Makeup Tutorial: How to Do Quick Makeup Before Work or School Part 1

Everyone has a morning routine. Whether you start with coffee and the news, hop right in the shower, or scroll through social media before rolling out of bed, how you spend your morning can set the tone for the rest of the day. As a very busy working wife and mother, I’m always looking for ways to save time and be more efficient during the day. When it comes to everyday makeup, I want to look flawless and professional, but as quickly as humanly possible. After experimenting with a ton of beauty products and application techniques, I’ve come up with a really quick and easy two-part routine that I use every morning, and I wanted to share it with my fellow busy ladies! This is Part One: Eye Makeup. Check out parts two and three in my next posts!

First things first: always do your eye makeup first. That way, if some of the shadow falls or you have to try a few times to get your eyeliner even, you’ll be able to correct it without messing up your foundation.

1.  Primer: Always prime your eyes to keep your makeup from falling over the course of your busy day. When it comes to primer, it really doesn’t matter what brand you use.

2.  Shadow: Open your eyes! It’s actually best to keep your eyes open while applying your eye shadow so you can make it even. I’ve found the best way to blend my eye makeup is to go from the darkest color to the lightest. Start by putting your darkest color right in the crease. Then, apply your middle color on the lid, blending it into your darker color. Lastly, put the lightest color on the inside corner and on the outside of the crease. Again, the brands don’t really matter, but my favorite light color for eye shadow is Mac’s Vanilla.

3.  Eyeliner: I’ve found the best way to make your eyeliner stay put all day is to use a black gel liner (again, I really like Mac’s version), and then go over the liner with a black eye shadow. To apply the gel liner, I use a very fine small angle brush and stroke up and out. Always move in an upward motion when applying your liner so that you’re not dragging your lines and creases down! After applying the gel liner, I set it with a black eye shadow. This is the best method I’ve found for keeping my eyeliner from falling down over the course of a long day.

Once I’ve finished these three steps, I use a really soft, clean brush and blend everything together with tiny circular motions. (If you never clean your makeup brushes, please check out my article on how to do it and why it’s so important!!) I have one brush I never put any shadow on just to keep it soft and fresh for blending purposes. Now that you’re finished with your eye makeup, you’re ready for Part 2: Foundation!