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Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Monday, May 02, 2005 5:18 PM (Eastern)
This is a page I came up with in 2001: Five Minute Face.
At the time, there wasn't a great deal of emphasis on speed in makeup application. There was still the notion that putting on a face meant moisturizer, concealer, foundation, powder, three shades of eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, brow makeup, lipstick (conceivably with liner and gloss), and blush.
Well, that is fine for a beauty magazine, but what about real life? Shouldn't there be alternatives?
Quick and easy application is a major factor in which products I choose to buy. It factors into which brushes I feel are necessary to own. If my makeup can't last the day without touching up (the sole exception is lipstick), it hits the trash. Time is money and I am cheap.
There are many ways to shave those precious morning minutes. You just need to figure out what is the bare minimum makeup for you, and then take it from there.
Foundation Products
Sunscreen is key. You need that. Pay more if you have to, but find a full spectrum sunscreen that you feel comfortable in.
For me that is still TerraSport sunscreen. There are many others on the market, from Neutrogena in drugstores, to Clinique and Shiseido in department stores. Health food stores carry Jason, TerraSport, Zia, and other brands.
Foundation. Do you need it? You may not. If your skin is good, skip it.
You can choose to wear concealer instead, or tinted moisturizer, or powder foundation, or powder, or a combination of these. Take a few moments to figure out what your skin actually needs.
I use a tinted sunscreen, myself. Purists will scream, but putting three or four layers of anything on my face does not fit in with my real life.
Over that I put some powder...MAC Blot pressed for me (oily skin)...I'm done.
Lipstick in Purse tactic
Running out the door? Find a no-brainer lipstick and keep it in your purse, in one of those mirrored lipstick holders. Something that looks good with everything. For me that would be MAC Viva Glam V or Sophisto...both sheer, wearable shades for me.
One or the other is always in my purse; I don't usually apply it at home.
Eyeliner Pencils, Mascara
One of the fastest things to apply is eyeliner pencil or mascara.
My lashes are naturally dark; I don't wear mascara at all. If your lashes are fair, you may choose the mascara and skip the pencil.
The eyepencil needs to last all day. It also needs to go on silky smooth. Anything that's hard, or fades quickly, is outta there.
For green eyes, the essentials would be:
Deep purple. I have MAC Powerpoint pencils in Permaplum (blue-based) and Bordeauxline (neutral, with a touch of red). Permaplum is a bit fancier, and looks better on its own, than Bordeauxline but I do wear both.
Deep brown. Here you can go with a drugstore pencil such as Prestige Automatic Waterproof, Max Factor Pensilks, the automatic Cover Girl one...or go high end. MAC makes good ones and I've heard Lancome does too.
Eyeshadow
It's good to have a couple "reach for" shadows in your stash.
For me, that would be MAC Vapour (white with a bit of pink), Urban Decay Kiss (rose-mauve), something along with lines of a yellow gold (I have one in a black|Up quad)...something that looks good on its own, with a liner slapped on.
For a crease...when there's time for one...have a few no-brainer crease shades. For me that would be a deepish bronze (Sonia Kashuk Neutral Territory duo) and warm plum (MAC Trax, which is plum-gold with a rose layer).
Blush
Here you need a good brush but it doesn't have to break the bank. I'm happy with my Sonia Kashuk blush brush which is what, five bucks?
Good blush should be next to effortless to apply.
For me it is currently MAC Blushbaby and Cargo Catalina blushes. Catalina was, I understand, highly publicized at one point...it is a clear warmish, medium pink matte. Blushbaby is one of those natural rose-muted-with-brown things...like the discontinued Lancome Rose Charmant Blush Subtil, Neutrogena Sweet Raisin powder blush...there's always one around.
Brushes
Aside from the aforementioned Sonia Kashuk blush brush, I use the Sonia Kashuk large eyeshadow brush and MAC #224 brush the most.
The large eyeshadow brush can be any brush that doesn't shed, and has a flat head about the size of your thumbnail. You use it to quickly apply powder shadow to your lids, or lids and crease, or lashline-to-brow, as needed.
MAC #224 is my crease brush...it's pricy at $28 but so far I haven't really used anything else for creases. #224 is soft and tapered...it squooshes the color into your crease and wipes a bit of it slightly above the crease. Pretty neat.
If you want a sharper, more precise crease you'd probably go with something else...something firmer, perhaps more tapered.
So, what did I wear today?
I was in a hurry today. Here's what I put on in less than five minutes:
* My usual base face: the tinted sunscreen and MAC Blot pressed powder.
* Annabelle #1400 eyeshadow as a wash...this is a Canadian drugstore brand. #1400 is a brown-based, pink-gold shimmer shadow. Applied with the Sonia Kashuk large eyeshadow brush.
* Sonia Kashuk "Neutral Territory" eyeshadow duo--the bronze shade--in outer crease, applied with the #224 MAC brush.
* Prestige Expresso Automatic Waterproof liner...applied in a few short strokes rather than a continuous line, and smudged with a clean fingertip.
* MAC Blushbaby blush (applied with the Sonia Kashuk blush brush).
* MAC Viva Glam V lipstick.
I hope you will discover your own quick and easy five minute faces. :)
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