve acne scars by putting in fillers like Juvéderm to plump them up," she says. "And it will also leave behind some collagen when the filler goes away." THE 30-MINUTE Fix In the best scenario, being party-ready starts weeks, if not months prior to the big event. Book makeup artist Heidi Schulze for the 30-minute Go and Glow facial by SkinCeuticals, and she'll have your mottled, pigmented, dry skin showing marked signs of improvement in three to six weeks. Schulze says that Vitamin C applied topically "lightens, brightens and tightens skin," so the Go and Glow is infused with a high concentration of Vitamin C. Religiously book your appointments a week apart, and this medical-grade treatment — apropos for any skin type, from acne prone to aging skin with brown spots of hyperpigmentation — will start breaking up signs of damage, exfoliating away a layer of skin to give your face a translucence that's dewy and glowing. "You should do these facials anywhere from one week before an event to refresh your skin to six weeks for the maximum benefit," Schulze says. "After the third treatment, you'll start seeing the benefits." As a side benefit, not only will makeup go on more smoothly, but you'll also need less of it. Cost: Packages from $199, at Solution for Hair. Additional info at heidischulze.com. CARBON DIOXIDE Therapy Madonna does it. So does Demi Moore. We're talking about the Facial Éclat (Mesoeclat, in some circles), a customized anti-aging facial that aesthetician Susanna Schulz, owner of the Houston Skin Clinic, administers along with carbon dioxide therapy and even light treatments. Schulz, who receives referrals from Hermann Hospital to treat burn victims, is one of the few licensed practitioners in Houston utilizing CO2 (aka Carbossi or Carboxy) therapy in combination with the Facial Éclat. Thirty minutes prior to your appointment, the nerve endings on the face and neck are dulled with numbing cream. Like a lot of women, I'd begun to see crêping around my eyes — discolorations due to sun exposure (hyperpigmentation and melasma) and a complexion that, as we age, doesn't have the plumpness or brightness it did when we were in our 20s. Targeting the repair of DNA damage to stimulate cell turnover, Schulz mixes a customized topical cocktail that can include vitamin C, DMAE to hydrate the skin and regenerate collagen, and retinol and glycolic acid to improve the overall appearance of your skin. She stamped my numb face with a pincushion-like tool called a dermal roller, its surface covered with tiny needles, which infuses this topical solution into the deeper layers of the skin more effectively. While numb, Schulz powered up the Carbossi machine and, with the thinnest of needles, inserted it in different regions of my face to slowly release carbon dioxide beneath the pores to improve elasticity and strengthen the structure of the skin by stimulating collagen production to improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, while destroying localized fatty deposits. It was admittedly uncomfortable the first couple of sessions. Schulz paces the CO2 release to let the dull ache in one area calm before another is injected. First used on the tender wounds diabetics can suffer before it was discovered as a cosmetic healer for the treatment of stretch marks and cellulite, injecting a high concentration of CO2 below the surface of the skin, you're tricking it into increasing blood circulation to that area, creating relief for conditions such as dark circles caused by vascular pooling beneath the eye. Sound like mad science? Well, my skin is more radiant, even and plump, with a hydrated look and feel I attribute to the cumulative effects of the Facial Éclat. Maintenance? It's low: One treatment every three to four months will do it. Additional info at houstonskinclinic.com. Cost: From $200 per treatment (six are recommended, spaced one to two weeks apart). BAT THOSE Baby Blues Apparently I have — or rather, had — fat bags beneath my eyes. As I'm saddled with darkness there, too, it wasn't the first time someone had given me the bad news. I was afraid to go under the knife in this sensitive area, so Susanna Schulz convinced me to let her inject Lypoless, a mesotherapy solution, around them. A fat-burning enzyme that tightens the skin, this particular cocktail utilizes phosphatidylcholine, an ingredient first used to break down plaque around the heart that has recently been found safe to dissolve localized fat deposits, too. (Incidentally, Schulz has used this same product — not to be confused with a filler — on her own jaw line with amazing results.) Lypoless is additionally infused with L-carnitine (an amino acid that increases the rate of fat metabolism) and hyaluronic acid (which retains the moisture, repairs wounds and tightens the skin). She numbed the entire area before treatment, so I didn't feel the fine needle injections. My eyes swelled up immediately — and stayed swollen for 10 days. Schulz also employed her Carbossi machine to inject carbon dioxide to the affected area. At a cost of $250, you'll need this treatment just once (for rare exceptions, twice), and I can vouch it works. I look well rested, and in combination with the CO2, those pesky circles beneath my eyes have greatly improved …. Want to make those baby blues pop? We swear by Heidi Schulze's lash dyeing ($30) at Solution for Hair. A vegetable-based dye safe for sensitive eyes, it colors the top and bottom lashes black or brown. (Dyeing is a great alternative to mascara on those trickier lower lashes. It can last three to four weeks.) But don't overlook your eyebrows — the frame for your face. Pluck too much, and eek! The result is a thin, weak-looking brow. We trust Zhila Goldshan of Sweet Sensation to simultaneously thread and pluck ours. Fortunately Goldshan takes a conservative approach, never leaving you with regrettably anemic-looking arches. Cost: From $25 for brow shaping, at sweetsensationhouston.com. FIXING THOSE Broken Capillaries If you haven't yet spotted tiny red capillaries around your nose or dotted about your face, it's only a matter of time. Called telangiectasias, they are one of the most common cosmetic ills men and women alike endure as they age. They're impossible to treat with creams, so resign yourself to having them zapped. Dr. H. Kim Vo with Dermagenix Medical Spa treats pesky little capillaries with laser vein treatment. It's a fast fix but, alas, does not last forever. It's