Mommy Fast Beauty: Danielle and Her Future Makeup Lover

I am a full time working mother of 3 little girls ages 10,4 and 3. I love makeup and have for years! I can remember as a little girl having a makeup kit where you made your own lipsticks and eyeshadows and stuffed them into little tubes! So I guess I was born loving all things cosmetic. I don't have a ton of time on weekdays to get ready so this has been my go to look for a little while now.

Here are the products I use daily:
1. The Real Deal Concealer from Laura Geller in shade Light.
2. Origins Brightening cream eye shadow in Vanilla Vroom
3. MAC eyeshadow in Shroom
4. Maybelline Master Drama eyeliner in Bold Brown
5. Maybelline One by One Volum Express mascara in Blackest Black
6. NYC Smooth Skin Bronzer
7. Bobbi Brown blush in Pretty Pink
8. Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm in Red Dahlia

I use the Laura Geller concealer to hide any unsightly blemishes and dark circles, but you can use this as a foundation as well. I just blend it well with a foundation brush. The Origins cream eye shadow is a great substitute for eye primer since it has enough color to cover any "pink" eyelids. I use the Shroom over that then line with the Maybelline Master Drama. This eyeliner is super long wearing! Follow up with the BEST mascara in the universe, Maybelline One by One!! I use the bronzer in the typical "bronzing" places on my face but in addition using a crease brush I define my eye a bit as well. Super fast and gives your look a bit more depth. Follow with the blush from Bobbi Brown, which is just such a pretty flushed pink and finish with the tinted lip balm. All of it takes me about 10 minutes! I skip brows since mine tend to be pretty full on their own, but otherwise my entire face is complete!


The picture of the finished face also has my youngest daughter! Future makeup lover in training!

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Mommy Fast Beauty: Michelle from Beauty Besties

These are the products I use for a fast beauty face. Sometimes I can get this done in five minutes if I'm really being pushed out the door...

Step 1: apply my CoverGirl + Olay Tone Rehab foundation all over my face / neck. It has great coverage so sometimes I don't even need concealer.
Step 2: apply Hard Candy Fox in a Box to my cheekbones. This product is another multi-use since it is blush, bronzer, and highlighter in one!
Step 3: apply Ruby Kisses lid primer to my eyelids. It is a sheer primer so my natural lid color isn't distorted with yellow tones.
Step 4: using a thin, slanted brush I apply my NYC wax & powder to my brows to fill in as needed.
Step 5: using NYC liquid liner in black I line the upper lid of my eye.
Step 6: apply 2 coats of Lashaholic mascara by Hard Candy to my eyelashes.
Step 7: using a full bristled make-up brush I apply the CoverGirl + Olay powder all over my face to control shine.
Step 8: apply CoverGirl Blast Flipstick lipstick in Vixen for a pop of color.

Now I'm ready to run out the door!

Michelle Miller is the blogger behind Beauty Besties. Michelle has a long history of working in the music industry and was formerly a drummer in a touring all-girl band. These days Michelle is a full-time healthcare data analyst, attends school full-time to obtain her Masters degree in healthcare administration, and is a mommy/wife/blogger when she gets home!

Beauty Besties

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Mommy Fast Beauty: Melissa and her Well Used 15 Minutes

When Christine told me that she was thinking of featuring some of her readers on her “Mommy Fast Friday” series I told her I thought that was a great idea. Then she totally surprised me by asking me to do it. I love this series and her blog in general so of course I said yes (even though I’ve never written a blog post before and I’m really, really nervous).

My name is Melissa and I’m a mom of 2 wonderful children who, unfortunately, inherited my oh-so-pleasant disposition in the morning. I’ll leave it up to your imagination what that must be like for my incredibly chipper and incredibly patient husband in the morning. Needless to say, between cajoling the two offspring into getting ready for school (followed up with even more cajoling) and getting myself ready, there’s not always much time for a full scale beauty regimen. I’ve never actually timed myself, so I was fairly pleased when I busted out the stopwatch on my phone to find that I could, in fact, get it done in just under 15 minutes.

