Sometimes it seems like no matter what I do to manage my time better — keeping to-do lists with action items, reminding Siri to remind me to pay the PG&E bill tomorrow, using stopwatches and timers to stay on task, organizing and reorganizing my files (and reorganizing them again), avoiding Twitter and my email for a few hours, waking up at the butt crack of dawn to get a head start on the day — there’s never enough time.
I don’t know about you, but this whole 24-hour day thing just isn’t working for me. 🙂 How do I go about getting a longer day…?
There are some things that help, though. Definitely. Time-saving tips do make it easier to get more done in the day, and when I’m really feeling the crunch, like when I only have five minutes to get ready, I fall back to my most reliable makeup tricks like…
- Using a (kick-arse) tinted moisturizer. In my opinion, the best one out there now is NARS Pure Radiant. It’s lightweight, applies quick as a bunny (I just use my fingers), covers almost everything and doesn’t give me breakouts. My fussy dry/oily/acne-prone skin adores it.
- A bronzy blush. Bronzy blushes can also double as bronzers, and there’s always a few in my makeup bag, like right now, I’m carrying NARS Madly, Benefit Dallas, MAC Harmony, MAC Format and Sisly L’Orchidee.
- A superhero, one-coat mascara capable of doing it all. My new fave is Le Volume de Chanel in Noir. It’s a little expensive, but it lengthens, separates and thickens my nap-worthy lashes in a single swoop.
Separating my makeup into three different bags also helps me stay organized when I have to get out the door quickly.
I stash my makeup essentials in the first one (tinted moisturizer, concealer, powder, brow filler, blush and mascara), and my brushes in the second. In the third bag, I store cleansers and cleanup products — makeup wipes, Almay Oil-Free Makeup Eraser Sticks and packets of Wet Ones Antibacterial Wipes (for cleaning my fingers and removing gunk from dirty brushes) — just in case I have to fix a mistake while I’m out and about.
Welcome to another edition of Share a Tip Tuesdays! 🙂 Okay…you were awesome last week. You left so many fantastic tips in last week’s installment. I couldn’t possibly pick a favorite, but here were some of the ones that perked up my tired eyes…
Use a peachy highlight in the inner corners of the eyes and brow bone to perk up tired eyes. Since I know that peach correctors work well for under-eye dark circles, I don’t know why it was such a huge surprise to me when I tried it with MAC Arena, but whoa! A shimmery peach works so much better than champagne, which used to be my go-to highlight shade.
–ARIANNEIf you mix a brown eyeshadow with the more dramatic colors in your eye look, you’ll get a softened version that usually translates into a more comfortable look. This tip is especially good for people who are just starting to add brighter/deeper colors to their eye looks. ie: If you’re worried about blue eyeshadow being too BLUE!, then throw some brown in there. Just make sure the brown you’re using complements the overall tone/darkness of the eyeshadow that you’re adding it to.
–MONIKAI use the ELF Lip Lock pencil to keep my lipstick from feathering — it’s a $3 wonder!
–NINAThe absolute best way to make tired eyes look perky is to skip liner on the lower lashes (even if it’s not black), and apply a flesh toned or white pencil to your waterline. Then apply a satin or shimmer eyeshadow to your eye’s inner corner. If you have large eyes, use a satin or matte eyeshadow, a shade lighter than your skin color.
–CHRIS25Liquid liner has been MY JAM since sophomore year in high school! My ultimate savior when it comes to cat eyes: the pointed q-tip. Take either a sharpened pencil or some dark shadow on an eyeliner brush and lightly sculpt out the shape you want. Getting the eyes symmetrical is as easy as just removing any mistakes with the pointed q-tip (I like to go by the angle my lower lash line makes — just run the q-tip up from that angle to get a perfectly sharp line). Then go over with liquid liner. A bit more time-consuming, but it beats having to mess around with smeary liquid liner in order to correct a mistake.
–MAI
Hvala! 🙂
So, let’s get to it. As usual, any and all of your makeup/beauty/hair/skin tips are welcome, but here are a few conversation starters…
- What are your top quickie beauty tricks for mornings when you don’t have a lot of time?
- You’re taking a one-week trip to the Bahamas. What’s in your travel makeup bag?
- What are your top three blushes, and why do you love them?
- What’s your 5-minute makeup routine?
- What’s been the most helpful makeup or beauty technique or tip you learned this year?
Leave your tips/tricks/suggestions here in the comments, or tweet ’em to me on Twitter @karenmbb using the hashtag #shareatiptuesday. 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
love.
It’s the new $30 Chanel Le Volume de Chanel Mascara, and it’s available in a single shade called Noir.
