The 5-Minute Makeup Challenge

If I have to choose between an extra 10 minute of shut eyes and a half hour standing in front of the mirror primping myself in the morning, I will definitely choose the previous one. Trust me people, no amount of makeup can wash the grump out of my face all day long. Aren't we all needing those 5 or 10 minutes in bed before heading out for another day? While most days I would go out without makeup, I think it's important to have a quick makeup routine that makes you look polished and chic in no time. So ladies and gentlemen, may I present you my 5-minute makeup routine!

From sleepy-head to fab in 5 minutes, can you do it?
I think you can!

Ok, you can stop clapping now and let's get to work!

Step 1: Face forward with your tinted moisturizer

Remember my first tip on this post? We do the same here by using tinted moisturizers as they really save us some precious time on blending. Since I started using mineral makeup, I tossed away all my bottles of liquid foundation! So how can I make myself some tinted moisturizer?

Don't be panic, you still can get the tint you want out of your mineral foundation. However, make sure you check it first to see if it's water soluble. From my experience, Silk Naturals foundation is water-resistant due to the silk powder in there but Everyday Minerals foundation is not. So I squirted a dollop of my moisturizer with SPF on the palm of my hand and sprinkled a bit of EM foundation on it. Then I mix them together to create my own mineral tinted moisturizer!

Moisturizer and mineral foundation on the palm of my hand before mixing them together

Step 2: Eye time by applying cream eyeshadow to all over your eyelids

I love MAC Paint Pot in Bare Study to do this job. It glides smoothly on my eyes without tugging the skin and creates a lovely and sheer wash all over it. This color is so popular that it's hard to find these days. It's also a fave in wedding makeup.

Step 3a: Line and smudge your eyes using a creamy eye liner

Since we totally skip the 10 layers of eye shadows here, the eye liner is a good way to make your eyes pop without using lots of colors. In my early days, I did not get to own a lot of eyeshadows so my brown eye liner was a godsend. I can draw a chubby line and use a Q-tip to smudge the line as close to the lashes as possible. Moreover, the line doesn't need to be precised either. You can use eyeliners in black, brown, dark navy, dark purple,... whatever color your heart desires and smudge the heck out of it with your Q-tip or your pencil brush (ie MAC 219, my fave!)

Step 3b: Fix your eyebrows

If the eyes are the windows to your soul, the eyebrows are the Golden Gates of your face. Fixing your eyebrows with some clear brow gel really makes your eyes stand out more and gives you a polished look fast.

Step 3c: Swipe some mascara

Using a curling mascara to save you time, applying one or two coats of mascara on your lashes.

Step 4: Blush up baby!

Apply your favorite blush to the apple of your cheeks. Since we're going for a quite minimalistic look, a bit (or a lot) of blush really makes a difference. I opt for a lot because blushes can brighten up my face with minimal effort.

Step 5: Paint your pouty lips

I prefer lipgloss for this job as they do not require a lot of application time: swipe and go! However, if you're heading outside on a hot day, a tinted lip color may be better as it holds the color longer. For me, I love Black Honey or any of the Clinique Almost Lipsticks as they give both shine and color.

That's it, time's up! Within 5 minutes you can look polished and ready for the day. The time you save can be used for those precious minutes in bed or to beat the traffic.

Have a nice week ahead everyone!
Your Makeup Blogger

P.S: related posts that you may find interesting

MAC Paint Pots
Clinique Black Honey Lipstick
How not to melt in the sun