I’ve recently given up nail salon visits and switched from hours-long salon hair color appointments to an amazing new at-home color system. It’s not because I don’t love professional help, it’s just that I’m busy! I need time saving beauty products! Those extra hours in the day matter to busy moms–or busy women in general, really – and I know that I’m not the only one who often lets primping take a back seat to errands or cuddling or uh, sleeping.
So in the name of keeping up appearances, here are some more of the best time saving beauty products that never let me down. Hope they help you too.
Time Saving Beauty Products: Nail Care
Like I mentioned, I’m a former salon manicure junkie. Now I do my nails at night while watching an episode of Breaking Bad. I’m terrible at keeping the nail color on my nails and off of my skin, but thanks to the Kiesque Liquid Palisade ($22), I can actually use darker colors and not look like a five-year-old painted my nails. This genius product creates a barrier on the cuticle and surrounding skin that you can simply peel off with tweezers after painting your nails. In other words, Kiesque makes DIY manis and pedis as idiot-proof as possible.
Time Saving Beauty Products: Brow Care
Brows are one of those facial features that need to be dealt with if you want to look polished. Mine can look very sparse if I don’t brush and define them, then keep them in place with brow gel, but that all takes time. The Tinted Brow Gel from Anastasia Beverly Hills ($22) does all three of these things at once with a single formula of botanical hair conditioners and essential oils. (Yes, I know conditioning eyebrow hair sounds silly but I love this stuff.) It comes in six shades so you can perfectly match it to your brows.
Time Saving Beauty Products: Lip Care
Burt’s Bees tinted lip balms (on sale now for $5.94, Drugstore.com or find them at local stores like CVS) may be one of the nicest, most affordable time saving tools in our makeup bags. It has the same great moisturizing properties we’ve always liked with Burt’s Bees 100% natural lip balms, plus a very subtle hint of color to help you look more polished when you step out. In fact, we’d recommend going with the darker Red Dahlia which still offers just a teeny hint of color–nothing like you’d think from the photos.
Another fun option for summer: The Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer ($4.24) which beats skipping lip color entirely on those nights your lips are feeling parched from a day in the sun. [photo: makeup marlin]
Time Saving Beauty Products: Skin Care
My mornings were becoming something of a lab experiment–a few drops of an antioxidant serum, followed by moisturizer, SPF, and a final touch of foundation. Those extra minutes on a busy morning can be the difference between me remembering to pack my kids’ water bottles for lunch. Then I discovered the new Elizabeth Arden Rx Triple Protection Factor. It’s basically a mineral SPF 50 sunscreen in a moisturizing base, with a light tint to cover minor complexion issues. Definitely not a replacement for heavy foundation, but great for minimal make-up wearers. Unfortunately it’s only sold through physician’s offices (although it’s non-prescription) but I think this is one product truly worth the trip to a doctor.
Our editor Liz swears by the Chantecaille Just Skin Tinted Moisturizer Sunscreen if you’re looking for a little more of a tinted foundation. It cuts your morning routine by combining non-toxic mineral sunscreen, a nice lightweight moisturizer, and a sheer tint foundation all at once. The coverage goes on so evenly, your face has a lovely but not made-up glow, and the botanical extracts means it smells fresh and kind of delicious. It’s not cheap, but a little goes a long way and the results are really terrific. ($67, Nordstrom affiliate)
Time Saving Beauty Products: Hair Care
Showers are that sacred time when I know have ten minutes to myself. Some days (ok, most days) those ten minutes turn into three minutes. When time is of the essence, the Wen Sweet Almond Mint Cleansing Conditioner ($32 at our affiliate Sephora) does the trick. While I tend to be skeptical of most shampoo-conditioner hybrids which tend to be ineffective in either or both capacities. But this all-in-one product replaces your shampoo, conditioner, and leave-in or deep conditioner, and it’s especially great for colored hair. (Ahem.) Just don’t expect a later, which takes a little getting used to, because it’s free of sulfates and you do need to leave it on your hair for three minutes (take that time to shave). But I love the soft, non-frizzy hair I get. Not to mention those few extra minutes in the morning.
EDITED TO ADD: There’s currently a big class action lawsuit against WEN shampoo and hair care products and while we didn’t experience any negative issues ourselves with them, we would definitely not recommend the WEN products right now in light of the hundreds of complaints.
Check out our Looking Good beauty Pinterest board for more tips and products to keep you looking your best, beautiful self.
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