It’s 8.15am, you need to get in the car in the next 15 minutes, you haven’t got any makeup on, the children can’t find their book bags and you really want to have another cup of tea.  Do you

a) ignore the children shouting for book bags because you know you put them out the night before and they haven’t moved from the front door since.

b) have said cup of tea and feel guilty because you’re meant to be a busy mum and a tea break is a luxury isn’t it?

c) throw on some makeup and avoid the question of ‘do you feel okay, you look peaky’ all day?

d) all of the above.

Well, the answer is d!  At least, in my house it is, and if I can get 3 children and myself up washed, dressed, breakfasted and out the door, plus makeup and hair done, and in the space of an hour, anyone can.

Yes, part of it is organisation, it is down to laying out school clothes (or in the case of my toddler, clothes and nappies), it is laying out my own clothes, it is about having the breakfast table laid up, and it is about making sure homework is done and in book bags ready.  But part of it is down to stopping and taking time for yourself.  If you don’t, you’ll get to the school gates with stressed out children who could well be crying because you’ve screeched at them for not doing up their coats properly, or it could be that you arrive at work frazzled because you were trying to put lipstick on in the car and the person behind you beeped you because you didn’t see the lights turn green…

Oh, I’m stressed just reading it all.

But is it really possible to put your makeup on in only a few minutes?  And are there products that can be doubled up?

As I was thinking of this article and beginning to investigate which products could be multipurpose, I began to jot down some ideas.

Unfortunately, someone else pipped me to the post! 

Celebrity Makeup Artist, and This Morning Makeup Expert, Sarah Burrows demonstrated a 5 minute makeup look for a busy Mum on Tuesday’s This Morning show.

And you know what?  Rather than saying the same thing as Sarah, she’s allowed me to use her example directly.

“Five minute make-up

• Dot a little concealer where needed – under eyes, around nose and to cover blemishes. Then blend into skin.
• Dab a little cream blush onto the apples of your cheeks and pat onto lips. A nice pink or coral work well.
• Using a firm rounded brush work your all-in -one foundation powder into skin using circular movements. Powders bases should blend into skin not just sit on the surface.
• Sweep a little bronzer over eye lid for soft shadow effect.
• Now push a deep brown eye shadow along the upper and lower lash line, then add lashings of mascara. This gives the illusion of smokey eyes without any fuss.
• Finish your look with a dusting of bronzer. Go for matte or semi matte during the day. brush over cheek bones, forehead and chest. “

And because I’d already done my research, I have added in my own personal recommendations of quick use products and multipurpose products plus how to use them!

Buildable Foundation- Jo Malone Finishing Fluid, similar to a tinted moisturiser, this is a colour adapting product and is actually good for your skin.  Very much a smear-on-and-run product that gives a great finish.

Cheek and Lip Colour - choose your favourite lip shade and smear a little onto your cheeks, high on the apples to give a healthy I’ve-just-been-for-a-run-aren’t-I-fit look.  Definitely look for Clinique almost lipstick in Black Honey, its a sheer smear colour that doesn’t need lining, and makes your cheeks look gorgeous.

Eyeshadow – we all know that bronzer makes a great eyeshadow, but what about eyeshadow used elsewhere? Got a duo eyeshadow that’s got a soft vanilla cream shade in it?  Whisk some across the top of your cheek bones to elevate them, or perhaps you’ve got a duo with a soft caramel colour in it?   You’ve already got some on your eyeshadow brush from where you’ve buffed it onto your eyelids, so why not use the excess somewhere else!  Pop a little into the sockets of your cheeks to deepen them, and a tiny dab down the sides of your nose to slim it down.  I find Estee Lauder and Clinique shadows are particularly good for this, though do watch for the shimmer if you’re slimming down a nose, you don’t want to over shine.

Lipstick - but not as you know it.  No time to line and fill, and you’re a bit of a splodger if you don’t have a line to fill in?  Put some on your finger tip and rub it into your lips, you’ll have a soft wash of colour that’s really just ‘your lips, but better’.