Normally, if I truly only have 15 minutes to spend on hair and makeup in the morning, I’m only going to spend about 5 minutes drying my hair and throwing on a baseball cap. (This is one of the perks of being a sahm.) The remaining 10 minutes are going to be spent on makeup. When I broke out the stopwatch, it was definitely a hat kind of day. Sadly, I couldn’t get a good picture of my makeup because of the shadow caused by the hat. For picture purposes, I re-did my 10 minute makeup on a day I actually fixed my hair and that’s what you’ll see below.

On to the makeup!

When I am in a rush, the first thing in my makeup routine that gets slashed is foundation. I skip moisturizer, primer, foundation, and powder and go for the all in one BB cream. This summer I used the Garnier Skin Renew Miracle Skin Perfector BB Cream. I recently started using Skin79’s Hot Pink Super Plus BB Cream Triple Function. (Dear Asian makeup companies, Thank you. So much. Love, me and all the other American women obsessed with these) This one is a little more substantial, not only in texture, but also coverage, than the Garnier BB Cream, so I like it better going into the colder months.

Next up is cheeks. For any of you who read beauty blogs on a regular basis, you’ve seen the term “MLBB” which stands for My Lips, But Better. Well, I’ve come to refer to this blush as “MCBB” (My Cheeks, But Better). It’s the NYX powder blush in Angel (applied with Eco Tools Bamboo Blush Brush). It just gives my face a nice, warm, awake look. I love it and use it often.

For the eyes, I start with E.L.F. Eyelid Primer. Yes, the one that only costs $1. Here’s the deal: I love Urban Decay Primer Potion, but if I don’t need my eye shadow to last past 8-9pm (and I rarely do) I reach for this. It lasts, for me personally, nearly as long as the UDPP.

If you’re in a hurry, an eye shadow palette is the easiest way to get a coordinated look without a lot of thinking. Today I used the Urban Decay Naked 2 palette. Halfbaked on the lid (applied with Real Techniques Shading Brush), Snakebite in the crease (applied with Essence of Beauty Crease Brush), and Bootycall (my favorite!) to highlight the brow bone (applied with Real Techniques Base Shadow Brush). A little blending and voila! I then used Urban Decay Glide On Pencil in LSD (part of the Ocho Loco set). To finish off the eyes, I curl my lashes and apply mascara. Like Christine, I’m also a big fan of layering mascaras. I want length AND volume, yo. I start with a coat of Maybelline Illegal Length Fiber Extensions Mascara in Very Black. I follow that up with Maybelline Colossal Volume Mascara in Glam Black.

All that’s left to do is line my lips and slap on some lipstick! Here’s the final look


Thanks to Christine for inviting my to share my Mommy fast beauty routine. I hope you all enjoyed it! What are your favorite tricks for making your morning beauty routine super speedy? Do you have a favorite no brainer palette?




Thanks so much to Melissa for agreeing to be featured when I put her on the spot! Featuring readers was something I was thinking about, and when I was emailing with her (she was the winner of a recent giveaway), she thought it was a great idea. And then I basically forced her into being featured and not only was she nice about it, but she sent a great post! I can't believe how much she squeezed into such a short period of time. If you're interested in being featured as well, let me know!

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Quick Mommy Beauty: 5 Minutes That Goes a LONG Way!

Being a mom to a 3-yr old (she's a handful I tell ya!), I have a quick n’easy everyday beauty routine to get ready and be out the door. I like to keep things simple and natural. Simple is fast, easy and motherhood approved! Here’s an everyday makeup look that requires me to devote only about 5-6 minutes to look polished and put together.

On my face, I always start with a lightweight moisturizer with SPF. Then I reach for a BB cream or tinted moisturizer and apply a few dots on my cheeks, nose, forehead and dab just a bit under the eyes too (I am too lazy for concealer most days). For this look, I used Boscia BB cream that has medium coverage with a slightly dewy finish and it works pretty well for my normal-dry skin.

