You guessed it! I'm lazy when it comes to my own beauty routine. Even if I didn't have the excuse of toddlers, I don't love to spend hours on my looks every day. I just have better things to do. So if you're like me, either lazy or busy, you're going to want to keep reading so you can cut down your getting ready time too!
Okay, so there's some basic components to getting ready... face, hair, and clothes. To be honest, I'm not the best in the clothing department. I can only get dressed quick because I basically wear the same type of outfit every day- leggings, shoes, and some sort of top. Boring, I know. BUT, we're not talking about that today so it's okay!
Ultimately, it's your hair and face you have to worry about when you're trying to shave time off your morning routine. So here is how I get ready in 20 minutes or less, including the pointless social media scrolling that tends to creep into my time to get ready.
Face- Eyebrows, Eyelashes & Skin
The biggest things that make a difference when it comes to your makeup are eyebrows, eyelashes, and skin.
Okay, so first.. eyebrows. Mine personally are really light and I feel like having them a little darker helps my face stand out better. I used to fill in my eyebrows every morning but you know what, Mama ain't got time for that! So, I got them microbladed! I actually just got it done a few weeks ago but it has been fabulous to wake up and not have to do anything. I was so excited when I first got them done (even when they were extra dark while healing) and I told my husband how much I loved that I wasn't wearing makeup! I do have an appointment to get my first touch up done in a couple days so I might even have her go a little darker than the shade they've healed to so I am good to go for as long as possible.
Anyways, if you have light or sparse eyebrows, I HIGHLY recommend spending the money on microblading. It is totally worth it and you only have to do a touch up once a year or so after the initial session and first touch up so it's super low maintenance. OH, and once it's done, you won't have to touch your eyebrows (except the occasional plucking or waxing of course) at all when you're getting ready. Eyebrows, check!
The next key thing for me, and so many women, to feel put together when it comes to makeup is eyelashes. There's a reason why eyelash extensions are so popular! Like what a freaking blessing to wake up and look gorgeous without putting any extra effort in!? Pair some pretty eyelashes with your microbladed eyebrows and that might be all you need.
Truth is though, I don't do eyelash extensions because guess what.. I also don't have time for that!
So what I've been doing for eyelashes over the last few years has evolved and I actually started with magnetic eyelashes. You know, the ones that snap onto the black eyeliner. Problem was, I'm not really an eyeliner person. I just want the lashes. But if you do like to wear eyeliner without any eyeshadow or anything (because remember, this is the bare minimum to look bougie in 10 minutes) then knock yourself out. You can also find this type of lash with a clear magnetic eyeliner. Just remember that if you do go this route, you will be spending time every morning putting them on and then you also have to take them off at night. Not my cup of tea. Same goes for glue on strip lashes which was the next thing I did. I actually did this for a long time because it's so inexpensive and relatively quick once I got the hang of it. But I wanted to take it one step further. LASHIFY. Everyone is talking about it so I had to see what all the hype was about.
I ordered a kit from them even though I was actually scheduled to get lash extensions like a week after they would arrive. I got my lash extensions and scheduled my first fill two weeks later and lo and behold, my childcare fell through and I had to miss my appointment. Not only that, but I really didn't feel like it was worth it for me to have to get a babysitter for an extra few hours every couple of weeks or cut into my work time at the salon when I already had a sitter so it was officially time to try Lashify.
LADIES.. this stuff is definitely all it is cracked up to be. If you don't know what Lashify is, it's a DIY lash extension kit that is super easy to apply and lasts for about 5-7 days (sometimes longer if you can avoid getting them wet and you don't sleep on your side).
All you do is apply the bonding solution to your lashes with their wand (basically like mascara) and wait a few seconds for it to dry, then you use their handy little lash tool to just pop the lash sections onto the underneath of your lashes. You clamp them with your natural lashes once they're all on and seal with one of their sealers and that's it. It takes about 4-5 lash sections for each eye so they're pretty wide which makes them super easy to handle.
They have a super wide selection of lashes in not only type, but also length. I went with the Extra Extreme in 18mm because I like dramatic lashes. This system allows you to wake up with eyelashes and you don't have to spend hours every couple of weeks getting them done. I think it takes me about 10 minutes every 6 days or so. Totally worth it to wake up and not have to do anything. That's literally all I do for daily eye makeup.. nothing.
*If you're interested in trying Lashify, I have a 25% off coupon to get you started!*
Good eyebrows and lashes look best with nice skin.
The last component to easy makeup is your skin. This starts with skin care. Keeping your skin moisturized and exfoliated helps so much when it comes to your daily makeup routine. At least for me.. I am certainly no skin care expert. I just know that if you're taking good care of your skin (whatever that looks like for you personally!) it makes so much easier to get ready. I personally don't even do my whole skin care routine every day. I usually do it when I wash my hair and it's generally at night or if I have time during nap time or on a Sunday when my husband is home. Honestly, my good but infrequent skin care routine carries me through so I usually don't wear anything on my skin. But if you aren't comfortable with doing that, that's okay! Realistically, putting on foundation, some contour, concealer, and blush are super quick. I'd say it takes a total of 5 minutes or so if I choose to do that.. which I usually don't because, yet again, I'm usually rushing out the door.
Okay, so microblade your eyebrows, use Lashify (or get lash extensions if that's more your jam), and take good care of your skin so you can cut down time getting ready every morning but still look bougie.
Hair
Even though I am a hairstylist, I am like the laziest person when it comes to my hair. It's kind of embarrassing to admit that but I get compliments on my hair all the time when I'm out and about so I must have hacked the lazy girl hair routine.
First off, invest in hair extensions. For most methods you do have to get them moved up every 6-8 weeks but it only takes about 3 hours so I feel like it's worth it, even with my limited childcare. If you can't even swing that, that's okay because there's methods out there like Hair Dreams Nanos that last like 4 months without any salon maintenance (you can find out more about that here).
I know hair extensions sound like MORE work but here's why they're actually not:
1) When your hair is thicker/longer, you look more put together even with minimal styling. And on that note- when you do the full shebang of curls they last several days longer than if you had done that with just your natural. Moreover, part of taking care of them is braiding them at night.. it might take a couple of minutes at night but in the morning all you have to do is use a deep waver on your natural hair to blend textures and you look like you completely just did your hair (this is my go to!). Or if you can french braid your own hair, just do one on each side and all you have to do is take it out in the morning!
2) Hair extensions absorb excess oils and keep your hair looking fresher longer which equals more time between washes. Generally, myself and most of my clients wash once a week with hair extensions but if I don't have them in I have to do it every 3 days or so.
3) You have a lot more quick styling options. A lot of the heatless styles out there these days would be laughable with my natural hair. But since I have extensions I can utilize these quick, chic hairstyles and look normal doing it!
These key things- eyebrows, eyelashes, skin, and hair- can all be super easy to deal with day to day. I personally feel so much more confident in the way I look even when I'm staying home when these things are on point. I can get ready wayyy quicker each morning and still feel very put together. So if you are busy, a Mom, or you just are lazy, I highly recommend these things to save you a ton of time and to help you feel gorgeous with minimal effort!