I am a firm believer in trying to look polished almost all of the time. But, and it is a big but, I don’t have the time (or the inclination, most of the time!) to spend half an hour “putting on my face”. I timed my everyday look the other day, and I had it down in just under 5 minutes. I change it up slightly from day-to-day – different colours, different textures – but overall, this 5 Minute Face is what I am doing every morning.
- Apply base with fingers – I am currently using Chanel’s Vitalumiere Aqua foundation in shade 40 beige, which is a sheer coverage foundation that looks exactly like my skin, only better. It doesn’t completely cover the hyperpigmentation on my cheeks, but “hazes” them.
- Sweep on a single shade of eyeshadow on eyelids, up into crease, with a medium sized eyeshadow brush. I use the same colour almost everyday, a slightly shimmery deep nude (Clinique’s Like Mink eyeshadow duo). If I look particularly tired, I will use Stila’s Kitten shade instead.
- Line eyes – I find using a gel eyeliner with a flat eyeliner brush the quickest way (even quicker than a pencil, once you get the hang of it) and it seems to last so much longer on me. In the pic above, I’m using Bobbi Brown’s Sepia Ink, a dark brown shade, which I like much better for daytime than a black, which can seem too harsh on me.
- Apply mascara – I pretty much use whatever I get for free; I only buy mascara when I exhaust my stash of freebies! Right now, the freebie I’m using is from Rimmel, which is OK, but can be a bit clumpy if I’m not paying attention.
- Swirl on blush – A quick dusting on the apples of my cheeks in sheer colour, usually a discontinued plummy shade from Clinique.
- Swipe on lipstick – I constantly mix up what shade and type of lipstick I am wearing, but it is generally a cream or matte formula as they last longer. I don’t bother with lipliner.
And that is it!! In 6 steps and less than 5 minutes, I look polished and put together for almost any situation.
