I’m tired. Not “I pulled an all nighter studying and need a couple cups of coffee to recover” tired. Not “I had the stomach flu and could live in my bed for a week” tired. Not, “I had to get up at 5 am to catch a flight to a tropical beach somewhere” tired (don’t I wish?). But, “I haven’t had a full night of sleep in eight years” kind of tired. The kind of exhausted that gets into your bones, that you worry may never go away. That’s motherhood. It’s not sleeping through the night even though you have a fantastic husband who stays up with the baby )those hormones are just killer). It’s waking up at 5 am when the five year old crawls into bed with you and never quite falling back to sleep. It’s running around all day giving into the demands of teeny tyrants (or facing the wrath that ensues when those demands are denied).
What does this have to do with makeup? Well, I decided that my skin could use a couple days off from make up and just be moisturized and rejuvenated. So, that’s what I’m doing. But, today as I threw my hair into yet another messy bun (which is hard because my hair is short and loves to sneak its way out of hairbands at every chance possible), I glanced in the mirror and thought, “eek, I thought I looked better than that” and remembered to immediately slather on lotion and hope that helped. It didn’t. Because when you’ve been tired for the last eight years, you need a little more than lotion to hide the black circles emanating from the bags under your eyes.
Today, I thought I’d share my makeup routine. Because it’s fast and it helps brighten me up in the mirror and in my spirit. Here’s what. Right now, I’m not using anything all natural or organic for skin care. I’m hoping to change that as I run out of my staples and I’ll let you know how the more natural products stack up against the things I’ve loved for years.
In my makeup bag: my 10 minute routine:
1) Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize. As soon as I get out of the shower I put on my Clinique dramatically different gel. It is the only face lotion that has ever worked for me- not too greasy and absorbs quickly. After that sits for a minute or two while I get dressed, I dab on some Clinique All About Eyes under eye cream. Lastly, I put a layer of Moisture Surge over the rest of my face. I let that absorb while I do my hair and put on jewelry etc.
2) The base layer- I’ll be honest, I have tried a lot of concealers- really high end ones. But, this inexpensive one from Cover Girl works better than anything else. It’s easy to apply and layer to get the right amount of coverage.
3) Tinted moisturizer. I like bare minerals but I rarely use it and usually skip this step and go straight to #4.
4) Blush and powder foundation. I do a quick swipe of Bare Minerals blush over my cheekbones and then apply Bare Minerals powder foundation over my entire face. Why blush first? Because I often find it hard to get the perfect sun kissed look without entering clown zone. Covering it with a light layer of powder helps blend and tone down the rosy cheeks.
5) Brow gel and mascara. Last, I do a quick swipe of brow filler and some mascara, which I have to say is my absolute makeup must have. That said, I still haven’t been able to find a brand/type I love. I have pretty full lashes so I just grab something in black and call it a day. Right now I’m using Covergirl Plumpify.
If I’m going for a little extra, I’ll spend about two minutes lining my eyes with Clinique eye pencil and brush on some Bare Minerals loose shadow between steps 4 and 5. But, on most days I just do the basics.
How about you- are you a makeup girl or does my 10 minute routine sound like 10 minutes of torture? Some days you wake up fresh faced and dewy eyed, well if your name is Rapunzel anyway. I, however, need a little help. 
Moisturizers: Clinique Dramatically Different Gel, Clinique All About Eyes, Clinique Moisture Surge
Concealer: Covergirl TruBlend
Foundation: Bare Minerals Tinted Moisturizer, Bare Minerals original foundation
Blush: Bare Minerals
Mascara: Covergirl Plumpify
Brow Gel: Grande Naturals Brow Gel
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You look great! That would take me way more than 10 minutes!!!!!!!!
I should time it but my patience level for makeup is pretty low. If it takes longer than 10 minutes it’s either date night or we’re doing family pictures…and then go figure, I usually feel like I put too much on and don’t like it.
You look gorgeous! I can totally relate to you 🙂
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I definitely use concealer on days where I look like I survived the zombie apocalypse 😉
Brow gel is my fave quick makeup product! Takes seconds but makes my face look so much more put together.
Yes!! I totally agree. I have a hard time leaving the house without it these days!
I try the no make up days very occasionally, until I do that walk past the mirror thing about 4 hours into my day and think, “yep I need something” My routine is about 10 minutes or less depending on eye makeup or not.
I know exactly how you feel. I try to give my skin a break at least once or twice a week when we just have an errand day or a stay at home day (like that happens- sigh). I’m currently on day four of giving my hair a break from shampoo. That one has been a really hard concept for me to get on board.