Dash Out The Door: Natural Day Makeup In Under Five Minutes

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Did you sleep through your alarm and now only have a few minutes to get to work or to that important coffee-date? Use five of them on getting pretty and polished and no-one will ever know! Here are five fantastic and essential tips for applying natural day makeup in under five minutes and with only one colour product for lips, eyes and cheeks (yes, one!). The key is making your beauty products multi-task. Read on to discover how your cosmetics can work as hard as you do.

Tip # 1: Basic Prep

If you are a time-challenged woman, you can have the benefits of good skin care and be time-savvy by only buying dual purpose or multi-functional products:

A cleanser with built-in toner or exfoliant (or both!) is fast and easy. Use it in the shower to speed things up a little more.

Follow with a moisturiser for your skin type (if possible) that includes a sunscreen SPF of 15+.

Or get your sun protection in your foundation.

Or use a foundation that dries to a powder finish (usually called creme-to-powder) to control shine and kick the powder step out of your routine.
Who said you have no time to care for your skin? Think about the difference it makes to how you feel when you catch a glimpse of your reflection as you power-walk by.

Tip # 2: Fast Foundation

Liquid foundation is fastest when you forget the sponge and slap it on! Use your normal amount but apply it as you would a moisturiser. Put it on your fingers, rub them together a little to even it out then apply it to your face using the entire length of your fingers to cover large areas at once. Quickly wash or wipe off your hands on your shower towel.

Tip # 3: Lips & Cheeks (And Eyes) In One

Lips: Skip the lip liner and reach for a lipstick in a natural-looking shade, like a berry, peach, coral, pink or brown that suits you. It will double as a cream blush so memorise the handy guidelines below and avoid glittery lipstick for this one.

How To Choose Lip Colours

An important lesson! Remember your natural colourings when choosing lip colour. For day makeup, the depth of colour should be chosen in relation to your skin tone, i.e. if your skin is fair, keep to light lip colours, if beige you can go brighter or slightly darker and still look natural whereas those with dark or bronze skin know they need intense chocolates or deep plums to achieve a comfortable day look. Dark red-brown lipstick with ivory skin is not good if you want a natural, healthy look. Even if you have a warm complexion and red hair it will look 'muddy' on you so remember your skin tone and opt for a lighter shade. Your lipstick for daytime will be similar to your natural lip colour but perhaps a shade darker: natural enhanced.

Using these guidelines means your lipstick for the daytime will add to but never dominate your natural beauty. You might like to go through your handbag or dressing table, weed out the lip colours you never wear or don't feel comfortable in and give them to your daughters or teenage neighbours!

So with a natural lipcolour, colour your lips fully. Cheeks: Blot your lips with your fingers and pat the excess that comes off onto your cheeks, as you would creme blusher. Concentrate the colour on the apples of your cheeks and along your cheekbones.

Tip # 4: Eye Colour

Eyes: Apply a highlighter eye shadow (lighter than your skin) to your brow bone and eyelid if you have one. Use it liberally in the inner corners of your eyes for a youthful and alert look. Then take some more colour from your lips and apply it, lightly to start off, in the crease of your eye. No-one is watching, right? If you chose a good lip colour you will be looking fresh, sweet and wide awake.

You have options! If you need it to last, a powder blush is always better, especially if have oily skin. Use a neutral powder blush on your cheeks instead of the lipstick then use that as an eye colour also with a blush brush over the entire lid area for a healthy glow. Simple!

Tip # 5: Mascara & Brows

Defining Eyes: Skip eyeliner but definitely sweep on mascara. If the bottom lashes are too fiddly, leave them bare. Use an eyelash comb if you have one to remove any excess mascara. Run an eyebrow brush over your brows to even out the colour if necessary. Refresh your lipstick or add a gloss.

Done! It is minimal but you look pretty and polished. You can add more later in the day if you want but for now, just get out the door!

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