Before coffee, before the commute to the office, and even before my kids wake up, I try to savour 10 quiet minutes to decorate my face.
It’s not a lot of time, but it’s just enough to pull together a simple yet effective look to carry you through the day!
I’ll tell you what I do, and then I’ll give some tips on how to come up with your own routine. Let’s go!
What Makes an Effective 10-Minute Makeup Routine?
There are two (okay, three) things to think about when coming up with an effective makeup routine for a short amount of time. I’ll elaborate in the guide below, but in the meantime, these are the things I considered when I came up with mine:
Prioritization – which products are the most impactful to you for the time spent?
I allow myself a decent amount of time for lipstick and related products because I love them, so there are no limitations there! I let these be priority #1.
My second priority is just covering under eye circles and redness around the nose and on the chin – this makes a huge difference considering how quick it is to tap on and set with powder!
Things I sacrifice as non-priorities: eyeshadow and the lash curler.
I love my eyeshadow palettes, but I don’t reach for them on a 10-minute makeup day – the payoff for time spent just isn’t there when I’m in a rush.
My lashes are probably pretty average, and if I have a good mascara I can get away without curling them and still enjoy the result.
Letting go of perfectionism – it’s hard to address every concern in this amount of time.
Yes, my lashes would look even better curled, but that’s 10 seconds per eye I’ll never get back, so I settle for “decent” most days.
My routine also sacrifices foundation. A flawless base would be awesome, but it takes me a while to apply, so I opt for the strategic concealer instead while embracing my freckles and the other various colours and marks that come through. They give me character! 😉
The right products – the ones that are quick to reach for, go on fast, and don’t require precision.
I’m always on the hunt for these (is it possible that there’s a concealer out there that doesn’t need to be set with powder?), but I’m reasonably happy with my lineup right now – continue on for details!
My 10-minute Makeup Routine
Without further ado (and with skincare on), the routine:
- Concealer (NYX Bare With Me Serum Concealer): A half-pump on the back of the hand does it for me. Apply under the eyes, around the nose, above the cupid’s bow, below the corners of the lips, and on the chin. Tap in and blend with a small concealer brush.
- Pressed powder (recently panned an ELF Prime & Stay Finishing Powder and currently on to the nostalgic Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder): I use a triangular puff to powder over concealed areas. I found that pressed powder is nominally faster to use than loose, but at the moment I prefer the finish of the Laura Mercier loose powder. I quickly disburse it into the puff using the back of my hand.
- Lip primer (MAC Prep + Prime Lip): Apply now to let it sit while you apply other makeup. It should be a bit tacky before applying liner and lipstick on top. Note: based on my choice of products, I can avoid face primer, eye primer, and (more recently) lash primer, but I always allow for this one!
- Blush (and Bronzer) (Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked): I love the Hourglass palette for this because my bronzer is right there, and I can quickly choose between the three blushes! I find powders are the quickest to apply, but I do often reach for my Rare Beauty blushes without losing much time. If the bronzer isn’t right next to the blush in a palette, I skip it for this routine.
- Lash Primer (if needed): Honestly, I have eliminated this step which has made my routine seconds faster! But I used to apply a lash primer at this point in the 10-minute routine so that it could dry a bit before applying mascara. Lately I’ve been having good luck with impactful mascaras. The L’Oreal Telescopic didn’t need a primer, and I’m currently using the Hourglass Instant Extensions. It certainly doesn’t need it!
- Brows (NYX The Brow Glue (tinted), but I prefer ELF Wow Brow): I have sort-of long, sort-of sparse brows. My not-so-perfect but still-impactful solution is to use some sort of tinted glue or gel to shape and lift them into place. The Brow Glue is working just fine, but I preferred the look of ELF Wow Brow thanks to the added fibers, which help when you’re not applying a brow pencil first.
- Mascara (Currently Hourglass Unlocked Instant Extensions Lengthening Mascara, but I’m always trying new ones): As I mentioned, I skip the lash curler. I have what are probably considered average lashes, and while a curl would help, a good mascara does the job with enough impact that it makes a notable difference!
- Lip liner: Finally, on to lip colour! I haven’t specified products here as there are quite a few that I rotate through (imagine that!). I usually make time for lip liner because it’s so versatile, whether it’s to keep a bolder lipstick from feathering, to contour for a more nude lipstick, or to add definition before applying a gloss. Okay, my go-to’s right now are ABH Deep Taupe and NYX Nude Truffle.
- Lipstick! My favourite form is the good ‘ole bullet, and there are many methods that can be used to apply bullet lipstick. Blotting on, swiping on, layering between blots on a tissue, applying translucent powder on top, lip brush, gradients… Honestly, for a 10-minute routine, I swipe it on directly from the bullet with moderate to light pressure, being careful around the edges and corners, call it done, and look forward to reapplying later!
- Setting spray (My favourite is still Mac Fix+, but currently using Colourpop Hydrating Setting Mist): Typically I would end the routine with this one, but lately I’ve been experimenting with moving this to step 5 after my powders are on. I have very dry skin, so I sometimes spray again at the end of the routine anyway. The main purpose of this step is to eliminate powdery-looking areas and bring some moisture back in. The benefit of moving this step earlier in the routine is that you can let your bare lashes dry off a bit before you apply mascara, plus you’re not re-wetting your mascara at the end of the routine. The mascara I’m currently using is tubing, so I don’t think it plays well with end-of-routine moisture!
