Looking Polished in 5 Minutes

I recently read a post at Wardrobe Oxygen about looking polished, and it really resonated with me. As Alli said, it doesn’t take long but that small effort makes a real difference. Yesterday, I had an appointment at the hairdressers at 9.15am. After a bad night with Stephen, I somehow slept through my alarm, and didn’t wake up until 8.20am. Bearing in mind that at that time of the morning, it is a half hour drive to the hairdressers, I had about half an hour to get myself and Stephen fed and ready and out of the door!
The old me would have just grabbed the nearest clothes, fed Stephen and run out of the door. Instead, I jumped in the shower, grabbed some nice clothes (the closet purged helped this immensely!), and took five minutes to put on some makeup. Stephen was fed and changed, his bag was packed, and we managed to make it (without speeding!) with five minutes to spare, which was enough time for me to grab a low fat muffin and a coffee. I felt so much better all day than if I had left the house without “putting myself together”.
My five minute make-up routine:
1) Tinted moisturiser that includes sunblock – combining three steps in one really saves time. Right now I am using Clinique’s Moisture Sheer Tint in Beige
2) Concealer under eyes as I have really dark circles if I don’t get enough sleep – Nars concealer in Praline
3) Eye brow pencil and clear brow gel over the top – Besame Eye Brow Definer in Grey and Estee Lauder Brow Gel – I find that if your brows look polished, then the rest of your face does as well. I also make sure that I get my brows professionally shaped at least every 6-8 weeks, and maintain in between myself.
4) A quick dusting of blush/bronzer – I am using Clinique’s Fresh Bloom All Over Color in Plum as it adds a fresh burst of colour and some subtle glimmer. I apply to the apples of my cheeks and then brush the brush over the rest of my cheekbones, forehead and bridge of my nose
5) Eyeliner and mascara – these help to really open up my eyes and give me an awake look
6) Lipstick – I went for a sheer lipstick as it is easy to swipe on in the car and not have ot be too precise, but it is longer lasting than a gloss. Yesterday I used Julie Hewett’s Film Noir, a sheer berry red.
All of those steps takes less than five minutes, but I look a million times better than if I had left with nothing at all.