tart up

British  

verb

1. to dress and make (oneself) up in a provocative way

2. to decorate or improve the appearance of

   to tart up a bar

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Example Sentences

“All we did was tart up a hole and claim it was an abyss,” Beckett types.

From New York Times

The food-savvy married couple also tart up canola mayonnaise with fresh basil and lemon zest, and they recommend cutting the bacon slices in half, which makes for easier eating.

From Washington Post

When we ran out of ways to tart up the lowly isobar, we went off-planet.

From Washington Post

Yet while the mainstreaming of exploitation cinema is old news, more notionally respectable movies tend to tart up their cheap goods with ponderous self-importance and deep-dish ideas.

From New York Times

A deeply cynical movie masquerading as a complex moral dilemma, the Australian drama “Felony” proves only that skilled actors and slick photography can tart up even the most problematic script.

From New York Times