Beauty Tips

How to Survive 16-Hour Days in Stilettos

See the 2-week body and skin blitz our beauty editor endured to get ready for New York Fashion Week 2013

by Dawn Davis | COMMENT

Counter Intelligence

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New York Fashion Week is a frenzied marathon -- a blur of flashbulbs, handbags that cost more than my rent, pretty faces, outlandish street style, and anxious designers and models wading through thick clouds of powder, hairspray and smoke behind the scenes … all taken in at a pace faster than the speed of Miley Cyrus' inevitable breakdown. It's bonkers, and I love it. But I got tired just writing that sentence … so you can imagine what that 8-day, break-neck schedule does to a girl's mind and body.

And, when you factor in the timing of New York Fashion Week -- right on the heels of a lazy summer spent at backyard barbecues and giving in completely to an addiction to teen sci-fi books ("The Mortal Instruments" -- so good!) -- that girl is far from ready to face the brutally judgmental glare of Fashion Week coverage. Nevermind having the get-up-and-go to pull those cross-town sprints through the streets of NYC to get to shows.

I had a big oh-sh*t moment about two weeks ago when I realized I was not prepared to handle the physical rigors of Fashion Week. So I came up with this clever plan: cram a month's worth of training, cleansing and prepping into 14 days. Genius, right?

The beauty of this 2-week get-ready blitz is that it doesn't just apply to Fashion Week -- you can use this plan whether you're getting yourself in tip-top shape for a wedding, a tropical vacation after the holiday eat-a-thon, a high school reunion, the job interview of a lifetime … you get the picture.

I definitely took a few shortcuts (that's kinda the point, right?), and I still desperately need a haircut, but as the clock ticks down to the first runway show, I'm ready for it.

SEE NEXT PAGE: Days 1-3: Suja Juice Cleanse

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