After I became a mother of two beautiful boys, I kind of forgot how much I used to love my “me time”. I mean, before the boys were born, practically the whole day was “me-time” because I was only taking care of me and my hubby! Although I was working full time, I had at least a full hour of undisturbed time to shower, get dressed and doll up every morning. Now, showering and applying makeup is done in just a few minutes, plus, I’ve learnt to do it much faster.

In my morning makeup routine almost everything can be applied with my fingers and almost all the products I use can easily fit into a small makeup bag that can be just thrown in my everyday bag. Curious how this ‘miraculously’ quick routine looks like?

Ice Pack in the Morning

This step helps in de-puffing my face from either too much sleep or not enough of it. It also helps tighten the pores as sebum secretion is more active at night. The best part of using ice packs is that they don’t cost a thing! There is a variety of face rollers you can find on the market, such as gold face rollers, jade rollers, etc. While all of those are great tools, I prefer finding alternatives that provide the same effect without the extra cost.

A Good Concealer

A good concealer is a must-have makeup item on my list. Finding a good brand that is suitable for your skin type can save you a lot of time and pitty looks. The secret is to put dots of concealer on specific areas of your face that you want to freshen up. This helps in creating a more polished base even without a foundation. Wondering which specific areas of your face?

• Undereye area
• Corner of the nostrils
• Bridge of the nose
• Chin
• Cupid’s bow area
• Spot conceal any dark spots or redness

Put just a small amount of product – just enough to cover and even out your skin’s tone. Let the concealer sit on your skin a few seconds and dab with your ring finger to blend.

Eye Makeup

Wondering how to do eye makeup? Well, there are tons of eye makeup looks out there (winged, smokey, glitter, etc.) but I like to keep my look really simple. Here are the basic make up for eyes products that I use:

• Eye primer
• Eye shadow palette
• Eyeliner
• Eyelash curler
• Mascara

How to Apply Eye Makeup

1. Start with the eye primer to create a smooth surface for the makeup.
2. Use neutral shades for an easy eye makeup look. I use a highlighter which is a shade lighter than my skin tone, a matte mid-tone shade, a contour shade which is darker than my skin tone and a matte black shade.
3. Get the right makeup brushes. For easy eye makeup, you will need a small flat eye shadow brush and a blending brush.
4. Apply eye shadow. Use the highlighter on the inner corner of your eye and blend it outwards. You can also use it to highlight the arch of your eyebrows. Apply the mid-tone shade above the crease, starting from the outward corner and blending it inwards. The contour shade should be applied on the outer corner and blended inwards. Proceed to the bottom lash line. Blend the contour shade with mid-tone shade and apply it on the bottom lash line. Apply eye shadow on the corner of the eyelids.
5. Tightline the eyes. This step may take a little practice if you aren’t used to it, but tightlining your eyes will make you look younger. As we age, our eyelids shed and our eyelashes too. Drawing in a tight line on the roots of your lashes will help create a fuller lash effect that will immediately open your eyes. I’ve learned this makeup trick from a friend of mine and it has become my favourite technique for an instantly sexy look.
6. Add volume to your eyelashes. Mascara is the final step of the entire applying make up for eyes process. Before I apply mascara, I like to curl my eyelashes with a good curler. Then, I take the mascara and start coating my upper and lower eyelashes from root to tip. If there are clumps of mascara on my lashes, I use a clean wand to comb them. Once it dries up, you can apply another coat to add more volume to your lashes.

A Pop of Blush On the Cheeks

This is the secret to making your whole face look glowing and refreshed. Mauve-pink works great for most skin tones. Give it a try!

Lip Colour

Whether it is lip balm, gloss or lipstick, adding a pop of colour and hydration to your lips is the ultimate finishing touch. For me, using something light and simple is always the best option as it is the perfect way to add some colour to my face without looking like I’ve tried too hard.

How to Clean Makeup Naturally?

Taking my makeup off and applying a moisturizer before I go to sleep is essential to the smoothness and suppleness of my skin the next day. To remove my makeup I use only water and a microfiber cloth. The microfiber cloth also serves as a gentle exfoliator. If you have sensitive skin like mine, a microfibre cloth might be a good option for you too.

After removing my makeup with my microfiber cloth and water, I apply coconut oil all over my face as a moisturizer. It’s much cheaper than a night cream, and probably better for you in the long run! Sometimes I use a face mask to for deep skin nourishing. I’m happy to say that I wake up each morning to a baby-soft skin!