Getting My Game Face On

I like to sleep. I am not fun to be around when I don't. And it's hard to get enough sleep during the school year while juggling the demands of teaching with being a wife, a doggie momma, and an aspiring blogger.

So any corners I can cut in the morning that allow me to sleep a little longer I will try. Those 5 precious extra minutes can be a game changer. And as it turns out, it takes me about 5 minutes total to do my hair and makeup everyday, so I thought today I would share the weekday products that allow me to get out the door in a hurry while still looking reasonably put together.

This is my favorite miracle product of all time: Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer.

It's a threefer (if that's not an actual term, it is now): it moisturizes, it has sunscreen, and it covers like a good foundation. Just a pearl sized amount of this liquid gold patted on my face makes me look more awake than I actually am. Brilliant.

I follow this up with Nars blush in Orgasm.

This always makes the beauty bestseller lists year after year, and there's a reason why - the combination of pink, peach and shimmer is just right on this fair skin regardless of the season. I have been using it for about 5 years now, and sometimes I want to try something new just to mix it up, but I always come back to this blush within a month's time.

I skip the concealer since I like to believe that my glasses hide the dark circles under my eyes, but I do try to brighten them up by curling my lashes with a Shu Uemura Eye Lash Curler (they're the best) and a coat of Estee Lauder's Sumptuous Mascara on my top lashes only.

Finally, I set the moisturizer and blush with a pressed powder. I am not loyal to any specific product; right now I am using Benefit Boxed Powders in Georgia Peach (which they don't make any more), but I have used Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder in the past, as well as Bare Essentials Mineral Veil.

In terms of my hair, I am a wash and go kinda gal. But again, I am a wee bit lazy and only like to wash every other day. Dry shampoo is the best.product.ever! for those days that the hair's a bit too greasy to just run out the door. I love Rene Furterer's Naturia Dry Shampoo, but at $24 a pop plus shipping and handling, I have switched to Umberto Beverly Hills' version to save some dough. (It's less than half the cost and I can get it at my neighborhood Target, unlike the Furterer, which I have to order online.)

There you have it: my morning beauty routine. I am willing to shave off even more time, so if you have a time-saver that I am skipping, let me know! I am sure an extra 30 seconds of sleep can make a difference.

Have a great weekend!