On my eyes, I use an eyeshadow primer (Urban Decay Primer Potion) first to help my shadow stay put all day. For an everyday look like this one, I chose a neutral eyeshadow palette like Anastasia’s She Wears it well. I applied Sunset (peachy champagne shimmer) all over the lid and up to the crease using a medium shadow brush. Then I used a crease brush to apply Latte (taupe) into the crease and blend.

Next is eyeliner, a must-have for me to complete the look! My go-to liner for a natural look is Tarte’s SmolderEYES Amazonian Clay waterproof liner in Espresso (chocolate brown) that lasts all day long even on my lower lash line. I am not a mascara girl and usually skip that step in an everyday makeup look. Finally, I grab a peachy-pink lippie like Tarte’s LipSurgence natural lip luster in Sweet (it’s one of my top favorites!) and then finish up with a pretty pink blush (Wet n Wild Pearlescent pink).

Harshleen is a beauty blogger and mommy in Portland Oregon! You can find her at BeautyTidbits. She's also on Facebook and
Twitter.

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Classic Pinup Look from Beauty and Fashion Tech

I have a crazy week this week! To help me out, the next few days will be posts from some of my favorite fellow beauty bloggers!


This classic pinup makeup look is perfect for the holiday season, or for anytime that you want a glamorous, sexy, yet classy look.

Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation provides a dewy, fresh, and flawless look (hint, try their optical blurring brush for ultimate results). A Dior holiday eyes set provides everything you need for the classic eye shadow look, along with groomed brows and perfect lashes. Finally, top it all off with a brilliant red lip. Givenchy makes one of the best red lipsticks that money can buy.


About the Author: Carleen writes the beauty blogs Beauty and Fashion Tech and Girl Gloss. You can also visit her on Facebook or follow her on Pinterest.

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The Perfect Long and Sleek Pony Tail

So, I'm a bit late in breaking out a few of my favorite runway looks. But, I had to share this pony tail! I'm often found in a pony tail, though mine doesn't look this good.

This look was created by Guido, Redken Creative Consultant for the Versus Spring/Summer 2013 Runway in Milan.

Products used:
• hardwear 16 super strong gel
• glass 01 smoothing serum
• forceful 23 super strength finishing spray


Start with dry hair blow-dried straight, and apply hardwear 16 super strong gel to small sections of hair throughout the crown.

Right after applying the gel, gather hair into a tight ponytail right at the crown of the head and secure with an elastic.

Take a small section of hair out from under the ponytail and wrap around the base to cover the elastic. Secure with a pin.

Apply glass 01 smoothing serum all over the head to smooth and add shine.
Flatiron entire ponytail in sections until stick straight.

Finish with forceful 23 super strength finishing spray on the crown and pony to catch any fly-away's for a sleek finish.


Redken

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Edgy Side Bun: Yes, From a Bridal Runway

I know what you're thinking... a bridal show? Yes. TRESemmé Stylist Jeanie Syfu created this look for the Jenny Packham Spring/Summer 2013 Bridal Show. But, you can easily change out the bridal bling for something still blingy, but a bit less bridal. Or just skip the headband all together. I think with the crimped hair and low side bun this is a slightly edgy alternative to a traditional updo.

What you'll need:
• TRESemmé Climate Control Foaming Mousse
• TRESemmé 24 Hour Body Finishing Spray
• Small elastics
• Flat iron
• Curling Iron with 1 1/4” – 1 1/2" barrel
• Hairpins in a variety of sizes
• Clips
• Combs
• Brushes
• Blow dryer

How to get the look:
Apply TRESemmé Climate Control Foaming Mousse on damp hair and power dry on high heat using a flat brush.

Make a deep side-part and create a few random braids on the heavier side of the part, along the hairline and crown. Spray each braid with TRESemmé 24 Hour Body Finishing Spray and fasten with small elastics.

Use a flat iron to set the braids by running it along the length to create a natural crimped texture.

