4 Super Easy Makeup Steps

Every woman takes a unique approach to her look. Some women love spending 45 minutes applying their "face," while others want to look great in no time at all. Still others have no interest in cosmetics or glamour whatsoever. No matter where you fit in, we can all use a little more ease- and a few more minutes- in our routines. Here are four quick tips to faster, easier makeup... and they will work for any woman with any makeup routine.

4 Super Easy Makeup Steps

1. Rather than going through the motions of applying creams, moisturizers, foundation and powder, combine some of those steps into one with a BB cream or a tinted moisturizer. Both of those products combine a moisturizer with a bit of tint and many of them contain anti-aging ingredients as well. Stick with a brand you trust, find the shade that fits your skin (which is easier than matching foundation, since the pigment in these products is not so concentrated,) and that's all you need! Not only will this save you time and effort, your skin will also feel lighter and you won't feel like you've got such heavy layers of product on your skin. Win-win.
2. Virtually all makeup companies teach one basic way of applying eyeshadow. It involves using three or even four shades to the lid- the lightest on the brow bone, a middle shade on the lower lid, and the darker shade in the crease and outer corner, blended in. While this is a fine way of applying shadow, it is certainly not the easiest or quickest- and for some women, it's complicated enough to be overwhelming. Rather than mess with that, try just two shades- a light beige tone and a darker shade (try charcoal, tan, brown or even black.) Using a shadow brush, apply the light shade to the entire top half of your lid- from crease up to the brow. Then apply the darker shade to the entire bottom lid- from lashline to crease (or even a little above the crease.) Once you blend the darker shade a bit, you've got beautiful eye makeup that didn't take a map to figure out.
3. Some of you were taught to apply eyeliner and/or mascara to the eyes before eyeshadow. But applying those after the shadow can save you time and also some "fixing." Eyeshadow, because it's a powder in most cases, can "fall" or drop down as you're applying it. If your liner and mascara is already on, the shadow can get on top of those products and look messy or even unfinished. Do your shadow first, then apply liner, then mascara. This will give you the most polished look.
4. Finally, the lips. There are two options for saving time on lips. First, choose a lip gloss or a tinted lip balm rather than using regular lip color and lip liner. This is an especially good idea for days when you don't necessarily need or want full makeup. These days, there are hundreds of lip color options, and glosses and balms are the fastest- they're quick to apply, easy to carry around with you, and the pigment is sheer enough that no liner is necessary. But if you do want full lip color and liner, try applying your lipstick first, and your liner on top. This serves a couple of purposes. First off, your liner will go on much easier with the lip product already on the lips. Second, it's much easier to blend the liner into the color- and it's easier to fix a mistake if one is made. And third, if your lip color fades through the day (or night,) your liner will fade with it, preventing the leftover lip-liner-with-no-lipstick look.