How-tology: Cope with Wedding Beauty Emergencies

Rescue 911: Just when you want to look your most amazing, a pimple erupts from nowhere, lashes clump or hair falls flat. Here, the best (and fastest) ways to cope with WEDDING-DAY disasters.

After a hasty mascara reapplication, you wound up with picket-fence lashes that could rival Tammy Faye's.

"Waterproof mascara has a finer consistency, so it's way less likely to clump than wash-off formulas," says makeup artist Matt Sky.

To undo the damage:

1. Dip a q-tip in makeup remover, squeeze till almost dry, and then go over lashes with the swab to remove excess glop (a folded tissue placed under lower lashes will catch falling debris).

2. Comb lashes while they're damp, then blink against a tissue to blot excess and guard against smudges.

Quick Tip: Old mascara can get clumpy, so splurge on a new tube for the big day.

You got spray-happy, and that signature scent is screaming like a banshee.

Oriental and floral scents, often composed of potent elements like tuberose, jasmine and vanilla, tend to be stronger than green and citrus-based scents, so choose and apply with care.

To undo the damage

"Swab skin with an alcohol-soaked cotton pad," says Christopher Brosius, co-founder of Demeter Fragrances. "Then smooth on unscented lotion to re-moisturize and help diffuse the fragrance even further."

Quick Tip: Spritz before you get dressed-fragrance can stain fabric.

You meant to add a touch of shine, and ended up with the lankest of locks.

"Product overload is often to blame when your style fails you," says Andrew Disimone, of Disimone Studio, NYC. "Be cautious with shine-enhancing products," he warns. "It's easy to mess up at the last step." His Advice? "Don't slap the stuff on top of your head." Start at the ends-where hair needs it most-and work up from there.

To undo the damage:

A handful of oatmeal will sop up excess greasiness. "Just rub the flakes into your hair, and brush them out." To put volume back, first spritz on a light, aerosol hair spray, then add lift at the roots with a hot roller or two, a curling iron, or a blow-dryer and your fingers.

You wanted a rosy-cheeked, healthy glow and instead you got blush overload.

Blush over bare skin leads to blotchiness. "Foundation and powder will even the skin's surface beautifully," says Sky. To avoid a tacky warpaint look, sweep blush on in a circular motion so you get soft edges.

To undo the damage:

Take a big fluffy powder puff and press it onto your cheeks to lift excess color away. Then, using a clean puff, apply a layer of loose powder on top. That should do it!

You woke up with a giant pimple! (If you could, you'd wear your veil backwards).

"I see pre-wedding breakouts all the time," says dermatologist Debra Jaliman, M.D., clinical associate instructor at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, NYC. "Those painful cystic pimples are often,"no surprise here, "stress-related."

To undo the damage:

A dermatologist can inject an anti-inflammatory agent into the zit, and it will be gone within 48 hours. If you have less time, instead of piling on over-the-counter remedies-like benzoyl peroxide, which can end up making your skin flaky-the best thing to do is cover up the offending blemish with a heavy-duty concealer. But, warns Jaliman, "most concealers have way too much oil in them." 

Tip: Apply concealer in thin layers. A spackle-job looks as bad as the zit you're trying to hide.