Many of us are busy, but we still want to look good as we rush about our day. There are few things more impressive than a mom with young kids who hustles about her day, from activities to work and through endless errands, looking pretty darned good in the process. There are women who look busy and frazzled, and there are women who are busy but look like they don’t have a care in the world, and I’m pretty sure we all want to be like those amazing superwomen.
After feeling completely tired of facing every day (and every mirror) looking like I forgot to wash off my makeup, brush my hair, or do basic beauty maintenance (I submit exhibit A for evidence):
I started speaking to countless other moms, and gathering tips that can help any of us always look terrific. Some were practical (never leave the house without lipstick- easy) and others showed some of us have more time than others (make time every week for a mani-pedi and massage- yeah, not happening for most of us with kids under ten).
I compiled my three favorites for even the busiest among us. Who can’t spend literally one minute a day before heading out to make sure we look like we spent hours to look so amazing? You may not have a couple of hours each weekend, but you do have one minute each morning, so here are my beauty tips that will help you look pretty darned good at warp-speed.
My favorite beauty cheats (aka 60 seconds to beautiful)
1. Dry shampoo (and yes, you can use it daily). An incredible amount of busy moms who simply don’t have time to wash their hair daily, or every other day, or even every third day are now singing the praises of dry shampoo like Gunther’s All Natural Dry Shampoo, and I’m among them. Washing hair daily is damaging to hair anyway, but the amount of time it takes to blow out hair after is not realistic. Instead, we walk around with our hair tied up and dirty looking (see my picture above) and at some point, we all discover dry shampoo. Unfortunately, many are aerosol, smelly, bad for the environment, and filled with yucky chemicals that stay on your scalp, so Gunther’s All Natural Dry Shampoo (which comes in Light, Medium, and Dark shades) is perfect for us. Who wants to worry about toxins and aerosol?
To use, simply pump Gunther’s All Natural onto the scalp (the pump emits a very dispersed, light stream that distributes the powder beautifully- many powders are sort of dumped on like baby powder, which is wasteful and hard to use). Toss hair around a bit and tousle the roots to help the powder distribute further and absorb any oils, and voila! You have gorgeous hair! (and it smells good too, almost edible)
2. Tinted moisturizer because nothing is worse than caked on foundation, cover-up that makes blemishes look worse, or nothing at all (hello under-eye circles!). You really don’t need a lot of make-up if your skin looks good, and tinted moisturizer makes it almost fool-proof to screw up. The only mistake you can make is to drastically choose the wrong shade, and since most come in only three shades (light, medium, and dark) you really have to work hard to screw it up.
I use No 7 in light, and it’s not only moisturizing and contains an SPF, but it erases all signs of tiredness, unevenness of skin tone, and minor blemishes. If I have more time I may add on some lipstick or mascara, but if not, I look pretty darned good leaving the house with clean looking, voluminous hair and clear skin.
3. White liner under the nails, so you always look like you have a French manicure. It’s amazing, because you never have to worry about chipped polish, or have to spend time or money at a nail salon, risking getting an infection and hoping you don’t smudge your nails within minutes of walking out. The French manicure is still classic and elegant, so buy a 99 cent white eyeliner from your local drugstore, and swipe under each nail in the morning as needed. I sometimes apply clear polish over the nails if I have time, but usually not, and I get a lot of compliments!
Heading out each day with beautiful hair, lovely skin, and nails that look well-manicured is a great way to start the day, and if you can do it all in under one minute, it’s even better… share the secrets!
