A while back I wrote a “Beauty Tips For The Lazy Girl” post, and it seemed to be pretty popular. Makes sense because everyone gets lazy sometimes. Life ain’t always a bowl of peaches. So in the same general spirit I figured some makeup tips for busy women might be helpful. Some of these tips could probably overlap in a lot of ways with the lazy tips. So it’s probably best for you to read both to be safe (winkwinkjokejokenotreallygoreaditjustkiddingwejustdiscussedhowbusyyouare)

So let’s jump right in to the meat of it.

• Know What’s Important - If you don’t have time for a full face of makeup, you can probably get away with doing a few key areas, as long as you choose wisely. Most of us have some idea of what is most important in our makeup routine but if you don’t then my advice to you is simple: Define and Conceal In my opinion the best thing you can do to look put together in a hurry is define your face by filling in your brows and applying mascara. Then to add to the quick polished appearance simply conceal the areas where you need it most. Usually this means dark under-eye circles, which call for a corrector like Benefit’s Erase Paste. But if you have a few blemishes to cover up as well, something lighter in texture that still has high coverage is your best friend. Lately I have been using NYX HD Concealer for blemishes, and I’m loving it.
• Nude Nails - If you’re a busy lady the nude nails are what’s up. They don’t have to be nude as in matching your skin color, just nude like a pale neutral color that doesn’t call too much attention but still looks polished. Personally because my hands are very pale I like to use something with a little pink in it to help liven up my skin tone. My current favorite is “Brigitte” by ZOYA. There are a few reasons nude nails are great when you’re busy. First, they are more forgiving to apply, so If you do sort of a half assed job it will be far less noticeable. Also, if you’re busy odds are you don’t have time to be redoing your nails every few days, and nude colors look far better once the chipping starts than a bright or a dark color. All around they are just more forgiving . . .not to mention they look really purdy too!
• Dab on Some Glam - Here’s the scenario, you’ve got a busy day booked and you throw on a simple makeup look in the morning. You have an evening event to attend and not a ton of time to glam up your look, what do you do? One obvious answer is applying a red lip, but that’s not always desirable if you are doing something that involves eating. What I like to do in that case is use a sheer but shimmery glitter and dab it strategically over whatever eye look I already have on.

This is an example of what I mean. I used Stila’s Magnificent Metals in “Metallic Pixie Dust” and dabbed it just on the center of the lid and the inner corner/ under the tear duct. A quick thirty second way to glam up your eye look.

• Let Your Blush Pull Double Duty - Most of the time I’m partial to matte blush shades because then I can choose my highlighter according to what my makeup looks like that day. But if you’re busy, odds are you don’t want to think that hard about it. Reach for a blush that has shimmer in it, so that you get the benefits of a blush and a cheekbone highlight all in one! A cult classic example of this is Nars “Orgasm” but for a more budget friendly (and still super high quality) version, I like to use TheBalm Hot Mama Blush. The peachy color will bring life to your skin and the subtle gold highlight will lift those cheekbones, all in a few simple swipes of the brush.
• Find a Sheer Plumping Gloss - If you find your look in need of a little pick me up, a great way to do it quickly is to put on a sheer plumping lip gloss with just a hint of color. The sheer formula means you can apply it without much fuss (sometimes even without a mirror) but the touch of color gives your lips just a hint of healthy glow. And the plumping action is always nice to just add a little bit of extra juicy oomph. Anyone who says they don’t want juicy oomph is just a liar. I like to keep my favorite plumping gloss in my purse so that way if I need it I just have to grab it on the go and apply. Pretty much the only one I ever use is Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker in the color Baby Doll. It doesn’t dry out my lips, and it smells like chocolate oranges so that’s pretty much a winner in my book.

Hope some of this was helpful, now get back to work you busy beaver!