While the braids are cooling, use a curling iron to create soft loose waves throughout the rest of the hair.

Undo the braids and run fingers throughout, loosely pulling hair into a low ponytail to the opposite side of the part, behind the ear.

Loosely pin the length into a bun and spray with TRESemmé 24 Hour Body Finishing Spray for a soft and touchable finish.




TRESemme

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Mommy Fast Beauty: Shannon from A Girl's Gotta Spa

Having four sons has its pros and cons. Pro? No one touches my makeup. Con? They could care less about the intense focus needed to get ready and constantly need me "urgently" for something. I mean, how can I apply my liquid liner the right way when my 5 year old is tugging on my shirt complaining that his brothers won't let him win at Ninjago?

Here's my go-to products when I need to get my makeup and hair done quick, fast and in a hurry:

Redken Powder Fresh Dry Shampoo: Dry shampoo is a must for me. I don't wash my hair every day (and neither should you), so a few sprays of this and my hair looks like I took an hour to make it look fab. Smells good too!

Renee Rouleau Citrus C Lotion: Your skin always needs moisture and no amount of makeup can make it look good without being properly hydrated. I love how this citrus lotion smells and feels on my skin.

Maybelline The Falsies Volume Express Mascara: This non-clumping mascara makes it easy to whisk through application without too much fuss.

AVON Purple Haze Eyeshadow Quad: I never use individual eyeshadows, as I'm much more of a color-by-numbers kind of girl. And since I'm all over the violet eyeshadow trend, this quad is my go-to eyeshadow.

Bailey Cosmetics Foundation Duo: I love this mineral makeup powder foundation. The one pictured is for fair skin tones and has powder for the fall/winter and spring/summer (when your skin will be darker.)

Bailey Cosmetics Blush: This blush tone is universally appealing with buildable color.

Youngblood Cosmetics Kabuki Brush: This is my go-to brush for my foundation, blush and highlighter. It is super durable. I love it!

SimplyVera Vera Wang Liquid Eyeliner: The eyeliner application is the only aspect of this routine that takes the longest so that I have a precise line. But this liner is amazing!

Brows Gone WOW Tinted Brow Gel: Works just like a mascara wand to apply colored gel to your brows that will tame stray ones and fill in sparse areas.

L'Oreal Le Gloss from New York Nudes Collection: Keeping it simple and more of a nude lip with a bit of shimmer.

Since all of these products don't require anything too labor intensive, I can get my face (and hair) done in 15 minutes or less. Mom is happy to look good and can face the world, kids are happy that their referee is back in action.

Have you tried any of these products?

Shannon is the blogger behind A Girl's Gotta Spa, which launched in 2005. When not indulging in beauty treatments, she has 4 super cute boys (I've seen pics!), works in social media, and can sometimes be found on WBRE TV’s PA Live. We're in a lot of the same blogging groups, and she is always incredibly helpful.

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How To Contour Your Face: A Few Quick Steps to "Have You Lost Weight?"

I'm pretty sure that by now we've all seen those contouring how-to images over on Pinterest (like this one, this one with Kim or this one). They look a bit skeletal, and scary. No one wants to look quite that crazy (actually, we all want to look like the girl in the makeover by MaskCara), but how do you translate those brown stripes into something that looks natural?


So, it's pretty easy. I've found that the best way to have this look natural is to use the MAC creams under my foundation (you can see that this was the day I did my Refinery 29 inspired Green Ombre Eye).

The places that should have shadows have contouring (the edges of the face, under your cheek bones, etc) are shaded, and areas that protrude (the middle of the nose, the brow bone, middle of the forehead and chin) are lightened. This is a little more product than I use (about 25% more), but I did that just to show up in the pics. I do a little blending with my fingers, and then apply foundation over this. It then becomes very light and natural appearing.


If this is a bit too intensive for you, this could be easily done with a little matte bronzer (I like Rimmel London for this) and a little highlighter. I'd do a powder product after foundation.


