By: Emily Taylor
The sound of an alarm resonates in my dorm, waking me from a deep slumber. In the midst of the chaos, I crack open my eyelids just enough to see the time on my phone. Class starts in fifteen minutes…it’s that time once again.
Some days begin with a manic morning of me racing against the clock until my first class – days when fifteen minutes doesn’t suffice the time needed to transform into a style stunner. Along the way, however, I’ve picked up beauty tips and tricks to cut my prep time in half, and today I am here to share them with you.
I was always told college girls wear less makeup, which I never believed until becoming a student myself. With minimal time on my hands, I’ve learned less really is more and how to play up one facial feature rather than them all.
Each look described below can be accomplished with five to six simple beauty products (products used listed at bottom). I begin each routine with two staple items of facial sunscreen and BB cream. This combination acts as a base for each look, while also protecting my skin.
A product I highly recommend is La Roche-Posay Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid, which can be purchased at any local drug store. Though it has SPF 50, it doesn’t leave behind that oily look most sunscreens do. I then squeeze a pea-sized amount of BB cream into my fingers and blend it into my skin.
Once checking off these essential steps, I move onto the fun part: deciding which feature to play up for the day.
Look one: The lively lip
This look is the quickest and easiest to achieve. If you’re anything like me, you hate the dry, rough feeling of lipstick. My remedy? First, I layer my lips with chap stick, such as Eos, and then add the pop of color from the lipstick. This not only keeps my lips from drying out, but also seems to make the application process smoother. To finish the routine off, I swipe a layer or two of mascara over my lashes and head for the door.
Look two: Accented Eyes
I begin this look by dabbing concealer not only under my eyes, but atop the eyelids so it acts as a shadow primer as well. Taking a blunt shadow brush, I pack a neutral pink or tan on to it and apply all over the lid. Using the same brush, I then apply a dark brown or grey shade, working it just into the crease and very corner of the lid. I layer my eyelashes with mascara to complete the look.
A simple way to make this look even more dramatic is to trace the top and bottom water lines of each eye with a crayon liner, my favorite brand being Neutrogena.
Look three: Winged Wink
This third look is simple, but can take some time to master. It is winged eyeliner. First, I dab a layer of concealer over my under-eye circles to appear more awake, masking that I was actually up until 2 A.M…A tip many beauty gurus use is to buy a concealer one shade lighter than your skin tone so it doubles as highlighter.
I then get as close to the mirror as possible and carefully draw a straight line along my lid, just above my lashes, with liquid eyeliner. Next comes the tricky part…creating the wing. The key to this step is equivalence, making sure the wing of each eye is proportional. To ensure this, I angle the wing to match the end of my brow, create a triangle, and fill it in. I once again finish the routine off with a brush of mascara over the lashes.
Look 4: Bold Brows
This last look is the most natural of them all. I once again begin by concealing those under-eye circles. Next, I grab my cream brow gel from Benefit, and fill in my brows only where necessary, making sure to maintain their actual shape.
To enhance the eyes even more, I of course continue the look with my beauty must: mascara. Finishing this routine off, I gently pack my angled blush brush with a rosy shade of pink and rub it along my cheekbone to create a subtle contour.
These four looks are just a few of those I have found most helpful when time is of the essence. While some days it’s fun to complete a dramatic makeup routine, others are meant for rocking your most natural beauty. Do whatever makes you confident, and walk out your door ready to slay the day.
Products used:
La Roche-Posay Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid
Clinique BB Cream in “Shade 01”
Eos Chap Stick in “Strawberry”
Rimmel London Lipstick in “Kiss of Life”
Bare Minerals Volumizing Mascara in “Black”
L’oreal Concealer in shade “860”
Palladio Liquid Eyeliner in shade “Black”
MAC Keepsakes Smokey Eyes Pallet
Neutrogena Crayon Eyeliner in shade “Black”
Benefit Cream Brow Gel with Brush
Bare Minerals Powder Blush in “Hint”
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