Your work is impeccable, and you should be going places. But there's just one, itty-bitty problem: Your makeup is caking, your lipstick is smudged, your hair is disheveled, and you just chipped--not one, but two nails. It can happen to any working woman at any particular time. But if your pulled-together look regularly fades before noon and continues to unravel as the day wears on, you may discover that your appearance is hindering your career progress.

That doesn't have to be your fate.

With a little careful planning, even the most frazzled and frenzied professional woman can maintain a cool, calm and collected image from dawn to dusk.

Judith Colbert, a partner with a major Tulsa-based law firm, is among the numerous working women who take their beauty touch-up regimens seriously. To make sure she's prepared, Colbert carries a hefty bag of toiletries to the office with her each day. "If I'm going to be working late and meeting with a client for dinner, I will keep a whole bag in the office, which usually includes mascara, eyeliner, blush--everything that I use in the morning, except the facial cleansers," says the busy attorney.

Human resources specialist Alexus Ryan of Austin, Texas, also keeps her touch-up necessities at the ready. The demands of her job, Ryan says, requires that she carry in her purse touch-up cosmetics that include translucent powder ("My powder is essential to keep the shine off"), lipstick body sprays, perfumes, even eye drops.

As director of talent development for the Disney Channel, Tina Treadwell, who oversees casting of original series and movies, must present a sharp, sophisticated image during day and evening hours.

"I won't say image is everything. But one's image reflects the outside world and what's important to you. If details are important on the personal level, many times people think that they are important on the professional level, too," she explains. "Besides, I enjoy looking good."