Want to save time on your beauty routine? Well, according to a recent reader survey, the average gal puts 22 minutes into her skin and face prep each morning– valuable minutes that could be spent doing just about anything else, like, sleeping.
Check out these 7 easy tricks to save time on your beauty routine each morning, and possibly get you to work on time for a change:
1. Go for a scented body wash. When the weather is warm, it’s kind of offensive to spritz on heavy perfumes anyway, but a lightly fragranced body wash leaves behind just the right amount of scent after your morning shower. Try a clean, rose-laced scent like Herbal Essence’s Happy Go Lather. Available .
2. Deo goes on at night, so you can forget that morning step entirely. I think we’re all guilty of using our underarm protection in the morning, but did you know the active ingredients in antiperspirant work best when they’ve had a few hours to get the ball rolling? Experts suggest swiping on the strong stuff, like Secret Clinical Strength Adapts & Responds Technology, before bed for the most effective results. Then you don’t even have to do it in the morning at all. The is a personal favorite, goes on clear, and offers 48 hour protection (just in case you pass out early the next night and totally miss your window).
3. Honey Bronze is possibly the easiest contouring I’ve ever been party to. Everyone and their mother wants to contour their cheek bones these days, but it’s no secret that it usually takes an expert touch. No more– these little Honey Bronze domes from The Body Shop are possibly the easiest little makeup balls I’ve ever worked with, cheap, and only come in three colors to flatter a variety of skin tones: deep, blush, and highlighting. It doesn’t matter if your skin is super porcelain pale or a glowy Southeast Asian tone, one of these domes will work for you depending on how intensely you apply it. Check out this video tutorial I made below:
4. Moisturize before you even get out of the shower. NIVEA started this in-shower body lotioning craze that I can’t get enough of. Instead of lathering up in the shower, toweling off, and then rubbing greasy lotion all over my body, I’m streamlining the process and easily saving 2-3 minutes each morning. Lather first, rinse, and then apply the NIVEA shower lotion immediately after. I personally let it sit on 1-2 minutes as I exfoliate my face or add a final round of hair conditioner, and then rinse it all off my body with warm water. The result is totally smooth, hydrated skin without any additional steps. It’s also a total lifesaver for the gym, where you don’t want to stretch and expose all your naked limbs to a room full of strangers (or maybe that’s just me). Available .
5. Perfect waves, all season long. Summer is the perfect time to let your tousled, natural-looking hair shine. If you happen to be a shower-the-night-before kinda gal, you have a perfect opportunity to leave a small dab of conditioner in your hair and then loosely braid it before tying it all into a high bun. You’ll go to sleep, wake up, and take it down to find the most glam, sexy beach waves ever– and with no heat damage or additional prep time spent. Easy, peasy.
6. Shellac nails just got so much faster. I’m possibly addicted to Shellac gel polish, but the one part that I didn’t like in the past was the pain-in-the-tush process of removing it at home. Sure, I could sit there for 10 minutes or so with my fingertips wrapped up… but we all know 10 minutes without any ability to browse the internet, change TV channels, or flip magazine pages is just too much. The lovely scientists over at CND just fixed all that by changing the gel polish topcoat to a formula that breaks down faster and easier when it’s wrapped in acetone. Now all you need is 5 minutes. Side bonus: it only takes 1 minute to cure when it goes on now, and is way shinier than the previous formula. Don’t worry, all the colors you’ve always loved are still available and work with the new topcoat. More info here.
7. Eyebrows for days. You know what’s nice about warm weather? Less makeup. The way to pull the limited makeup look off is by having two things: great skin, and flawless eyebrows. Assuming you already take great care of your skin (you do, right?), the easiest way for always pro-looking brows is to have a great powder, wax, and brush set. How do you know which powders and brushes are right? Well, it’s not easy unless you sit with a pro for a tutorial or buy an easy, pre-laid out kit. I love the Kiss eyebrow kit because it’s tiny enough to fit in any purse or makeup bag, comes with two shades of powder so it fits any from from blonde to black hair, tiny precision brushes, and even eyebrow stencils so you can perfect your shape. And yes, you need a powder finish– it’s far more natural looking and protects novices from that overdrawn brow look that’s currently plaguing society. Available here.
