Welcome to 2018! The new year is usually a time of unattainable goals, promises to go to the gym that never happen, and self care strategies that get pinned to your “new year, new me” Pinterest board and never get looked at again. We are always looking for something new, something exciting. But it’s unreasonable for us to expect that to do something new and exciting every day of our lives. Soon, save for a few, well thought out new routines, our old habits will return.
But there’s one thing that can be both new, and routine. Something that can have you excited to wake up in the morning, but not something that makes you wake up earlier than you usually do. Your everyday makeup look.
This means a variety of things to different people. For some, who can’t tell the difference between eyeliner, an eyebrow pencil, and mascara, their routine includes a splash of water and some tinted lotion. For others, it means waking up an two hours before class so they have enough time to contour. All of that is ok. This article isn’t about trying to change who you are, but giving you strategies to manage your time in the morning so you can feel confident every day.
The biggest takeaway from the next steps is to find something that works for you. Your friend’s routine won’t work and your Pinterest board can only help so much. The next steps make you ask questions about your habits so that you know how much time you have and what you care about.
Let’s get started!
Question 1: What time do you wake up?
This is by far the most important question, because when it comes to something you are going to be doing everyday, you don’t want to be compromising your sleep schedule. If you’re a morning person, and like to get up an hour before your class starts, you might have time for a full face makeup look. If you wake up five minutes before class, you might not even want to brush your hair before you head out the door. I’m somewhere in the middle. I get up about an hour before class, but only spend about 30 minutes in my dorm. Which brings me to my next question…
Question 2: What else do you need to do before you get to class/work?
If you know you need to shower, eat breakfast, or workout before you start your day, subtract those things from the time you have before your class starts. I get up at 6:45 for my 8:00 class, but I know that I need a good 15 minutes to brush my teeth, think about getting dressed, then actually get dressed, before I do my makeup. I also have to, yes, have to eat and drink coffee before I talk to anyone. That means that I really only have from 7:00-7:20 (when I go to the dining hall to find my will to live) to do my makeup.
Question 3: What makes you feel the most confident?
Now that you know how much time you have for your routine, ask yourself what makes you feel the most confident. Is it hiding a few blemishes, making your eyes pop, or just feeling like your skin is healthy? I feel most confident when my eyes are done any red spots on my skin are covered up, so that’s what I focus on in my 20 minutes.
Question 4: Do I have enough time to do all of those things well?
As we’ve established before, we know ourselves and how much time we actually have. So if what makes you feel confident is going to take 45 minutes to an hour to achieve, and you wake up half an hour before class, you’re going to need to prioritize. If my eyeliner is on point, no one can stop me, so that’s always my priority.
Question 5: Now that you have read this whole thing, do you still have time to put on any makeup?