Tutorial: Here's how I do my five- and ten-minute look for work
When you have to fit work, sleep, exercise, dating, house chores, and commuting in Manila all in 24 hours, you’ll have no choice but to learn how to pinch your time where you can. In my case, I’ve learned to keep my daily office makeup routine within 5 to 10 minutes! It took some practice to achieve that time record but I now have tricks to cut down what used to be a half-hour routine. Here are a few tips that might help you out if you’re a fellow busy bee!
Tip #1: A creamy concealer + a buffing brush = quick 2-minute base
Perfecting the base is usually the most time-consuming part of most makeup routines. While I would love to layer the usual primer, foundation, concealer, and setting powder combo, I simply do not have the leisure to do so on a daily basis. Whenever I’m pressed for time, I count on creamy natural-finish concealers to act as my all-in-one skin makeup! I would place one swipe of concealer on my forehead, two on each cheek, one down the nose, and one on my chin. I’d blend everything under two minutes using a buffing brush and add coverage as needed by spot concealing. Note: it's important to use a full coverage concealer for this to work!
Products to try: Nars Soft Matte Complete Concealer, The SAEM Cover Perfection Tip Concealer, Catrice Camouflage Cream Concealer
Tip #2: Stick with creams for color
The advantage of cream blushes over powders is that you can easily blend them by hand for a natural-looking flush. I personally find it easier to stick to my face map when I’m using my fingers rather than a blush brush because I can control exactly where I place my color. I also reach for cream lippie formulas over matte lipsticks so I don’t have to be overly careful with application. One swipe and a quick kissing motion, and my lips are done in under 10 seconds.
Products to try: Tony Moly Panda’s Dual Lip and Cheek, Pink Sugar HD Lipsticks, Happy Skin Moisturizing Lippies
Tip #3: A sword-tip brow pencil will give you the quickest kilay
For a busy bee like myself, sword-tip brow pencils are the way to go for the quick, no-fail brows. They offer more control for shaping compared to powders, brow mascaras, pomades or brow gels, and can fill sparse areas in faster than fine tip pencils or brow pens. Pick one that comes with a spoolie so you can save some space on your kit, too!
Products to try: Benefit Goof Proof Brow Pencil, Innisfree Auto Eyebrow Pencil
Tip #4: Never skip mascara
Curling and coating your lashes with mascara do wonders to making you look more refreshed and awake, even when you didn't quite get your beauty sleep. Don’t ever skip mascara and your tired eyes shall thank you for it!
Products to try: Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara, Majolica Majorca Lash King, Marc Jacobs Velvet Noir
My fave five products for a five-minute face
Following the four tips above, I used just five products to create this 5-minute face. And yes, I timed myself! It's a simple look that gives me a polished, fresh-faced glow with minimal effort. Bonus: if you need to retouch throughout the day, you can trim down your kikay kit to just these items and some oil-control sheets. No need to lug around a heavy makeup bag in your purse!
Now, if I had five more minutes to spare, I can add three more products and amp it up a bit for an office-friendly glam FOTD.
Tip #5: Keep the eye look simple
An eyeshadow palette with foolproof color combinations helps me quickly create simple two-toned shadow looks. I pick any of the three darker shades to fluff in my crease and pat a lighter lid color on using my ring finger. It's best to use palettes with great pigmentation and easy-to-blend formulas so I can do my eye makeup in under two minutes! There’s really no quick cheat here but practice and reliable products will help you do your eyeshadow in record time.
Products to try: Ever Bilena Pink Palette, Zoeva Cocoa Blend Palette
Tip #6: Reshape your features with powder
Though cream may be best for lipstick and blushes, when it comes to reshaping features, I almost exclusively stick to powder contours, highlighters, and bronzers. Especially for contour products, it’s easier to control the pigment intensity and placement of powders rather than using a cream that you can accidentally swipe too much of and need to blend really well to make it look natural. Powder highlighters also take under a minute to apply! I would just use my index finger to apply and blend down the bridge of my nose, cupid’s bow, cheeks, and brow arch for a quick, lifting glow.
Products to try: Benefit Hoola, Ever Bilena Blush Duo in Baked Fig, Catrice Prime and Fine Professional Contouring Palette in Warm Harmony, Hourglass Incandescent Strobe Light, Essence Pure Nude
The basic five, plus three!
My 10 minute office-friendly makeup look is made a bit more glam by the addition of some eye color and face definition. Neutral eyeshadow creates a more contoured eye area and allows me to channel my beauty girl side while still looking professional. Contour whips my chubby cheeks into shape while a touch of highlighter gives me that go-getter glow!
Have you ever tried timing your makeup routine? How many products do you use to complete your look? Share your best quick makeup hacks and help your fellow PV girls!
