It’s Monday morning and you overslept. You only have 20 minutes to get ready but you don’t want to go to work barefaced. Or you make last minute dinner plans and once work is over you rush home but only have 10 minutes to clean up.     

 The thought of adding makeup may seem like one more obstacle before getting out the door, but you can have a polished look in five minutes by using key products and highlighting certain features:

Concealer – after cleansing and moisturizing skin, use a concealer brush to apply concealer under the eyes, around the edges of the nose, between the eyebrows and under the lower lip. Blend by gently tapping with the ring finger. Try Bobbi Brown Concealer Stick Foundation ($36) (1 minute). 

Mineral powder foundation – use a large, facial brush to apply loose foundation powder all over the face for an even skin tone. Try i.d.bareMinerals Foundation with SPF 15 ($25). (1 minute).

Eyebrows – use a powder eyebrow compact and apply a few strokes of color on the brows. Start from the middle of the brows and brush outward toward the ends. Use any leftover color for the inner brows (these should have the least color). Try Maybelline Ultra Brow Brush-On Color ($5) (1 minute).

Blush and bronzer – using the same facial brush, apply a neutral pink blush to the apples of the cheeks and the temples. Sweep leftover color on the tops of lids. Follow up with a sweep of bronzer on the tops of cheekbones and temples. Try Benefit Dandelion ($26) and Cover Girl Tanfastic Bronzer in Soleil ($5) (30 seconds).

Mascara – use a brown-black for blondes and redheads and a soft black for brunettes. Apply two coats to the upper lashes and one light coat to the lower lashes. Try Maybelline Sky High Curves in Brownish Black and Soft Black ($6) (30 seconds).

Lip color – using a lip brush, apply one coat of pink-beige or sheer hot pink lip gloss. Blot and apply one more coat to set color. Try Pout Plump Lip Gloss in Bubblegum ($24) or Too Faced Diamond Super Shine Ultra Glam Lip Gloss in Fire ($13) (1 minute).

By creating an even skin tone and emphasizing a few key features, you can master the “less is more” approach and keep your makeup routine simple. No fretting with numerous products, no dark colors or tricky lines, and maybe even more time to sleep in.

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