5 Minute Face

     We all have those days. Either we're slammed for time and need to race out the door, or we're so exhausted the thought of putting any extra effort into our appearance makes our brains shut down. I get it. I LIVE in those two spaces. If I'm honest, I only wear makeup about 25% of the time. I have no qualms about doing life barefaced. I enjoy the freedom of it, actually.  But I'm nearing the age where not only is it professionally appropriate, it's also an act of public service so I don't scare the children with my naked face. The thing is, I still very rarely get up early enough/have the motivation to put on a face-full of makeup in the morning before work. Do you feel me? If so, keep reading. Today I'm going to go step by step through a quick and easy (and if you'd like, cheap) makeup look. Very minimal, but very effective.

1. Prep your skin.

     This is a given if you've read any of my other blog posts. I never skimp on prepping my skin in the morning because I'm married to my skincare routine. So, work your steps. Cleanse, exfoliate, treat, moisturize, SPF. Now proceed.

2. Curl Eyelashes

     This is important if you have short lashes, sparse lashes, lashes that grow at random angles, lashes that grow straight down, or like me, all of the above. If you have small or hooded eyes and only have time for one thing, this is your thing! Look at the before and after. Wizardry I tell you. Makes a huge difference and takes less than 30 seconds. And you don't have to worry about clumping, waiting for product to dry, getting your eyes even, etc. So easy. I can't guarantee how long your eyelashes will stay curled without a coating of mascara on top, but mine seem to last for about 8-10 hours. YMMV.

3. Mascara

     This will help hold the curl and add more definition. I use a tubing mascara because I have oily lids and that always breaks down mascara and causes smudging and smearing all around my eyes. I use L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara. Use whatever your mascara you have. Use an eyelash comb or spoolie to brush through your lashes after you apply your mascara if you struggle with clumps.

4. Eyebrows

     This is probably the trickiest step, and, if you're a noob when it comes to doing your brows, this step might push you over the time limit. You can ask my sister Paige, when I started adding eyebrows to my makeup routine it took me almost the same amount of time to do my brows as it did for me to do the whole rest of my face! Now I can whip them on fast, but it takes a bit of practice if you're really altering your natural brows. If you have full brows, just a swipe of clear brow gel to put all the hairs in place is going to be enough. If you have nicely shaped brows but they're a little sparse, use a brow pencil or brow powder to lightly fill them in. If you have barely-there brows, use a pencil with a light hand to beef them up and create the shape you want. Follow up with a tinted brow gel to emphasize the hairs that you do have. For everyone: when picking a brow product, go a shade or two lighter if you have dark hair, and a shade or two darker if you have fair hair. Don't match your hair color exactly. Only use an Auburn color if you have extremely bright red hair (think the Little Mermaid.) You can use eye shadow as brow powder, but it has to be matte, no shimmer or frost, and it shouldn't be red toned (again, unless you have bright red hair.) I've got hardly any brows, so I'm using a brow pencil topped by a tinted brow gel.

5. Concealer

     This is going to depend on what your skin weakness is. If you deal with blemishes, go in with a waxy hard concealer and small brush and conceal all your spots. Set this concealer with a bit of translucent face powder so the cover up will last all day. If you have bad under eye dark circles, use a light-weight creamy concealer under your eyes and pat in with your finger. If you have red patches, use a heavy coverage creamy concealer and blend over the red areas with a foundation paddle brush. If you have clear skin with no issues, feel free to skip concealer or use an eye brightening pen under your eyes to highlight them and make you look more awake. Whatever your issue, quickly target it and move on. I've got a cystic breakout (thank you hormones) and a couple smaller spots on my nose. I'm covering those with a hard concealer and using an eye brightener under my eyes. Cause Lord knows I need to fake being well-rested. Curse you Netflix for stealing my sleep!

5. Blush/Bronzer
   
     Use either blush or bronzer, depending on your skin tone/makeup style, in a cream formula on the cheekbones. It's very difficult to blend out powdered formulas on bare skin; they work better on top of foundation. Blend out a cream product on your cheekbones with a brush or your fingers to give your face some healthy color. If you have natural flush to your cheeks, just rock what you've got. Most people will need to add a little product. Use a light hand and build up the color if you need to. I chose a bronzer. I'm. Ready. For. Summer.

6. Powder

     This is only for the oily faces. A light dusting of oil absorbing powder through the t-zone/center of the face will help you survive the day without a grease fest on your face (This is my favorite link, get the original strength-the ingredients are better). Ideally, you should carry your powder with you so you can touch up throughout the day, but ain't nobody got time for that. I just blot my nose with tissue at work every few hours and call it good enough. If you have dry skin, completely skip this step.

7. Lips

     This doesn't have to be done before you leave the house. Honestly, I usually slap on my lip gloss in the car at the stoplight at N Druid Hills and Clairmont. That's just how it happens. Sometimes I wait until I get to my desk at work. Most of the time I just use Dior Lip Maximizer. I love this stuff. It's insanely expensive, but it's the only chopstick-type product that actually hydrates my lips. It doesn't mask the problem, it actually fixes it. But you don't need to shell out $30 bucks. Use whatever chapstick/lip balm/lipstick/lip gloss/lip stain/crushed up beetle pigment you like to use on your lips. I'd probably recommend something natural and not too bright, but if bold is your forte, go for it. My best friend Pam always has on red lipstick. Always. It's her thing. Go for your thing. Today I picked a pink gloss with gold shimmer.

Done! So easy and you look put together and polished. Now, if only I can get motivated to do this every morning. Maybe I need to increase my coffee consumption first thing in the AM.

And a before and after pic.

Disclaimer: All of these photos were only edited using Lightroom to adjust exposure and color. The same settings were applied to the entire series of pictures. I did not retouch any of the photos. I thought about it, but I'm photoshop stupid and I didn't want to lie.