The Back-to- School Beauty Bustle (How to Save Time in Your Morning Routine)

Whether you are a student, teacher, parent of school-aged children, or even if you have not been in a school in years and have no kids (like me), there is something the start of back-to-school season that puts us into work mode and brings an extra sense of urgency to get things done. Regardless of if you being in “go”- mode or you totally dread it, it inevitably leaves us with the feeling of having no time in the mornings. Yet,even on busy schoolday mornings or any other, we still want to leave home looking and feeling our best. Luckily, there are many ways to get up and go and still feel glam.

Start On Your Hair the Night Before: This tip certainly can apply to washing your hair, but it's also good to get a headstart on styling the night before by choosing a hair configuration that is comfortable sleep in that will give you a pretty style when you wake. To emphasize waves (or to create some if your hair is straight), sleep in a braid or, if your hair is either too short or layered to be put into a braid, put your hair up into a topknot or pineapple instead. Either way, come morning, you will have the option of letting the style down and let the crimps and kinks you’ve created run loose, or if you are in a major rush, you can leave the style you started with in and rock a lived-in bun or braid for the day.

On the other hand, if you prefer to have a sleeker hair look or have a cut that you would like to flip out, sleep in a small amount (one to two pea-sized dollops rubbed between the palms them applied through the hair is usually good) of leave-in styling cream that will help to smooth the hair in advance through the night or help protect and prep the ends if you want them to be flipped out quickly with a tong in the morning.

Opt for Shower Cream or Oil instead of Gel If You are a Morning Showerer: These types of products are more hydrating to the skin than their sudsier and gel and bubble bath counterparts. This means they are less drying to the skin, so you may be able to (depending on your skin type) either go without moisturizing post shower entirely or at least you will maybe not have to apply as much and then have to wait so long to put on your clothes for all the lotion to have time to sink in. Also, because oils and creams tend to hold on to scent better than gels, even after they are rinsed away, you may even be able to skip spritzing perfume for the day and just enjoy the faint linger of your shower product.

“Eyelash, Eyebrow, Eyeline:" This is a tip I got from listening to makeup artist Laura Geller . The advice here is to skip any form of eyeshadow altogether and instead focus on the products which accentuate the frame of the eye and let your eye color sparkle on its own instead. Also, the order in which the items are spoken also, to me, gives an indication to the order of importance of each step and also, incidentally, starts from the quickest to the relatively more time-consuming. In other words, start with mascara. Then do your eyebrows if they need some filling in, and then if you want (and still have some time) add eyeliner.

Color and Sculpt the Face With One Product: Even if you would do all of this on a regular basis, skip the three-step routine of doing highlighter, contour then blush or bronzer. Save time by simplifying and combining these steps. Choose a blush with some shimmer in it to highlight and add color in one or do the same thing with a shimmery bronzer and blend that upward to also do some subtle shading around the perimeter of the face if that is your preference. Cutting back on these steps will get you out the door faster but still give you the look of perky, glowy skin, even if it has been an early and rushed morning.

Befriend Tinted Lip Balms and Amp Up Your Own Liptone: These are an absolute gift to those on-the-go. Moisturizing and colorful in one-go, these are effortless to swipe on and can be applied without a mirror because the formulas are soft and forgiving of mistakes. and if you usually do a separate moisturizing step before color, you’ve scratched one item off your usual list. For another quick route to polished-looking lips, you can also apply a thick layer of lip balm overnight to smooth out your lips and scrub them a bit with your washcloth when you are cleansing your face. This allows your lips to flush naturally, bringing out your own perfect shade of rosy lips without adding any product at all.

No matter if you are rushing to the office or shuffling the kids to the bus stop, both of these things, or have any other list of activities to get done on the daily, I hope these tips will make your mornings a bit less stressful. At the same time, even if it is just for a precious five minutes, may your beauty routine also be a reminder to just take a little bit of time for yourself each and every day and ready yourself to take on the world putting your best face forward.