zero to female in 5 minutes or less

When you’re working on 3 hours’ sleep and getting 5 minutes in the bathroom alone is like negotiating a hostage crisis, your “beauty routine” tends to fall way down on your priority list.

Even a partially-reformed slob like me can only go so long in sweats and bedhead before thinking, “Is this what I want the world to think of me?  Is this what I want my daughters to think of me?  Is this what I think of myself?”   I finally understand why my own dear mother used to put on stockings, heels, and full makeup before going to the grocery store.

But  frankly, I was fairly low-maintenance even when I was single. So I had to start from scratch to come up with a pared-down routine I could do head-to-toe in about 5 minutes, that left me feeling “done” for the day - even if no one sees me but my girls and the UPS man. They count, too.

I also had to find a way to keep it all handy in one place in the bathroom, because once I open that door I’m back on duty and won’t get another break till naptime.

Here’s my solution:

• A pretty basket (scavenged from a baby gift)
• generic hypoallergenic body lotion (knockoff of Lubriderm or Cetaphil)
• a tinted moisturizer so foundation is squirt-and-smear (this one by Olay Total Effects does leave a nice glow all day, but it also is very hard to wash off my hands and sometimes my towels pay the price)
• 3-in-1 makeup stick for eyes, cheeks and lips  (this one from Wet ‘n’ Wild 3 of a Kind is inexpensive and blends nicely for a soft, natural look)
• eyelash curler and mascara
• deodorant/antiperspirant
• comb and basic hair accessories
• watch, wedding ring and basic earrings

What’s your beauty bottom line in the morning?

1. Christy English Says:
   February 20th, 2009 at 2:20 pm

   Ellen, what an ingenius method of getting yourself together in the morning. I particularly enjoy the phrase that getting time alone is like “negotiating a hostage crisis.” As a single woman with all the time in the world to diddle with my hair, I raise my hat to you and all women like you. Just think of what wonderful people your daughters will be.