simply a matter of maintenance; the treated veins may be gone, but others could replace them months or sometimes years later and require a follow-up session. Cost: $85 for the nose area, at Dermagenix. SMILE for the Photographer When we want to chat about all things beauty, we call our go-to girls: Corinne Williams, owner of the beauty boutique Façade in Uptown Park and creator of her own beautifully wearable line of cosmetics, Façade Beauty (facadeuptown.com), and makeup artist Tonya Riner, who has done countless editorial shoots, including some of our own, and works as a partner in the ingenious new line Beauty For Real (beautyforreal.com). How, we asked, can we look our best at any event where we might be photographed? Blush: TR: I like to use a flat brush and a cream blush and bronzers. I put it on one side of the brush, then flip it over and blend it with the other side of the brush. CW: When you're doing a face, it's got to pass the 12-inch test. You have to look as beautiful across the room as you do up close. When you're greeting your guests, meeting your groom at the altar, you still should look like you. Overall Advice: Corinne Williams: During a run-through, I give my girls a look book of fashion shots to determine the look they favor. One person's natural is not another's. I prefer to have her point to faces and say, "I like that look, those lips, eyes." I ask about their skin type, time of their event, season … It all affects the look. I also ask if they have any allergies or wear contacts. And everything I put on the face — especially with brides — is waterproof. IT Cosmetics. Their concealers will even cover a tattoo. Apply it thinly, but once it dries, it looks like skin, and then it's basically indelible. TR: I love Make Up Forever concealer, a liquid you apply over foundation. Never under — you'll rub it all off. If you have a blemish, act like it's not there. Cover first with foundation then go back at the end before you powder with your little fine-art brush. (Using a tiny brush head, you can build coverage only on top of blemish's surface.)… Eye cream: I've found that if a product treats puffiness, it's usually not compatible with concealer. The gel qualities that make the eye area de-puff can actually break down the consistency of the concealer. Skin/Foundation: CW: I use ERA Face TR: Everyday, I lean toward Revive and La Prairie tinted moisturizers. I also love Jan Iredale's base mineral foundation in lieu of tinted moisturizer some days. The bummer about mineral makeup is the way they show you how to use it. They apply it too thickly with a rolling technique that is horrendous. If you lightly use it, it will even out your skin and looks like you're wearing nothing ... At night, I swap it for foundation such as Make Up Forever HD Invisible Cover, Chanel Perfection Lumière and Giorgio Armani Face Fabric. I like the way the way light reflects off them. Each covers, but not in a spackled kind of way. You can build coverage by going over the spots a few times and patting the product onto your skin. TR: I put foundation on the eyelids; I can't find an eye shadow base I like. Concealers are more emollient, so shadows lose their consistency faster than if you use foundation. Dior shadows are my all-time favorite … The test: Dip your finger in a shadow, blend it, and if it goes away, it won't last on your lid. I love the quality of Urban Decay shadows, too, especially the Naked palette … If you have a dark-circle issue, avoid anything with a blue tone. It makes it harder to camouflage. Warmer colors work well … I blend shadows in towards the nose. When you pull out to the outer corner of your eye, you distort the shape and drag down the color. We want everything to go up, creating a diagonal plane from the corner of your nose up to edge of your eye. Concealer: CW: I swear by Bye Bye Under Eye by Tonya Riner: "Natural" to me is my best, rested self. It's me with no under-eye circles, a little flush at the cheek and a bit of a glow. It shouldn't be our goal not to use any makeup at all — just use what we have to. spray-on foundation — it's waterproof. I also developed a waterproof liquid foundation in my own line, Façade, as another option. You can get hit in the face with a hose, and this makeup won't move. I found a product by Geri G. Cosmetics called the Mixer Kit, made with Nanomarine-5 technology that has the ability to waterproof any cosmetic it touches. It was developed for red-carpet appearances where the makeup was done hours in advance. It makes the skin look beautiful but also keeps product in place. watercolorist. I'll spray Evian in my palm, pull some moisture onto the brush, then layer on the shadows. It looks ethereal, more delicate. Bronzer: CW: I love bronzers. Paul & Joe has a nice winter bronzer that I mix with a couple from my own Façade line. I don't like skin to look dirty, just healthy. If the colored bronzer is too rich, it looks fake. TR: I use my own Beauty for Real cream bronzer and blush. But if you're a fan of powders, Bare Minerals makes one called Warmth that doesn't have any sparkle in it — some people want flat coverage. Regardless, never apply bronzer straight across your forehead. [Just] highlight the temples. The way our faces are formed, it will look like a brown line straight across your forehead. Eyes: CW: I use waterproof Façade eye pencils to line inside the membrane to set the eye up. I do that first, in case your eyes water. I especially like to push the pencil up to the lash line to make it look thicker, so you don't have add as much liner on the lid … I put shadows on damp, like a Powder: CW: Bye Bye Pores by IT Cosmetics Poreless Finish HD powder. I get a big brush and apply it sparingly. What it does is fill in your pores so your skin looks like glass, giving you a beautiful finish. One color suits all. None of IT Cosmetics have parabens in them — very pure stuff. If we have some humidity, I may put an oil-controlling powder down, too, and put the Bye Bye pores over it. TR: The HD Make Up Forever powder is pure white and will make you look more finished than some want to look. I don't want to look powdered — it looks too old. I'd use just only the T-zone. Lips: CW: I always add extra time at the end of a makeup run-through to do the lips. It's the hardest thing to get right. And because a lot of my girls come in with dry lips, I send them home with LipSmart to use everyday for a month to heal the dryness.