Once everything is all blended out and the rest of my makeup is applied, you can't even tell! In person my face just looks a bit thinner. I have to be careful about contouring, if I put a little too much under my cheeks, friends at work start telling me to stop losing weight.


Have you contoured? What are your tips?

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A Quick Look: Everyday Neutral Eyes with Shimmer

This is a look I had about a week ago, and I wish I had known how well it would turn out! I would have taken pics during the process. Here's how I did it.

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Mommy Fast Beauty: On this Fast Day I Did... This!

So, for some reason until recently I never featured any of my "I'm in a crazy hurry and can barely do anything" looks. I guess I assumed they were not "good" enough to be featured on the interwebz? But, it appears that people really do like to see the fast and quick beauty routines.

So, this is what I looked like recently, and when I timed it (I really did, my iPhone happened to be sitting there, I went back and took pics later), this was 9 minutes and 20 seconds. I do variations on this all the time, usually I grab a different foundation/BB cream product, I might grab a different concealer or different shadow palette, but this is pretty much what I do.

Here's a quick peek at everything. I started the timer as I was turning on the water to wash my face and brush my teeth. Luckily the hubby had just gotten out the shower, so it was super fast to warm up!

While waiting for the water to warm up, I sprayed dry shampoo throughout my hair. This was definitely going to be a no shower day, and while my hair wasn't really oily (it was day #2 for my hair), I wanted to add a little volume. I sprayed Aveeno throughout my hair, shooshed my hands around a bit in my hair and threw it up in a very rough bun to get it out of the way while the dry shampoo did its magic.

Then I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth. Lightly patted dry, and raced to my vanity on the other side of my giant bathroom.

One of my favorite quick morning tricks is to use a BB Cream or tinted moisturizer to combine 2 steps. However, since I really only want coverage in the center of my face, I apply the tinted product only to that area. Then I use a regular spf daily moisturizer on the outer parts of my face and down on to my neck. I guess I didn't really save steps that way, but usually there's a lot less blending than a traditional moisturizer followed by foundation morning.

I then apply concealer wherever I need it, usually under my eyes and around the nose. I used fingers to apply and lightly blend, then quickly blend things out around my nose with a few pats of a Beauty Blender sponge.

Next I do my eyes. I use the NYX Eyeshadow base most days. It has quite a bit of coverage (I need to cover those vessels!) and it helps my shadow stay on all day. It applies with just a finger tip in a few seconds.

On fast days, I find it is easiest to grab a palette. Otherwise I sit there and debate about colors, dig through my MAC or my BFTE shadows... not the best use of time. Today I've grabbed the Shimmering Sands trio. I want a light and pretty look, I'll only use 2 of the shades (details below). I also have a brown liner (Elizabeth Arden) and black mascara (today it's from Lancome, Hypnose Drama).

I applied the lightest pink all over the lid and slightly over the crease with a big fluffy brush. Then I grabbed my crease brush and applied the medium shade into the crease, with a little more emphasis at the outer part of the lid. I completed the look with the brown liner to top and bottom lash lines and a quick coat of the mascara.

Finally, I use my fingers to apply a pretty pink cream blush (that's pink plum), I buff a light layer of powder into my t-zone and a quick swipe of a pretty pink gloss (MAC Galaxy Rose).

I have a little bit of time left, but my hair is still in that crazy bun! The dry shampoo has had a chance to work, so I pull it out and brush out the kinks and dry shampoo.

To create a little extra volume in my ponytail, I've taken the top and front 1/4 or so of my hair, and pinned it up out of the way. I then create a pony tail tight to my head with the rest of my hair. Now I can take the rest of my hair, smooth it a little over the current pony tail, and I can shape it easily to add a little volume. If I want a lot I'll even add some backcombing, though I rarely do that. Mostly, I get a bit more volume because with that base pony tail, all of the weight isn't pulling down the top. (I should write a post about how I do this, it needs pictures.)

So, in under 10 minutes I was ready to take care of my toddler for the day. We had a full schedule of play, lunch and music class!

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