There are never enough hours in a day! You want to look great for work, but you need to do it as quickly as possible. If you’re like me, you’re not going to skip breakfast to put on makeup. I don’t skip any meal if I can help it! Anyway here are some tips to help get you on your way more quickly and easily.
The first step is preparing your supplies. Get a plastic tote from the $1 store and place your makeup and supplies in the tote, so they will be quickly at hand. You will need:
Makeup brushes: (See the section on Beauty Tools in my web store)
- kabuki brush for foundation
- medium powder brush or kabuki for bronzer
- small powder brush for cheek color
- shadow brush and eyeliner brush.
Mineral Makeup (My favorites is bareMinerals). You will need:
- powder foundation
- bronzer
- blush pink for cool skin tones or peach for warmer skin tones
- at least two eye shadows one medium and one a little darker
- Lip liner that is close to your natural lip color (Jane Iredale pencils are interchangeable for lips and eyes)
- Lipstick and/or lip gloss: pink/rose colors for cool skin tones, peach/bronzy colors for warmer tones (bareMinerals has a nice selection of mineral lip colors)
- Makeup sponges or soft facial tissue
Follow these steps, and with practice you will be on your way in less than seven minutes:
- Makeup always looks best on skin that is properly cleansed, toned and moisturized.
Always make sure to use an SPF of 20 or higher. You may not always find the moisturizer you love with the proper amount of sun block. I say use the moisturizer you love and use a separate sun block. The fairer the skin the more protection you need:
- Mineral powder foundation is the easiest and quickest product to apply.
There are usually instructions in the package. If not, it’s really simple: Tap the brush lightly into the powder, swish it around in the lid to get it all over the brush, tap off the excess and buff all over your face. I use about three coats, and it takes about one minute. You can see from the foundation photo that with three coats, the skin tones are evened out. Mineral foundations usually contain a natural sun block for added protection. And for a great way to keep your skin protected during the day, try the bareMinerals Refillable Buffing Brush. Fill it with your favorite bareMinerals color and take it with you for easy reapplication.
- Say “ooooo” and apply your mineral bronzer.
My bronzer is freshMinerals Bahama. You only need a few grains of bronzer. Swish, tap and buff in the hollow of your cheeks and also a little on the forehead, bridge of the nose and chin. This gives some color and contour to your skin, and it takes less than a minute to apply. For a sun tanned look, use more bronzer.
- Now say “eeeee” and apply blush to the apples of your
cheeks and just under the cheek bones to blend into the bronzer. I recommend medium to bright pinks for cooler skin tones and peachy colors for warmer skin tones. Tap the excess blush onto a facial tissue before applying. This makes your application more even and prevents you from depositing large amounts in one place. Application takes less than one minute.
- Apply two eye colors. For all over the lid, use a mid tone (any medium tone or neutral color). Put a few grains of powder on the brush, swirl, tap off all the excess and apply. If the color is too dark when you apply it, then you are not tapping enough off the brush. You can build on the color by adding layers. I use one or two. This takes less than one minute to apply.
- Make a liquid liner with water and mineral eye shadow. Choose a little darker color that blends well with your mid tone. I put a few grains of shadow into a small container (like a bottle cap). I wet the eyeliner brush, dip it into the shadow, swirl it around and scrape it off on the side of the cap. It should be wet but not dripping. Apply one or two coats in about a minute. Anchoring tip: Anchoring helps you be more precise. Let your little finger rest on your cheek to steady your hand before you apply.
- Lip color completes the look. If you’re not a fan of lipstick, then get some nice glosses. I use both. Apply a neutral lip pencil to the outer area of your lips. Then apply lipstick, blot it with a facial tissue so that it leaves a thin layer of color, then top it off with lip gloss. I like medium, natural looking tones for daytime, and I save the bolder colors for evening wear. It takes about one minute to apply lip color.
- The last step is blending. Take a cosmetic sponge or a folded soft tissue. Tap, tap, tap with a firm but gentle touch all over your face to blend the foundation, bronzer and blush for a more natural look. (Sometimes just before tapping, if I’m looking a little shiny, I will brush on a fine layer of translucent powder or mineral veil.)
There you have it! A beautiful finished look. It’s a great idea to carry some powder and lip color with you to freshen up during the day. I hope you have fun with it, and I look forward to your feedback.
