Mornings can be nutso busy.
Especially if you’ve got kids that need to be organized and out the door to school.
Doing your makeup in the morning can easily feel like something that can hit the chopping block when you’re under a major time crunch, I get the temptation, we all do.
But don’t do it. Resist!
We all know how much better we feel the rest of our day when we’ve managed to pull ourselves together decently. When we’re happy to catch our reflection in the mirror and engage socially instead of ducking our heads or hoping we don’t run into anyone important that day.
Here are my Top Time Saver Makeup Tips for those crazy mornings:
Skip the fancy eyeshadows.
If pressed for time elaborate eyeshadows are the first thing to go in my makeup routine. To look good, major eyeshadow takes some time. If I choose to do shadows at all it might just be a quick swipe of a contour powder through my crease and under my eyes, easy peasy but still looks great.
Don’t do anything that requires patience on your part.
It’s a universal law, when you try and rush your eyeliner it’s going to turn out a total nightmare; lumpy, bumpy and totally un-even. Instead, just use a soft kohl eye pencil and do a quick small wedge at the outer corner (a small wing extending off the wedge can be fun), and just blend out with a smudge brush.
Minimal coverage. Maximum effect.
Say no to the full face of foundation and just use spot concealer coverage where you need it (usually under the eyes, around the corners of the nose, chin and any other spots that need evening out).
Have your makeup brushes and product easily accessible.
If you have to go rooting around for things it just ain’t gonna happen. I like to keep my brushes sitting in a pretty glass or jar making them easy to spot and grab. This habit also has the double benefit of preserving the shape of your bristles so they don’t get mashed in a dark drawer or a squishy makeup bag. And I keep my own daily personal makeup kit in a large wooden basket that I can easily tote around and quickly see at a glance what I want.
Get rid of extra packaging.
Make sure all your makeup and brushes don’t have any unnecessary packaging still on them. I’m always surprised how many client makeup bags I go through and have to remove a bunch of unnecessary packaging, thin plastic sheets over the eyeshadow palette, brushes still in their plastic sleeves, just get rid of it.
Give your makeup kit an edit.
Sort out your makeup so your daily use makeup is in one place, and you store your special occasion makeup somewhere else. That way you’re not sorting through mountains of product on a daily basis.
Something is better than nothing. Prioritize
Use my quickest, easiest “pulled together in a snap” cheat – concealer /brows/mascara/ and super bold colourful lips. This takes 5 mins max and looks super clean, and sharp. Have a collection of bold lipsticks and lip pencils that you love to wear and grab whatever shade suits your mood that day.
Something is better than nothing. If you truly only have 60 seconds aim for the absolute top priorities: concealer/brows/ and mascara (and blush if you can spare 20 more seconds).
Practice!
Even when you’re not pressed for time, challenge yourself to do your makeup quickly. It’ll fine-tune your skills so that when you do find yourself under a real-time crunch you know how to confidently work quickly with your makeup. Practice! Practice! Practice!
