We all wish we could afford a little more sleep each night. Sometimes even just a good half hour extra makes all the difference in the morning. Those extra thirty minutes can mean you wake up to sunlight at seven AM instead of pre-dawn darkness at six thirty.
Whether you’re trying to win yourself some extra minutes of sleep, or just need a number of beauty hacks to deal with your tendency to oversleep, we’ve got you sorted.
#1 A fuss-free hairdo
While not so quite something you can do on a daily basis, think of your morning routine the next time you’re getting a haircut. Ask your hairdresser what cut would best suit your hair type and require the least amount of effort to look presentable in the mornings. Steer clear of sleek, styled bobs and opt for blunt cuts instead if your hair is straight; and try long layers if you have more wavy hair. It can take a good 10 to 20 minutes in the mornings just blow-drying and styling your hair, so the simpler the task, the more time you save.
#2 Dry shampoo it
Ever gone to sleep with the aim of waking up to wash your hair, only to oversleep and find yourself out of time to do so? Dry shampoo is one of my favourite ways to speed up my morning routine. These days I decide the night before if I’m going to rely on dry shampoo or get up to wash my hair, with the former taking a good 20 minutes off my routine.
#3 Cold eye creams and moisturisers
Some of us wake up with puffy under eyes and faces in the mornings, and waiting for the puffiness to subside can take a while. One really great hack is sticking your face and eye creams in the refrigerator so that the cold creams work in tandem with your skincare to calm down any puffiness a lot faster. Just keep in mind not to stick oil-based creams or serums in the fridge as the dip in temperature can alter the consistency of the formulas.
#4 Use multi-purpose products
Instead of taking a couple of minutes between skincare and makeup steps to let your products settle into the skin, why not go with a two- or three-in-one product like a BB or CC cream with SPF? You get skincare properties, sun protection and coverage in one tube, plus it only takes a minute to apply, tops. With makeup, embrace the monochrome trend and use the same lip and cheek crayon to give some colour to your face, or apply a bronzer on both your eyes and cheeks.
#5 Big tools get the job done faster
When I’m speeding through a foundation application, I always bust out my biggest foundation brush. Kabuki brushes work really well to blend out product quickly and evenly, whereas something like a Beautyblender takes a few minutes to “bounce” your foundation to perfection. You can quite literally cover your entire face and neck in as few as six swipes with a giant brush, and you can finesse some of the nooks and crannies with your fingers or makeup sponge after.
#6 Less is best with your makeup
When you’re opting for speed in the mornings, you’ll want to compromise a little on pancake perfection. A simpler makeup look is easier to pull off (not to mention quicker to perfect) when you aren’t using a high-coverage foundation. The discrepancy between your real skin and high coverage products means any slip-ups are more noticeable – and slip-ups are of course more common when you’re in a rush. Every gotten to work and realised you forgot to blend a patch of foundation along your jaw? We have. Go easy with your concealer and powders too, and let some of your natural skin peek through.
Text: Alyssa Dhaliwal, Her World Plus / Additional Reporting: Arissa Ha
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