It’s Christmas morning and you’re so excited you hop out of bed in your festive onesie and start to run downstairs to open your presents. Except suddenly it dawns on you that selfies are imminent and that there’s a good chance your parents will use their newfound understanding of Facebook to upload close ups of your face as you open yet another woolly jumper from Nanna. What to do? Use one of our super quick five-minute makeup hacks, of course!
Let it Glow
Sometimes all a complexion needs to come alive is a little well-placed concealer. If you want to quickly brighten up, grab your favourite concealer and dot a triangle going from each corner of your eyes to halfway down your nose. Then cover up any red areas (we normally dot a little around our nose and on any blemishes) and you’ll be instantly festive selfie ready. For the best results, use a highlighting concealer like L’Oreal’s Lumi Magique Touch of Light – it’ll conceal dark circles and leave you with the perfect Christmas morning glow.
Rosy Cheeks
If your complexion needs no covering then a) jealous and b) leave out the concealer in favour of a little blusher or bronzer (depending on your colouring or personal taste). A swirl of colour on the apples of your cheeks is all you need to take yourself from sleepyhead to rosy-cheeked winter princess. Finish with a little nude lipgloss for a fresh-faced and naturally beautiful look.
In a Pinch
If you don’t have any lipstick or blusher to hand or you just don’t want to head downstairs with a full face of makeup, you can always give yourself a little colour the old-school way. Where you would normally apply blusher (i.e. the apples of your cheeks or a little way up your brow bone), pinch the skin lightly to give yourself a little natural flush. You can also gently bite your lips to achieve the same effect.
Lash but not Least
If you can achieve a five-minute cat eye then we salute you but, when it comes to prepping your eyes in a rush, simpler is normally better. You can sweep a little nude eyeshadow on your lids for a classic understated look but the easiest way to lend definition to the eyes is with this neat eyeliner trick. Grab a soft eyeliner pencil (liquid eyeliner will be too harsh for this look) and apply it right in between the lashes on your upper lid. You want to add depth to your lashes, not apply a classic eyeliner line so if the colour becomes too obvious you can smudge it a bit for more subtlety (this Technic eyeliner pencil comes with it’s own smudger so is perfect for this job). Lining your eyes in this way will both give them definition and make your lashes look thicker and plumper without the hassle of applying mascara first thing in the morning. Five-minute perfection.
New Year New Makeup Bag
We’ve all got that one lipstick we love, that’s perhaps getting a little dry around the edges but is *such* a pretty colour. Or that blusher that suits our skin tone so well but stopped looking quite so great after you had to collect the broken pieces from the bottom of your handbag and squash them back in your compact. Old makeup is old, is what we’re trying to say.
But the dangers of old makeup don’t stop at a dried out lip or a less-than-blendable blusher. Hanging on to makeup that’s past its sell-by date can mean bad, bad things for your skin and your health.
Take a Powder
No matter how many times you wash your makeup brushes, reusing old powder products such as foundation or blusher makes them a breeding ground for nasty bacteria. In one recent study, out of several different makeup products, blusher was found to contain the most bacteria including several nasty strains responsible for causing acne and other skin irritations. This is one product that definitely needs replacing as soon as it hits its sell-by date.
Shelf-life: 6-12 months
Eye Sore
Your eyes are prone to all sorts of infections, so it’s pretty scary to find out that mascaras were the second most bacteria-filled product in the test. Any products that you use on your eyes are capable of giving you infections so make sure to replace them when necessary and never, ever share! If you’re particularly susceptible to eye infections, you can always use disposable mascara brushes to keep bacteria-free.
Shelf-life: 1-3 months
Bad Taste
We brush our teeth every day but use the same lipglosses and lipsticks for months on end. Our mouths contain lots of bacteria – whether that’s from eating, kissing or any other activities – and all this bacteria can be transferred into the lip products we use daily. If you want to avoid tummy bugs and gum-damaging nasties, don’t keep hold of lip products any longer than their expiry date.
Shelf-life: 6-12 months
So there you have it, the perfect excuse to stock up on a whole load of new makeup for the new year. You. Are. Welcome.