Jackie Tyson, makeup artist for X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent recommends Avon products for multipurpose quick makeup – ”

There are some great products available at the moment to create a full look from and it’s a really nifty ways of making your beauty budget go further. Avon Ultra Colour Rich Mega Impact Lipstick is a great product for pulling off this look with rich, creamy, impactful pigments. Use a neutral tone such as a Never So Nude and the secret’s all in the application. Use a lip brush to apply to the lips for stronger coverage and line with a slightly darker shade. Use the fingertips to blend a small amount on the cheekbones and the tip of the nose to give a healthy colour to the face. With a sponge-tipped eyeshadow applicator, load-up the colour and get blending across the lid and socket before applying a fine liquid eye line to complete the look. It’s a nice natural, daytime look anyone can pull-off!“

So there you go, 3 different experts in 3 different fields.  The makeup artist who works on celebrities, but is a celebrity herself.  The makeup artist who is a beauty writer, who works on regular women and is a busy working mum, and the makeup artist who works on some of the biggest TV shows in the UK.

Different makeup disciplines and experiences, but the same thought process for multipurpose quick makeup.

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com

September 09, from the forum –

“As you may or may not know I am slowly building my stock for my box(es) and I would be interested to hear what people like and have in their boxes that they swear by, a staple product that they love. Powder, loose or compact and in what shades. Foundations, again type and colour..Any line any range not just NARS..Lip colours and glosses, tinted or otherwise and oooh oooh primers..

Mascara seems to be a bone of contention some go high end some say no point..sponges and staples for the MUA..where and what

In fact if you have a product you love…share it here and help me build my box..( and if that last line doesnt end up in the outrageous quotes thread I will be astounded)

Hugs and Maquillage to all..

Bal ”

I think the only way to write this is for me to think up what I’d do on a ‘classic’ face and what I’d reach for first!

Foundation – mix of Chanel, Dior, Lancome and MAC all in the 4 or 5 palest shades, then I have 2 different tones for very dark skin and I mix where needed.

Concealer – Laura Mercier and Ariane Poole (her off Telly!) in all shades

Eye base – Clinique touch base – nothing comes near it!

Powder – Benefit Bluff Dust and Clinique Blended Face Powder, though I’ve just recently fallen in love with clinique Superbalanced powder makeup. I always use loose, the benefit is a suit-all colour, the clinique is in shade 08 for the blended and 02 for the superbalanced

eyeshadow singles – Estee lauder first time, every time, all the creams, caramels and browns, with a smattering of pinks! MAC singles for colour variation, pure blacks, icey whites

eyeshadow duos – clinique and smashbox,

eyeshadow quads/quints/palettes – lancome quads – the best in the business!, Dior, Clinique, estee (I’ve got their new Christmas one – it’s to die for, all plums and golds and rich warm colours!!!) mix and match bright colours and soft colours with all of these!

cream liners – MAC fluidline in black, clinique brush on cream liner in black, smashbox creamliner for eyes, every conceivable colour!

pencil liners – I used to love Clarins WP in brun, but they’ve stopped making it and the Bronze one is too bronzy. My next loves are Dior WP and Lancome WP, but I’ve recently been using Estee doublewear pencil, which is up there too! all in blacks and browns. I do have some Urban Decay bright colours, but don’t use them all that often.

liquid liners – Barry M liquid liner in black, it’s like a pen nib, but the product is in the barrel so you get a fresh application each time, not like the other penstyles where the product is behind the brush IYKWIM! Also love MAC liquidlast, but it’s a bit sticky and gluey, so you have to make your model/client keep their eyes very still! loads of colours with these

brows – elizabeth arden brow powder, benefit brow powder, both in midtoned brown.

Mascara – lancome WP every time. doesn’t matter which one it is, it delivers. black every time

Cheeks – Benefit Dandelion, Smashbox fusion in Intermix, NARS orgasm, NARS laguna and Estee bronzing palette

Lip liners – clinique and dior, pinks, reds and neutrals

lipsticks – MAC the entire Viva Glam collection, you won’t regret it! Clinique, Estee Lauder. again, pinks, reds and neutrals. I rarely get asked for browns, though it’s worth having an almost nude colour

lipglosses – Clinique, Benefit (they’re bringing out new VIP glosses soon!), smashbox, dior (for colour though, not longevity!), elizabeth arden. go for bright and vibrant colours aswell as soft sheer ones.

fixing spray – MAC fix + but the current bottle is rubbish, it sprays a jet rather than a mist, so you’d need to decant into something better.

brushes – MAC, bobbi brown, smashbox, chanel, ruby and millie
disposable mascara wands etc – thepromakeupshop.com

When I work on people, blusher seems to be the product that most people are wary of applying – usually as they are unsure of how and where to apply it!

