Today marks the start of my new Friday series, 'Mum & Style'. I hope you find these posts useful!
As a busy Mum you feel that you don't have time to do anything, let alone put on makeup in the morning. No matter how many hours there are in the day there just never seems to be enough and the lists of tasks is endless. Mix that up with your career (if you head out to work), or if you happen to work from home (like I do), or even if you don't....there is just no time to spend fussing about with makeup. Getting kids ready for school, making lunches, getting them out the door, kids to kinder, pre-schoolers demanding all your time, washing, cleaning, cooking....I could easily go on. Somewhere in all that madness you just can't waste half an hour making yourself gorgeous.
Unfortunately, what can happen, is that we can let ourselves go, and as a result can start to feel frumpy and even grumpy (didn't mean to make that rhyme...) because we don't look our best and find ourselves getting annoyed that we always have to come last.
This has to change. To vastly improve your mood, and show yourself some of the love that you deserve, you need to spend a little time each day on yourself, and if taking a quick ten minutes to put on some makeup is the way to do it, then run with it.
I personally never used to wear makeup, but it's only been in the last year that I have bothered, and it's for that reason. I wasn't spending any time looking after myself. As well as looking a little more fresh faced, it is nice to devote a little time to myself, even if my kids are bashing at the bathroom door while I'm doing it. So what do I find are the best products to use to give myself a speedy spruce up?
I've never been big on foundation, it's only been recently that I have invested in some, and that is really only for when I do my outfit shoots for the blog, although I may wear it if I go out somewhere special. The rest of the time I either just slap on my usual moisturiser, or I wear a BB cream or a tinted moisturiser. I have been using this 'Earth Cream' by Dusty Girls, which has been great. I also picked up this Tinted Moisturiser by Natio at the chemist a little while ago and used it for the first time today, and I must say, I really like this. It blends in perfectly, is the exact match of my skin tone and doesn't make my skin look dry at all. These sorts of products are great for a busy mum because you don't have to spend as much time getting them perfect. I find they don't leave a nasty line around the jaw, and often now they have a sunscreen in them too. This Natio one has SPF 50, which is awesome! Today my skin looks really dewy and fresh, without looking too oily, plus it's hidden the old crow's feet a little (!) and it took me about a minute to apply. A nice, even skin tone is really all you need.
Once again, you want something that is super quick. If it's too much hassle you're not going to have time or even be bothered, so keep it simple. Most days you might just want a slick of mascara and that is it when it comes to your eyes. I have dark lashes anyway, so sometimes I don't even bother with that, but it does make a difference to the length, and different ones make my lashes look a lot thicker, which is nice. I like my 'Dusty Girls' mascara for everyday. It's made from natural ingredients and seriously doesn't clump. My 'Black Argan Oil' mascara by Josie Maran I find is better for going out as it is a bit thicker. I will bother with eyeshadow when I am going somewhere, even during the day. I stick to my neutral 'Chocolate Bar' palette by Too Faced which has all the beige/brown shades I could ever need. There are three shades I generally use, a soft creamy colour I put all over the lid and almost up to my brows, then a soft pinky beige on my lids, followed by a darker shade on the outside corners of my lids which I will blend in. I find this highlights the green in my eyes and makes a huge difference to the overall look of my face. Instead of zombie I look a lot more alive. It doesn't take long, perhaps 3 minutes total.
Lips are super quick, so if you can't manage anything else for the day this is where you can at least pop some colour on your face in a flash. It's also easy to do on the run as well, although I don't recommend putting it on while you're driving. As well as being highly dangerous you can also end up with stripes across your face...which is great if you're a tiger but otherwise...not so much. Lip stains are perfect here. A bold lipstick can be a bit dressy, plus you need a mirror. I like lip crayons for the days I want just that little bit of extra colour, and on really 'non-event' kind of days a simple lip balm adds a little shine and moisture.
A good cleanser that you can use in the shower will be the easiest way to get your makeup off at the end of the day, and it will make it much quicker. If you're anything like me you are the last to have a shower and fall exhausted into bed, so this type of light, simple makeup makes it easy at the other end too.
