A timer! — as in egg timer or stopwatch.
I usually use the timer on my phone…
I’m so not kidding! It’s the best way I know of to keep things from spiraling out of control.
When I absolutely need to get out the door by a certain time and only have “X” number of minutes to put on makeup, I set a timer on my iPhone, and then that’s all the time I have.
I watch the countdown and adjust myself accordingly, and I seriously think it works better than a regular clock.
With just a clock and no timer, my 5-minute makeup looks tend to stretch out to 15. 🙂
OK, my friend. Your turn. A trick to creating quick and easy makeup looks is…
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Lauren says
May 6th, 2014 at 8:28 amA race against the clock! Ha ha, I should try that one. For me, the trick to a quick make up look is cream shadows. Especially Benefit’s Birthday Suit creaseless cream shadow, it’s a mid tone taupe that looks dark in the outer corners and crease, but catches the light on the center of the lid.
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Fancie says
May 6th, 2014 at 8:51 amThis is actually a really good idea! Whenever I’m crunched for time I always end up spending too much time on my makeup and not enough time getting dressed lol
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Kiss & Make-up says
May 6th, 2014 at 9:08 amThat would just stress me out so much, to see that clock ticking! 🙂 I am usually pretty good with knowing in advance how much time I will spend on my make-up. It’s usually 20 to 25 minutes.
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Divya says
May 6th, 2014 at 9:08 amKeeping your favorite products accessible!
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Eileen says
May 6th, 2014 at 9:27 amI’m retired now and so I have an abundance of time in the morning, but after so many years of allotting myself X number of minutes to get dressed, groomed, and out the door, I developed a pretty good internal clock. When I need to hurry, I just do it! 🙂
Trisha says
May 6th, 2014 at 10:25 amSince I started working from home (over 7 years ago), I stopped needing to get my makeup done by a certain time. Recently, though, I’ve noticed that I’m actually pretty darn fast without even trying. I can do an elaborate makeup look in about 15 minutes. I guess if I ever have a makeup emergency, I know I can handle it!
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JennySue Makeup says
May 6th, 2014 at 10:33 amOMG, I use my iPhone timer for everything but this, but now I’m totally going to try it! You are so right, I say I’m going to take 10 minutes on my makeup and it turns into 20- this would def keep me on track if I saw the digits counting down. You are brilliant my makeup friend!
Chic Lapin says
May 6th, 2014 at 11:48 amWhen I’m in a hurry, I go for multitasking products: BB Cream as foundation, bronzer as eyeshadow… 😀
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Erin says
May 6th, 2014 at 12:38 pmThat’s a good idea but I don’t know how I could pull it off. My 5 minute face is more like 10 or 15 minutes because I apply liquid foundation.
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Trude says
May 6th, 2014 at 1:31 pmWhenever I’m getting ready for something special and realize I took too long doing other stuff (makeup is usually my last thing before getting dressed), I do a red lip look. Simple eyes, maybe some liquid liner with bronzer in the crease, and then bright red lipstick and I’m good to go. Otherwise I’ll spend 20 minutes just on blending out a smokey eye look! But for everyday work I’ve got my routine down to a science. 🙂
Shannon says
May 6th, 2014 at 1:34 pmThat’s such a good idea! My best bet for short amounts of time is setting limits for myself and keeping it simple – for example, only use one eyeshadow and one liner. boom. Especially useful when I need to run off to work!
Ms. Heathen says
May 6th, 2014 at 1:37 pmI keep a smaller makeup bag set aside with only a few products in it, so if I’m in a rush I grab that bag and set myself a rule that I can’t go for any other things. I spend too much time fussing with my eye shadow and juggling four palettes otherwise. A timer would just make me extra nervous.
Of course, I end up spending too much time when I’m not busy changing the products in the bag and looking for new things to put in there. 😀
Katherine M says
May 6th, 2014 at 4:35 pmI typically wake up early enough to do a very quick, natural look with makeup and hair, and on weekends I will spend more time on makeup (like 20 minutes). I have found eyeshadow palettes like UD Naked work wonders for helping to get ready quick with the eyes. For face, zit concealor and BB/CC cream is where it’s at. If I don’t do the eyes, it’s BB/CC cream, concealer, and contour with bronzer and blush. It takes all of 5 minutes and I still look put together.
Ann says
May 6th, 2014 at 5:35 pmKaren I love
Ann says
May 6th, 2014 at 6:40 pmKaren I love the cat ring! Where can I find it?
sharon says
May 6th, 2014 at 7:17 pmKaren I love the cat ring too! Where Where Where? 🙂
Sylirael says
May 6th, 2014 at 7:49 pmI find it best (if I know I’ll be short on time), to either plan a look (and stick to that!), or just default to my reliable standard easy look that takes 2 minutes. I don’t think I could do makeup with a timer ticking, somehow, but you’ve gotta do what works! 😀
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Jenny Frank says
May 7th, 2014 at 1:12 amI do the exact same thing with the timer on my phone! It’s always in the bathroom with me, and i’m constantly tapping my screen for the countdown, haha. Most days, I’m never satisfied with what I look like when the timer is up, so i keep a small makeup bag of necessities in my purse.
Irene says
May 7th, 2014 at 8:34 amHi Karen, I’ve been reading your blog for months now and I loooove it, but I never really left comments. I rarely do. But this subject is close to my heart.
My trick is to do one eye-shadow look with a mid-tone + a smudged eye-liner around the lash line. Takes almost no time and always looks good, plus you may vary the intensity. I’ve got a few examples here http://www.beauty-marker.com/2014/05/6-simple-looks-using-urban-decay-naked3.html. I’m all for quick and easy looks, since I’m a Mom of 2 and working till late (said I remembering that I usually spend around 25-30 mins on makeup, hahaha). Timing it really helps too.
I think that using less different products helps too, like don’t do the bronzer and highlighter, just go for cream blush, it’ll add enough glow to substitute the highlighter, and bronzing and contouring for every day… eee… I’m kind of double-minded about it. Might just be too much for the day in real life unless it’s your thing and you’re and expert in it. Also simply using palettes instead of singles also helps, gives you options without the hustle of looking around for things.
Hm, I’m starting to feel like this subject is an idea for a blog post for me… 🙂