The days of sucking in your cheeks and painting ‘go faster stripes’ on your face (a la 1980’s) are over. The idea now is to give yourself a healthy ‘I jog and drink lots of water everyday’ glow!

The foolproof way to apply blusher is to wait until all other makeup is on – including lipstick – as then you will get the balance right and not apply too much or too little – which is easy to do when your lipstick isn’t on.

I would recommend that a cream blusher is used as it gives a far more natural look than powder. The colour will look as though it’s coming from within.

Dab your finger into the cream, smile at yourself in the mirror and apply the blusher in small circular motions to the ‘apples’ of your cheeks and then blend back along your cheekbone. Make sure you do not apply it too high. Then go back with a clean finger and blend in any edges.

For a really glamorous bridal or night-time look then apply a shimmer highlighter. I can recommend Cheek Tint in Angel by Cosmetics a La Carte (a really pretty ballerina pink). Apply this with your finger along the top of your cheekbone and slightly onto the apple (don’t put onto the apple of your cheeks if you have very open pores as it will draw attention to them).
Viola….beautiful!

by Juliet Cunnington

www.bridalmakeupbyjuliet.co.uk

If you want natural lips but cant live without lip liner…….try MAC stone lip liner. Is looks a kind of grey/brown colour and you will think this is never going to work. Apply it softly tilting the pencil so you are using the side of the tip (not the tip). Apply your lipstick or gloss (great with pinky colours).

Now with a lip brush blend the liner into the lipstick/gloss until you can barely see the liner anymore. It looks amazing!

You will find this works better than most natural coloured lipliners because they carry to much red/warmth in the colour, Stone is in fact the true natural because it is neutral, not warm or cold.

 by Samantha Chapman

www.SamanthaChapman.com

Sam Donald

www.SamDonald.com

As we all know, you have to have great products to achieve a great look, but you also need good tools behind you to get soft yet clean lines, without fallout and wasteage.

I’m a brush junkie.  I find it irresistible to walk past a cosmetics counter without having a good look at their brush range and buying at least one.

I have a brush kit with around 100 brushes in it (yes, I can get through the whole lot on one wedding alone!) and every brush is loved, cherished and needed!

Anyone with a sense of the mathematics will know that those brushes add up to quite a lot, given that I have 9 foundation brushes worth between £25 and £35 each and around 60 eye brushes ranging in price from £10-£25 each.

Okay, so that’s a lot of money, and in no way did I buy them all in one go, who’s got that sort of money?

Consider the new makeup artist straight out of training with 6 brushes that the college supplied, not enough to do even one face, let alone 8, and no time to clean brushes between because you have a deadline to meet.

So do you spend your first ‘wages’ on building up your brush kit, or do you spend it on products for your kit?  Which came first, the great product with the ropey brush to apply or the good brush but the dodgy cheap makeup that won’t last more than an hour or two before it’s vanished?

Well both actually!

You put 50% aside for makeup purchases, 25% for brushes and the other 25% for advertising, insurance, tax and the ever faithful sundries list of disposables.

Until recently it was almost impossible to get decent disposable makeup brushes, yes, you could get mascara wands and lip brushes and those horrendous little sponge applicators (you know, the ones that look like they’ve come out of a play kit for a 5 year old), but nothing worth talking about.

Nowadays it’s a different story, and ThePromMakeupShop.com are leading the way with a great set of makeup brushes, from powder to eyes, lips to brows,  including not Sponge applicators, but Foam, far far better for product application and then a lovely soft brush for blending.

And if you’re very new to the industry, and want to start the right way, with good hygiene practices, but not sure which brushes you might like, you could try the Pro Kit with 2 each of the various different eye and lip brushes, plus 2 each of the blush and contour brushes.  It’s only £9.99, and a couple of those with you will keep you going for at least 4 faces, earning you some more money to invest in your kit and brush kit, and also earning you a great reputation for maintaining high standards of hygiene.

I’ve used all these brushes, and you know what?  They’re really rather good!  I was pleasantly surprised, nothing synthetic or spongey about these brushes, just a good quality disposable brush that you know will deliver on application whilst keeping the diseases and germs at bay!