6 Best Time-Saving Beauty Hacks

Most of us are simply not morning persons. The thought of getting up two hours earlier than needed in order to primp and prep for the day ahead just isn’t exciting. It’s much easier to keep pressing that snooze button for one more time, instead of spending an hour in blow-drying your hair.

On the other hand, you don’t want to work looking like a zombie. Beauty hacks to the rescue! With the below six hacks, you can stay in bed for just a tad longer and still get the co-workers to compete to know your beauty secrets.

1. Master Contouring in 5 Minutes
Yes, we admit this sounds rather crazy. Contouring – the magical trick for transforming the way your face looks – might sound like an hour long process which only the professionals can do, but it isn’t that difficult.

In fact, you can achieve a great look in just less than 5 minutes all you need to do is:

• Draw a letter ‘E’ on the side of your face with the contour cream. The letter will start from the top of your face (near hairline), go down towards just under the cheekbone, and finish on your chin. Once you’re under your cheekbones, edge slightly towards your lips, to create the middle line of letter ‘E’. Do this on both sides of the face.
• Then you’ll draw the letter ‘C’ with the highlight cream. Run the brush from just above the brows to the top of cheekbones.
• Blend with a dry blush brush.
• Do the above with the bronzing powder and the highlighting powder.
• Blend and volá!

2. Dry Shampoo the Hair the Day Before
If you’re still washing your hair everyday, you better stop – now! It’s a harmful practice to your hair, as the regular washing removes the natural oils, which protect our hair follicles. Instead, keep an off day and add dry shampoo to your beauty cabinet.

The best trick is to apply the shampoo on the hair the night before. This ensures the excess oils are properly removed and the night’s tosses and turns will add volume to the hair. In the morning, you simply need to brush it off.

Our site has a selection of vouchers available for hair retailers such as HQHair.com to ensure your dry shampoo hack won’t cost a fortune.

3. Save Time with Multi-Use Products
Searching through your make-up bags can take quite a bit of time – a luxury you don’t have if you’re already five minutes late. Luckily, multi-use products come to the rescue.

The top five products you must add to your morning routine? These:

• Clarins’ Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser.
• Bobbi Brown’s pot rouge for lips and cheeks.
• Chunky’s multi-use pencils for eye shadow, eyeliner, lip liner and lipstick.
• Maybelline’s Dream Fresh BB Cream.
• Rimmel’s 3 in 1 Shimmering bronzer for contouring, cheeks, and eye shadow.

4. Save Yourself from Smudges with DIY Stencil
Applying the eyeliner can be a nightmare, especially when you are in a rush. But avoid spending extra minutes washing away the smudges with this clever DIY stencil trick. In fact, all you need is on old credit card, library card or – even better – a single post-it note!

Cut out the post-it note into your desired shape. For example, recreate the perfect curve of a cat-eye look. Apply the template on top of your eyelid and simply draw the perfect line – every single time.

5. Trust In the Power of Red
Of course, there are going to be those unfortunate mornings where even the above hacks might seem like a stretch too far. The colour red can save those mornings.

When you don’t have time to contour or put on eyeliner, simply add bright red lipstick and you are ready to go. Red is an energetic colour that adds authority and passion to your look.

We love Dior’s Rouge Dior and the different red shades by MAC – find your favourites from Beauty Expert.

6. Maintain a Healthy Beauty Routine
You know, when your skin is feeling good and getting enough nutrients, it simply radiates beauty. When you achieve this natural glow, you don’t need to spend minutes hiding puffy eyes and irritated skin patches.

To truly transform your mornings pay attention to your lifestyle and beauty routine. Eat healthy, use the appropriate products for your skin type and treat yourself with regular spa trips.

Overall, if you find yourself struggling for time, prepare well the night before. Give your skin proper hydration during the night, braid your hair for the night for simple waves the next day and get your tools ready for the morning. Decide on your make-up look and have everything out of the make-up bag – saves you ton of time to not have to look for the perfect eyeliner from the collection of tens!