Speedy Makeup

[MeadowHay]

I only usually wear makeup if I'm going out of an evening or sometimes on the weekends so usually about once a week, twice a week. I have acne though and I think I look much better with makeup on and feel way more confident and less anxious about my appearance. The problem is it takes me ages to apply makeup which is why I don't really bother on a normal morning. I have problems with my time management anyway (possibly related to dyslexia or the fact that I'm on the autistic spectrum) so I'm always in a rush. It takes me ages to apply makeup as well partly because my coordination is rubbish due to being on the autistic spectrum.

Does anyone have any hints and tips for a speedy makeup routine? How do I know I haven't go all patchy foundation on if I just do it super fast? Somebody on here recommended the beauty blender sponge, I bought the Real Techniques one and used it for the first time yesterday, I found it was easier to apply my foundation but I also felt like I was needed to use a lot more product though than I used to. Also I didn't wet the sponge first and now I'm thinking maybe I was supposed to wet it?!

Also I find it's quicker to do more natural eye-makeup quicker than brighter colours as obviously if you make a mistake it's a lot more visible, I have the Urban Decay Naked pallette but I'm not sure what would be a good everyday eye easy eye makeup look? I have dark brown hair, light brown eyes, wear black thick-rimmed glasses, and my skin colour is "cool vanilla" according to No.7's match service, if that makes any difference. I know some people do a basic face of makeup easily in a couple of minutes...how?!

Not sure if this is any help as I'm no expert, but my tips would be:

Use a foundation brush - the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush is my favourite. You basically blob a bit of foundation on the bits of your face you want to use it (I don't use it all over) and kind of whisk the brush over it to blend.

Use a cream or gel blusher, applied with a stippling brush. Stick the brush in the pot, bob it on your cheeks, blend with fingertips. Done. Again, I like the RT one.

This is not to everyone's taste, but I use a single nude, pale eyeshadow all over (I like Foxy from the Urban Decay pallette) and that's it - eyelash curlers, and mascara. I then always wear red lipstick. Eye makeup is, to me, really fiddly and time-consuming, whereas lipstick is really quick and makes an impact.

I use a bit more makeup than that most days - a primer underneath, a finishing powder, sometimes a highlighter - and do "proper" eyemakeup at weekends, but in the morning it takes me about five minutes in total.

I would use a tinted moisturiser that has good coverage -- so you are not spending a lot of time blending it as you would with foundation, use your fingers or brush, i prefer brush, quickly dust with translucent powder to set.
Eyebrows do wonder for the face, have it threaded and tinted, if not make sure its tidy.

Earthy tones eyeshadow( or skip eyeshadow and do eyeliner instead), mascara, blush, lips.

I always seem to mess eyeliner up so that takes me super ages so I don't really use it.

Thanks for the tips. I was using The Body Shop's foundation brush until now but I do like the Real Techniques beauty blender I find it faster than the brush because it's easier to blend. Might try their foundation brush as well and see which I like most.

I have primer that goes on quickly underneath, and powder that goes on quickly after, it's the foundation part that takes me ages as I worry about it not blending nicely especially as my skin is so problematic and also really different colours in different place lol...the area around my eyes is really pale because of my glasses stopping the sun and then other parts are much darker.

Have always used powder blushers in the past but will look into a gel or cream one to see if I get on better with that. I have a bronzer but I don't know what brush to use with it and when I tried to put it on yesterday I panicked because it's quite dark. The lady at the No7 counter told me to get that colour and it looked nice when she did it but it is quite dark so I don't know how to apply it to make it look natural and not like I've just got dark patches on my face

Thanks for the UD pallette tip will try that colour later.

I love red lipstick but because of my acne I feel like red makes my acne redness more visible too so I'm avoiding it at the moment . I have some nice pinks though. I need some good natural-ish looking lip colours if anyone's got any suggestions.

Agree about eyebrows, I get mine threaded and pluck in between to keep them tidy, it makes a huge difference! I'm very hairy so I get my whole face threaded now and again too which makes me feel 10X better.

I urgently need to buy a concealer though as I don't have one right now and my under-eye area makes me look permanently exhausted

Might be worth trying a primer like this one....
stila.co.uk/products/one-step-correct

Will help with neutralizing different tones and give you a good base for foundation

If you wanted to try eyeliner again, I use this one everyday in 'perversion'
www.urbandecay.co.uk/en_GB/eyes/eyeliner/24-7/122.html#q=glide+perversion&start=1
Ita so much easier than a liquid liner/kohl and takes me about a minute to do both eyes.

Oooh, actually I used to have some super thick pencils like that when I was in my mid-teens from Claire's haha. They were easier to apply, it's my birthday soon so I might spend some of my birthday money on one or two of them, thanks . Does the colour ever end up smudged on the top of your eyelid? Because sometimes when I try and do a thick eyeliner type thing, over a period of time the colour catches higher up on the lid too from where it touches it if that makes sense? I don't know how to avoid that?

You should use the beauty blender damp so that it doesn't soak up as much foundation, just soak it through and wring it out before use.

I'd recommend watching some youtube tutorials, pixi woo are good.

For mega quick I do
Foundation with damp beauty blender
Concealer where needed
Blusher
Eyebrows are threaded and tinted so I run a coloured gel through them
Eye makeup - I smudge on something like maybelline colour tattoo in taupe
Line the top waterline with kohl pencil
Mascara
Tinted lip balm

If I'm doing super quick make up I'll mix my foundation with my primer then apply (I saw this on QVC by a Benefit make up artist) then I'll sweep on some eye make up using a eyeshadow pencil (Clinique chubby stuck for eyes), then mascara, a quick eyebrow tidy with a eyebrow wand (think Benefit speed brow, then I'd use Smashbox Lights Lip & Cheek colour, finally I'd use a light reflective concealer on my dark circles.

Lisa Eldridge does a quick 5 min makeup tutorial on YouTube.

I have suffered with bad skin and still get the odd break out now. I have to wear foundation everyday just to even my skin tone out, as well as cover up. I find a compact foundation much quicker for the school run / day with dc3 look. I save the liquid foundation for when I have more time. Currently using boots no.7, also have a max factor one on the go.

I used to use a compact foundation too, I had one by Clinique that was amazing and I used it on my wedding day and my makeup artist even praised it. But after it finished I wanted to find a cruelty-free one and have struggled to find a cruelty-free compact foundation that is a good colour for me and sits well, do you use the No.7 one, what is it called? I know the range of colours they do is smaller than for the liquid, I have the No.7 Stay Perfect foundation now. It's ok but to be honest not amazing, it certainly doesn't stay perfect as long as it says it will !

Will check out the Youtube videos and look into cream eye shadows too.

Thanks for all the tips I'm noting them all!

A cream/ pencil eyeshadow is by far my time saving must. I always take one on holiday and use them if I'm in a rush, if you want to look more put together than use a pop of colour on your lips.

If I do the line too thick sometimes the colour catches on the top but I avoid it now by sharpening the pencil a bit more often. Much easier when it's 'sharp' anyway!
Ive got the pencils in a few colours so you can change the look really easily

Just blend it with your finger Frog, I have 3 Clinique chubby ones, a neutral beige wheat colour. A soft amber one and a iliac silver one. They came in a set last year. They don't crease either.

You don't need full make-up for every day. No 7 matt pot combines foundation and power. Dab it on and rub it in. Under eye concealer, blusher (I use a cream), mascara, lipoy. No more than 2.5 minutes. I do it in the car waiting for dd.

Generally I either wear the whole shabang or go bare faced. If I'm on a night out and can't be arsed with a perfect eye I just wear a super bright lip.