In honor of Mondays… Ooh, the most dreaded day of the week, I’ve decided to post this to help you all out there who often had too much fun on Sunday nights and totally forgot you’ve got to work/go to school the morning after.
If this also happens to you a lot, I strongly urge you to have the following items handy at all times at home:
So, here’s my out-the-door in 5 minutes routine for your inspiration:
1. Brush your teeth
After jumping out of bed and realizing you only have 5 minutes to storm out of the house, BRUSH YOUR TEETH, there is no excuse! You don’t want to suffocate people around you with your lovely morning breath. LOL!
But then, when you’re rushing you tend to forget things. So at the end of the post I have a list of things you always need to have in your handbag – one of them are mints or breath sprays. However, these should never be a replacement for a good ol’ conventional teeth brushing. (30 seconds)
2. Tone your skin
Forget about washing your face if you have a well-cleansed and well-nourished skin from the night before. You weren’t sleeping rolling around in mud so you don’t really need to wash your face, simply apply toner with a cotton pad to get rid of any excess oils or dirt on the surface of the skin, or mist your face with your favorite face mist/spray to freshen up your complexion.
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| Lush Tea Tree Toner Water |
If you have problematic skin, the Lush Tea Tree Toner Water is super freaking awesome because it will also help treat your acne/congestions. (10 seconds)
3. Protect your skin
SPF is so important – this is one step you should never skip, even during the winter! If your skin is in need of coverage, opt for a medium-coverage tinted moisturizer that contains SPF. If not, a moisturizer that contains a minimum of SPF 15 will do.
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Makeup must-haves for the occasion!
(L – R) Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer,
Etude House 2NE1 Lip Tint in Pink Follower,
Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel & Garnier BB Cream Eye Roller |
My favorite tinted moisturizers are the Laura Mercier Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer and NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturizer. You don’t have time to moisturize, apply SPF foundation, and concealer separately, so a tinted moisturizer, BB or CC cream is the way to go! Applying with your clean fingers is much faster. (1 minute max.)
4. Treat and conceal your under eyes
Brighten up your eye area as you most likely would still have puffy/red/dark under eyes from being sleep deprived, or maybe allergies?
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| Garnier BB Cream Eye Roller’s rollerball |
Quickly dab on a tinted eye cream/treatment like the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser Dark Circles Concealer, First Aid Beauty Eye Duty Triple Remedy, or Garnier BB Cream Eye Roll On. This will help hydrate and treat your under eye throughout the day while also concealing any dark circles/puffiness/redness you may have. (30 seconds)
5. Enhance your features (Optional)
If you have more than 5 minutes to get out the door, you can always choose to apply an additional 1-2 makeup items that is a MUST for your face.
How to decide? Simply choose two features of your face that need to be enhanced the most.
For me, it’s definitely my eyebrows because I have thin and sparse, almost non-existent, eyebrows. The second makeup item I choose is normally mascara or cream blush. Or both if I have the time, but my eyebrows are my number one priority!
To save time, I usually opt for a tinted brow gel instead of brow pencil/powder.
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| Anastasia Brow Gel |
I also prefer cream blush over powder because they usually last longer and give a very natural flush to the cheeks. My favorite is the Josie Maran Cheek Gelee in Pink Escape and the Kevyn Aucoin The Creamy Glow in Pravella.
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| Kevyn Aucoin The Creamy Glow in Pravella |
Another item I usually add when I have the time is tinted lip balm. It’s important to keep your lips moisturized, but it’s nice to add color to your lips too. I have so many favorites but one of them is the Etude House 2NE1 Lip Tint in Pink Follower, which has a blue bullet but when applied on the lips, turns into a pinkish hue. The final color varies depending on the natural color of the lips and how many layers of the balm is applied – the more layers, the more intense the pink gets. Best thing is, this balm has SPF23!
Make sure you don’t choose to do complicated things like contouring, or colorful eyeshadow application, or doing a winged liner. Keep it simple, neutral and fast. If you really want eyeshadow, opt for long-lasting cream shadows like the Maybelline Color Tattoos. My favorite is the shade Bad To The Bronze.
6. Moisturize your body
Of course you won’t have time to slather your skin with body lotion, let alone shower! Grab a body moisture spray (basically a body lotion/moisturizer in a spray bottle) like the Sanctuary Spa Body Moisture Spray or the Vaseline Spray & Go that will moisturize and add a glow to your skin, and spray liberally all over your body to fake an “I showered this morning!” look.
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| Sanctuary Spa Body Moisture Spray |
With these products you don’t have to spend too much time rubbing the product in like you would with lotions and creams. One swipe is enough to rub the product in. (30 seconds)
7. Apply deodorant
Please do everyone around you a favor and don’t forget to use deodorant. It’s so much more important than perfume, especially if you live in hot and humid climates! Hehe. It’s because perfumes cannot control the odor the comes from your underarms, only anti-perspirants can do that.
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| Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant in Vanilla Grapefruit |
My favorite is the Dove Deodorant Anti-Perspirant Aerosol and Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant in Vanilla Grapefruit. (10 seconds)
8. Fluff up your hair
Got limp, flat, oily hair? Always make sure you have dry shampoo, especially if you’ve got dark hair. Blondes can get away with baby powder, but people with dark hair will end up looking like they’ve aged overnight if they use baby powder, if you know what I mean!
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Bod, hair and skin must-haves!
(L – R) Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume, Lush Tea Tree Toner Water,
Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant in Vanilla Grapefruit, and
Vaseline Intensive Care Spray Moisturizer (Spray & Go) |
My favorite is the cult classic Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry and on days when I need more volume, the XXL Volume version. Quickly spray it all over your hair (try to get to the roots as best as you can) and massage it into your bed head to add volume.
If your hair’s a really hot mess, just bun it up! And if your hair gets super tangled a lot, make sure you have a tangle teezer handy! (1 minute)
9. Dress up
The quickest way to get out the door looking decent is by always having in mind your set of go-to clothes and accessories. The key is to choose clothing that is easy for you to slide into. Avoid clothes with buttons, and opt for zippers instead. As for shoes, choose something you can easily slide into without having to worry about bits and pieces falling out, causing you to stumble.
For me, it’ll be a pair of leggings, an appropriate top/shirt, a cardigan, a statement necklace/bracelet(s), and a pair of flats. Ideally, it’ll be better if you had these prepared the night before if you know you’re going to wake up late in the morning! (1 minute)
10. Carry breakfast to-go
Do NOT skip breakfast! But you only have a few seconds left? Always keep in your pantry some protein/granola/muesli bars that you can just throw in your bag and eat on the way. Or, a liquid breakfast like Up & Go milk, which is my favorite! (10 seconds)
Is this similar to your routine if you ever wake up late? Let me know in the comments what you’d do differently/the same! I’m always looking for inspirations 🙂
Just wanted to add one last thing. If you’re a morning racer (i.e. always having to race out the door every morning), it’s a good idea to always have these in your handbag/purse:
