morning beauty routine in half

Looking to cut your morning beauty routine in half? Try these get-ready-quick tips.

1. Use an in-shower moisturizer. 

If you hate taking a shower, toweling off, lotioning up, and then waiting a while for your moisturizer to sink in, throw an in-shower moisturizer into your mix. After lathering up with your usual body cleanser, apply a hydrating formula like Olay Ultra Moisture In-Shower Body Lotion from your neck down. The warmth and humidity of the shower opens up your pores, allowing the moisturizing ingredients (hi, shea butter) to be asorbed into your skin, so that after you rinse and towel off, your skin remains super-soft. Genius, right?

2. Wash your hair with a cleansing conditioner. 

How great would it be to cleanse and condition your hair at the same time? Boom, it's now possible thanks to the latest haircare concoction: aka cleansing conditioners. These sulfate-free, haircolor-friendly formulas are one-fourth shampoo and three-fourths conditioner and are sure to be your new bathroom BFF. Try L'Oréal EverCreme Cleansing Conditioner.

3. Wrap your hair in a microfiber towel post-shower. 

"Gather your hair into a microfiber towel, wrap it on top of your head, and allow it to soak up any excess water while you apply your skincare regimen," says Nathaniel Hawkins, a celebrity hairstylist in NYC. "The microfiber fabric absorbs water through osmosis, wicking it away. And since 80 percent of your blow-drying time is used removing the water from your hair, this simple step will cut your drying time in half and get you out the door quicker."

4. Pick up a foundation or BB cream that targets multiple needs. 

"A multipurpose base is crucial when you're trying to get ready in a pinch," says LA-based makeup artist Joanna Schlip. "Pick out one that targets your skincare needs and gives you the coverage you need — you'll end up eliminating so many steps you won't know what to do with your extra a.m. time." One like Physicians Formula Super BB All-in-1 Beauty Balm Cream has hydrating glycerin, antioxidants vitamin C and E (these help brighten and protect your skin from free radicals, which cause premature aging), luxsil powder that leaves a soft-focus, luminous finish, offers up SPF 30 protection, and helps control oil with white willowbark extract.

5. Contour your cheeks using the "3" technique. 

We don't all have a pro makeup artist at our disposal, but here is a quick trick to help contour your cheekbones Kardashian-style. "Using a kabuki brush, swirl it over your matte bronzer and then starting along your hairline, begin tracing the number three (on the right side), bringing the brush along the perimeter of your face, back in toward the center of your face directly under your cheekbone, and back out again along the permiter of your face again, swiping it under your jawbone and ending up at your chin," Schlip explains. "After you repeat a backwards three on the left side of your face, make sure to blend the bronzer a little, so you can't see a literal number three on your face."

6. Pick an eyeshadow palette that takes the guesswork out of getting ready. 

To avoid wasting your time staring at the zillions of eyeshadow colors you could accent your eyes with, "use a palette with designated colors for your eyelid, crease, and brow bone," Schlip says. "That way you can do up your eyes in a second without even thinking about what shades go well together. Then, wet an eyeliner brush and swipe it over the darkest shadow and use that as your eyeliner." Done and done. Try Revlon Photo Ready Primer + Eyeshadow Graffiti. 

7. Use a cool-toned, navy eye liner to cancel out any redness and instantly wake up your eyes. 

If you pulled an all-nighter (whether you were studying or out with your friends) and your eyes look as red as Elmo, "trace them with a navy eye liner to counteract the redness, Schlip adds. "Whatever you do, stay away from any liner colors that are red-based — they'll only make your eyes appear more red."

8. Choose one multitasking hair product and apply it with a vent brush to evenly distribute it. 

"Applying several products to your hair takes time," says Hawkins. "So to speed up your routine, use one styling product that does multiple things, and then apply it using a vent brush for even application. Once you've brushed the product into your hair, rinse off your brush and continue styling as you normally would." One multitasking styler he recommends: Alterna CC Cream, which delivers 10 benefits in one, providing moisture, shine, smoothness, softness, UV protection, manageability, strength, anti-breakage, heat protection, and light hold.

9. Use the same product on your eyes, cheeks, and lips. 

"One of the quickest ways to put on your makeup is to apply your foundation and then choose one color and swipe it onto your eyes, lips, and cheeks using your fingertip for a monochromatic look," says NYC-based makeup artist Lauren Cosenza. "Nars the Multiple and MAC Cream Colour Base are both ones I use on a regular basis," says Cosenza.

10. Skip a full face of makeup and just apply red lipstick. 

"If you're really squeezed for time, apply some red lipstick," says Schlip. "You'll look like you spent an hour doing your "makeup" when you spent only two minues."

11. Braid your hair the night before.

"When your hair is slightly damp from the shower" — you could also re-wet your hair with some water or a heat protectant spray — "braid it into two braids for loose waves, four braids if you want medium waves, and six braided sections if you want your waves to be tighter," explains Hawkins. "Then, sleep on them, and when you wake up, hit your hair with the heat from your blow dryer or run a flat iron over each braid to set your style. Then unravel each one and lock your waves into place with hairspray." Voila!

12. Curl your eyelashes, apply some mascara, and go!

"Curling your eyelashes seems like an uneccesary step, but it can actually be the only preparation your eyes need to look polished," sys Cosenza. "Doing so not only makes your eyes look more open and awake, but after you apply mascara onto your lashes and trace the inner upper rim of your eye with black liner, your fringe will appear fuller — like you're wearing falsies. At that point, you can skip eyeshadow and go!"

13. Revive your style with a texturizing spray. 

"Using an aerosol texturizing spray, like Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray, creates that coveted second-day, bedhead hair every girl wants," says Hawkins. "All you have to do to get instant texture and movement is to flip your head over, spray it onto your hair, and watch your hair be transformed."

14. Get standout brows without messing with powders and pencils.

"Mixing pencils and powders to fill in sparse spots within your eyebrows can be time consuming," says Cosenza. "Instead, use a colored brow mascara. It saves a ton of time because all you have to do is swipe the bristle brush over the tiny hairs and your brows will immediately look fuller. Just make sure to wipe down the brush a bit, so you don't apply too much of the formula onto your brows. You want them to look enhanced, not unnatural."

15. Revive curly hair with a shine spray. 

"If you have curly hair or second-day waves that you want to revive, what I often reach for on set in a pinch is an aerosol shine spray," says Hawkins. "The challenge curly-haired girls have is that their curls absorb the light, making them appear dull. So what the aerosol shine spray does is fills any empty pockets in the curls with its lightweight, tiny molecules that then help reflect the light, making the curls look defined and beautiful." Try Redken Shine Flash 02.

16. Use your lipstick as your cheek color. 

"If you don't have time to fake a flush with blush, apply your lipstick to your mouth with your fingers, and then apply any excess onto your cheeks," says Schlip. "The color basically will double as a cream blush."

17. Skip highlighter around your eyes and just use concealer. 

"Instead of taking the extra time to add highlighter to the inner corners of your eyes, apply your concealer to cancel out any darkness and lighten those areas up," Schlip adds.

18. Use hot tools that do the work for you. 

"Investing in professional-grade hot tools will have you out the door in no time," says Hawkins. "For example, a blow dryer with a powerful motor and a strong air flow, like Babyliss Ferrari Dryer, will cut your drying time in half; a flat-iron with a digital thermometer, like one from Corioliss, will maintain its heat through every pass you make over each section of hair, straightening your hair quickly; and a curling iron that spins in place, like the Beachwaver, curls your entire head in under 10 minutes."

19. Opt for all cream cosmetics and use your fingers to apply them. 

"By using your fingers to apply your makeup, you eliminate the time it takes to find the right brush, apply your makeup perfectly using each tool, and then washing them after to avoid bacteria buildup," says Cosenza.

20. Having a bad hair day? Throw it into a polished, yet undone chignon. 

Everyone has a bad hair day, so when one strikes, throw your hair up into a pretty, low, side bun, pin it into place with bobby pins, and go.
Here's to looking gorgeous and getting ready in under 10 minutes!