Please help me get ready faster

[DukeOfEarlGrey]

I take far too long to get ready and need to speed it up! I’ve been the same since I was a teenager - it takes me the best part of an hour to do my makeup. It’s not elaborate - no false eyelashes or anything! - but I am very pale, with blonde eyebrows/lashes and incredibly dark circles under my eyes (can’t be shifted) and without full make up I look ill, to the extent that people comment. On top of that my hair is really thick and takes ages to dry.

I’ve tried all sorts - brow and lash tint, just bought a Dyson hairdryer - but still can’t get out of the door in the morning in under 2hrs. It’s never been great but I recently got a new job with a longer commute and the lack of sleep is killing me.

Can anyone help with new ideas to speed up my makeup and hair drying??

Ah. Ok

2 years on with some brow gel

Here are mine. They looked lighter in real life before

client I think your brows are fantastic! Lovely eyes too

I also think your brows look amazing in both pics after having them done Client. Really nice work.

Not RTFT but I’d have HD brows done, ask for them to be quite natural then you should only have to add a little powder at most. On eyeliner I use a Bobbie brown one that is like a felt tip and super easy. I can do full face for work in 10minutes max

Honestly I think you just need to lower your standards.

For example 3 types of undereye concealer is insane. I’m sure you get a better effect that way, and maybe it would be worth doing for a special occasion, but not every day. Just use one type for every day, so what if it isn’t perfect.

I understand about the eyebrows but they can be done very quickly. I do mine in about 30 seconds. I’m sure they look rubbish compared with yours but they look a lot better than with nothing (I have sparse eyebrows due to thyroid) so I’ve probably got 75% of the benefit with 5% of the time.

It’s all about priorities. Which would you rather - look 7/10 but have extra time, or look 9/10 and keep taking 2 hours every day to get ready?

Do you have children op? That sped me up 😂 sleep is too valuable to faff about for an hour.

I've been using the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Eraser. It looks ok actually now I've got used to applying it having never worn under eye concealer before. Decent coverage. Have you tried it?
Should add that I don't wear foundation, sometimes use IT Cosmetics CC cream lightly to even everything out. I find the less I put on under the eye the better. Just dab it in gently with a blender and leave alone.

I like the micro bladed brows - will definitely investigate and agree that @ClientListQueen you have lovely eyes too! Very pretty green colour.

Am hearing the message about being less perfectionistic - I honestly didn’t realise I was being until this thread (the habit has evolved over time!) but have been experimenting with lowering my standards all this week and it’s helped! I don’t want to cut out the bits that make a difference but am happy with doing them ‘less well’ as a philosophy.

@Miseryisabutterfly no, no kids yet and am well aware this approach is not comparable with life with small children!!

*compatable, not comparable

When i can be arsed i use rimmel peach colour corrector on eye circles, then revolution concealer, then nars tinted moisturiser, mascara and lipbalm. Im very pale, look ill but i never do brows as they are so pale i look like a drag queen

I started suffering from really dry skin underneath my cheekbones on the right side of my face a few weeks ago and foundation was looking really awful and very flaky after only a few hours, despite moisturizing before applying makeup. One weekend I decided I would go without foundation and used just a bit of blusher and a bit of concealer on the red veins around my nose, so I could keep on applying moisturiser throughout the day to try and get on top of the problem. This coincided with me getting some natural looking lash extensions for the very first time which has meant I don't need to apply any eye makeup any more, which is great as mascara just used to look shite on me no matter how carefully I applied it to my bastardingly crap, short and straight lashes. Anyhow, I got on with my day and later on went to the mirror to put on some more moisturiser and realised that actually I looked pretty damned okay with no foundation and this week is the first time I've gone to work in over 30 years without foundation. It was probably habit and it took me being actually unable to wear foundation to finally realise this. I don't have amazing skin - I'm quite pale and sallow, some uneven skin tone, dark circles (51 so thinning skin rather than late nights) but it's been a revelation just wearing blusher, doing my eyebrows and wearing lipstick.

For me doing my makeup got a lot faster after I gave up eyeliner. Now I quickly spread cc cream, do my brows (have pencil now but gel would be faster and easier imo), apply nude eyeshadow, mascara and blush. Comb my hair. This is doable in 10 mins. I used to think I look so dull without the eyeliner and that’s the thing that changes my look, but actually I’m now used to being without it. When I do apply it when I go out, I actually feel a bit like I look like wearing too strong makeup.

Anyways, interesting thread! Will follow as well in case of good tips. Will need to get out of the door much faster than what I’m used to once I get back to work from mat leave soon

Blimey, I can get ready in 30 mins and that includes a quick shower.
Definitely wash hair, do nails and get clothes ready night before.
Maybe task yourself with doing make up in 15 minutes and see how you get on and what you don’t really need to do?

Clientlistqueen i think your eyebrows look good - not overdone at all! Thing is most people will hopefully not be standing nose to nose with you so from afar I think they will look great.

You need to get permanent or semi permanent eyebrows. Go somewhere really good - in Dublin there's The Brow Artist. I've linked to the website so you can get an idea of what you should be looking for.

www.thebrowartist.com/

If you have Instagram have a look at Katie Jane Hughes. She does v natural quick makeup

Can anyone recommend where to get brows done in South London? I haven't entertained the idea because I've seen too many horror/comedy images of botched brows.

My makeup takes 5 mins. Foundation applied with fingers, concealer, brow pencil, powder blush, eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara.

I used to use gel eyeliner - are you using the Bobbi brown stuff in a pot with a brush? Because that does take ages. I wore it for years.

I wear eyeliner every day and can recommend the following:

• a pen - the maybelline hyper precise all day is the best I've tried. Very quick and survives cycling into work even in the rain

• a gel pen e.g. kiko Milano's ones are good, or a simple pencil e.g. rimmel do good ones if you want to experiment. I make sure I apply it right at the roots of my eyelashes. Make it roughly even and then finish off with the same shade eyeshadow applied with a very narrow angled brush. Then with a sweep of pale eyeshadow in a pale colour over the rest of the lids this covers all manner of sins. The eyeliner application doesn't have to be perfect.

Fake tan?

@TigerJoy I used to use gel eyeliner - are you using the Bobbi brown stuff in a pot with a brush? Because that does take ages

Yes, this! I think it’s the main culprit, tbh.

Also think about how much eyeliner you need. If you just keep it as a very thin line along the lashes it can give you the definition you need and be easier to "get right"

I don't necessarily think a corporate environment calls for full make-up including eyeshadow and brows. Clean, well cut hair and something to enhance yes but no more than: foundation, mascara, blusher, lippy is necessary surely

I work in a bank in the city and I'm horrified people think foundation, mascara, blusher and lippy is the minimum!

I put sunscreen on and a BB cream, if I remember. It actually takes me longer to wash the residue off my hands than to put it on.

Fine if the op wants to wear make up and I know lots of people do, but people should not ever think it is necessary!

My boss is very pale with blonde hair and I've never even noticed if she wears any make up, if she does it's minimal. However, the other three women in my team look like they're on their way to a nightclub. I don't know how they can be bothered. Though they do seem to spend about an hour after arriving at work putting it on.