The Beauty Hacks That Make My Routine Super Speedy

Whilst I still enjoy applying makeup in a meticulous fashion from time to time – usually when I’m taking pictures or filming because HD is a beyatch – on a day to day basis I make it as speedy as possible. I like to slap product on whilst I’m listening to a podcast or watching a YouTube video out of one eye, but I won’t let that slow me down and from start to finish the whole thing probably takes around 10 minutes. Wham, bam, thank you Ma’am. I’d rather my time be spent eating or sleeping, instead of wetting a million cotton buds in pursuit of finally nailing liquid liner.

Sure, it’s the actual look I lean on these days that speeds up the whole thing. There’s only so long that a quick base, one eyeshadow, mascara and a slick of lip balm takes, you know? However, there are also a few techniques and habits that I’ve incorporated that have streamlined the process even further and cut down my routine by a handful of minutes, which means a few hundred seconds extra to nod along with Dolly and Panda and chow down on my Coco Pops in peace. And let’s face it, that’s the aim of the game here…

Get your storage DOWN. It’s a no-brainer, but a well organised stash is going to make fishing out products and whacking them on your face a faster process. I’m cooking up a beauty declutter video where I’ll show you the whole caboodle which consists of an everyday set-up on my vanity (what’s pictured here), a collection of really subtle bits that I keep in my bathroom (more on that next) and then the overflow that I keep in my office and rotate in to either my vanity or bathroom set-ups regularly to make sure I’m using everything up. It sounds more of a process than it is, but if you’re a tad makeup obsessed then I’m sure you’ll be on board *tips hat to you*. General storage aside, it’s time to let you in on my biggest time-saving hack of all. You ready? Lean in. Keep your BeautyBlenders in the bathroom. REVOLUTIONARY I KNOW. That way once you’ve done your whole skincare thing in the morning you can dampen a sponge straight from your cabinet and then head to wherever it is that you apply your face. Once you’re done you can return it to the bathroom, give it a clean and replace it back so it’s ready to go the following morning. It might sound like a useless nugget of advice but it’s saved me doing the whole back and forth between my bedroom and bathroom many a time, plus it means that I actually keep up a cleaning routine with my sponges which was nonexistent before.

Bathroom beauty. My makeup vanity set-up in our bedroom is more for times when I want to wear eyeshadow/spy on my neighbours thanks to the absolutely cracking vantage point of our road that it gives, so when I fancy sprucing up my face fast it’s my bathroom beauty bits that I reach for. This particular set-up is new and was only recently introduced when we re-did our bathroom and installed a HUGE cabinet that holds every skincare product under the sun, along with the cream-only beauty items that can be applied in approximately five minutes flat. They leave me feeling fresh and like a Glossier-esque IG dream (in my head obvs). Everything can be applied using one brush (see below) and because of that it’s all so darn speedy to put on. As it’s in my bathroom there’s no faffing around and I can throw on some mascara as I brush my teeth, which makes me feel like some kind of superwomen because it’s the preening equivalent of rubbing your belly and patting your head at the same time. Of course a tub of makeup in your bathroom isn’t going to be the most practical for everyone, so I’d suggest keeping a small bag of quickie essentials in your handbag or your bedside table, ready to empty and apply without even thinking whenever you need freshening up, like, NOW.

Creams are everything. There is nothing faster than applying a makeup look that consists entirely of cream textures. FACT. You can of course decide to forgo makeup brushes completely and go in with your fingers, however I do believe that the ZOEVA 102 Silk Finish Brush is even faster and less messier than going in with your tips. Foundation? Check. Concealer? Not a problem. Blush? Highlight? Bronzer? It does it all. Screw switching up brushes, creams blends in so beautifully and quickly and because this brush is synthetic it transfers it all to the face with very little product held back, so it really doesn’t matter that you’re going in ham with just the one brush. In fact it makes PERFECT sense. Favourite cream products of mine that deserve a shoutout are the Glossier Stretch Concealer, which I’ve taken to wearing as an all-over base, the Milk Makeup Matte Bronzer in Baked (although the NARS Laguna Liquid Bronzer does a similar job and is easier to get in the U.K – just don’t squirt it all up your white walls like I have) and the Hourglass Vanish Highlighting Stick in Champagne Flash, which I prefer applied to my fingers or a brush first before I apply it, to make my skin look like it just glows like a flippin’ candle naturally.

Photos by Lauren Shipley

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