As much as I love to dabble with makeup, I usually only spend about 5 minutes on it each morning. I just don’t have the patience or inclination to do much more than that, considering I spend most of the day at home. The UPS man and the kids’ preschool teacher are fairly well robbed of seeing a daily red lip.
But because I love seeing how other women put on their weekday face, and because it’s fun to talk about makeup, there are links to a few friends at the bottom with their own posts and videos. Now, I thought my 5-minute makeup routine was really simple, but it turns out there are quite a few steps, I’m just able to do them quickly.
The most important step in putting on makeup is actually the prep. The more my skin ages, the more this is true. In the show I wash my face using the Mario Badescu glycolic foaming face wash with the Clarisonic Mia. When I get out of the shower, I pat dry and then moisturize immediately. I swear by all kinds of different moisturizers, but in the morning I usually stick to the Aveeno Positively Radiant. Around the eye area I use Amore Pacific eye gel.
I throw on clothes or blow dry my hair or even go downstairs and have some caffeine while I let the moisturizers work their magic. When it’s time to apply the rest of the makeup, I kick it into full gear.
If it’s going to be a long day, I start with just a dab of makeup primer. I use Smashbox or sometimes Laura Mercier. I have a love/hate relationship with makeup primer. I think it can make foundation go on more smoothly, but I also think it can make your face more oily throughout the day. The key to primer is to use just a little. You don’t need a lot or your makeup might end up sliding right off.
After it dries, I apply foundation. I go through all kinds of foundation phases. I like everything from Make Up Forever liquid foundation to Bare Minerals. My current obsession is the Urban Decay Naked Skin. It’s thin and light, but still covers like a good foundation. I also think the color match is just perfect for my skin, which in some cases is the hardest battle.
Then I dot on concealer. These days I’m using MAC concealer, even though I don’t like the little bottle. It covers very well and is easy to work with. I use a large foundation brush to blend it all in with the foundation, so that the two formulas look seamless.
Next I brush on Benefit Dandelion blush from the apples of my cheeks up towards my temple. This blush is universally flattering and without it my face looks so drab.
A quick swipe with my finger of MAC’s paint pot eyeshadow (remember the eye-shadow experiment?) and then three coats of my dearly beloved Loreal Voluminous mascara. Lately I’ve added an eyebrow pencil to the mix, as they are lighter than my hair color right now and that looks kind of weird.
Last is lipstick - my signature colors are NARS velvet matte lip pencil in Sex Machine and MAC lip color in fushia, and if I’ve got a spare minute I use a large fluffy brush to dust on Laura Mercier highlighting powder. That last step can be the difference between frazzled and polished.
I can do all the steps with children at my feet and virtually no thought. Then out the door, and no touchups unless there are plans for the evening.
Ever curious about how other women are doing it? Check out these other 5 minute makeup routines:
Jodi from Mom's Favorite Stuff, Nicole from Momtrends, Kate from The Shopping Mama, Whitney from Mommies With Style, Danielle from Extraordinary Mommy, Melissa from Married My Sugar Daddy, and Jo-Lynne from Musings of a Housewife.