- Lash lift (with fingers): Bonus step – Lift the lashes a bit with fingers. Usually by this point my mascara is not completely wet but not fully dry, so I lift the lashes with the sides of my index fingers. A bit of the lift remains, and excess mascara is removed.
That’s it! 10 steps (okay, 11), two makeup brushes, one puff. If I can do this in 10 minutes, I’m sure you can as well!
Tips for Creating Your Quick Makeup Routine
Want to make your own quick morning makeup routine? Here are some tips based on the three keys we went over earlier:
The goal is to figure out what is most impactful for you. That depends on your taste, what features you love emphasizing most, and maybe your skill. (I have no eyeliner skill, so this one is out of the question, but if you can apply eyeliner evenly in your sleep and love the look, lean into it!)
What to prioritize
Here at The Lipstick Habit we are all about the lips, so I give myself the most time and product variety in this area. If you are more into eyes, you might focus on an eyeshadow-liner combo instead. If a complexion is your thing, maybe the majority if your time is on a primer – foundation – concealer combo.
What if you don’t know what to prioritize, or what is most impactful for you? It takes time, and a lot of checking yourself out in the mirror. You may want to try:
- Starting with a no-makeup day, and just guessing at the areas that seem to stand out the most as being quite different with makeup and without.
- Applying only one product for the day (for example, just concealer, or just lipstick), and seeing what the impact is. Does it feel like something is missing or out of proportion? This can give you a clue as to what would make a big difference for you. If you’re feeling pretty darn good, you’ve probably found an impactful item already!
- Experimenting with a routine of only the things you really noticed were missing on your no-makeup or one-product day. How did you feel with only those items applied? Was it fast enough for you to do?
On me, I noticed that on no-makeup days my lips could be quite pale, and the redness toward the center of my face stood out. So my next step was to try just concealer (set with powder) and lipstick. As I settled in to that, I felt like my eyes were a bit “lost” behind glasses, so mascara also became a key part of the routine. Then it was experimentation – I want blush for sure, bronzer would be nice, but I could live without eyeliner and eyeshadow.
What to let go of
When you’re trying to make a fast routine, you keep things simple and you let some things slide. I think this takes a bit of practice, especially if you’re used to a longer, fuller makeup routine. Just like you’d get used to wearing lipstick, I encourage you to sit with your minimal makeup routine for a week or two!
What’s driving you nuts? What’s growing on you? What is “good enough”?
You may get used to certain things not being done perfectly. Continuing my personal example, I used to fill my brows in with a brow pencil. I will do it when I have the time, but I feel like a brow gel gives a result that is “good enough” – still shaping, still face-framing, and really quick!
Maybe you can’t be bothered with perfect lip lines – in that case, an easy-wear lipstick (or a gloss or tinted balm) can add some colour without the time it takes to apply an accurate lip liner.
Then there’s the need to continually add. Avoid it if you can! Oh, but my eyeshadow palette is right there, I would think. If I just add some nude eyeliner in the waterline… And next thing you know, another 20 minutes have gone by.
The way I get around this is to keep my 10-minute makeup items in their own little drawer to grab-and-go, without the distraction of all the other items I could be applying.
Products to use
Right off the bat, I don’t love multi-use products. The typical culprits are lip-and-cheek products, which tend to be better on one than the other, but not amazing at either. (If you have any recommendations you love though, please share down below!)
What I do like are products that are conveniently packaged or convenient to apply.
I’m all for face palettes! I mentioned the Hourglass palette above (I hear this Physicians Formula palette is an excellent option as well) where the bronzer is right there, the choices are limited, and it’s all right in the palm of your hand.
Loose powders tend to be a bit messy. To streamline the process a bit, I turn it upside down and give a gentle tap, then keep it upside down to open it so that I can just press my puff into the lid. I don’t find it slows me down too much; however, if you have a pressed powder formula you like, you may consider adding that one to your 10-minute drawer as they’re much tidier! and nominally faster to use!
Limiting brushes is ideal as well, if you can swing it in your product lineup! I tend to use the same brush for powdered blush and bronzer, and just one more for concealer. Can you do the same with any other products? Eyeshadow comes to mind – with the right moderately fluffy angled brush, you could probably get away with application on the lid and in the crease without switching.
For mascaras, I’ve found that the formula and shape of the wand are important! For some reason there are some wands that I can’t seem to get used to and I always end up having to clean mascara off my eyelid, whereas others keep to themselves, saving me cleanup time. I also don’t love a really wet mascara formula for the mess factor.
And of course for lips, there are quick options that look good but don’t require as much precision. Bold colours and liquid formulas I find take more time to apply, but balmy bullets such as the L’Oreal Glow Paradise Balm in Lipstick can be applied quickly and without a mirror. Glosses are great for a quick application as well (the Maybelline Lifter Gloss in Silk comes to mind – a lovely formula and a great colour with opacity). I recently tried the Tarte Maracuja Juicy Lip Plump – another great option for ease of application and pigment payoff!
What’s in your quick morning makeup routine? I’d love to know!
