The Best 10 Minute Morning Routine For Those Short On Time

With all of our hectic schedules and trying to get out the door in the morning, sometimes applying makeup takes the back burner.  But not any longer as I am going to share a 10-minute morning routine. 

Before I get started is important to know that it all starts with prepping the skin, if you skip this step, you’ll look like you did your makeup in a JUST a FEW minutes!

Prep the Skin
You want to start with the healthiest looking skin as possible.  You see, there are tons of damaging elements that are skin is exposed to every day, like dust, pollutants, sweat, even makeup, all in which can clog the pores, leaving the skin looking dull and uneven. Hence when you apply makeup to this skin, you end up creating false wrinkles, your makeup can cake and draw attention to your imperfections.

So to thoroughly prep the skin I suggest using the Soniclear Petite Deluxe system from Michael Todd Beauty, which includes the Soniclear Petite and the Damascus Rose Milk Cleanser, that is suitable for all skin types! After your sonic cleansing, you are now ready to start your makeup application.

Multiple Uses Of Your Makeup
To stay in the time-frame, I recommend using some of the same makeup items for multiple purposes. You want to start with your eyes first as you don’t want any eye makeup to mix in with your foundation.

Eyeshadow
For a quick, all overlook, a bronzer or the one color shadow approach works wonders. Simply apply on the entire lid from the lash line to a bit above the crease and don’t forget to blend out.  

Mascara
This one takes the cake as it has tons of uses for the eye.  You first want to start by using it on your eyebrows; this is one step you don’t want to skip as eyebrows frame a person’s eyes. The mascara is perfect for defining and setting the brows.  If you want more of a defined look combine it with an eyebrow pencil and make sure to fill in the brow with tiny strokes; think of little hairs and blend.

Eyeliner
Next is to use it as an eyeliner and lastly on the lashes!  To save time on your eyelashes, apply to upper lashes and the corners only.

***IMPORTANT. You want to make sure you do your eyebrows before applying your eyeshadow.  As once you have framed your eyes, you will have a better idea as to where you should be using the shadow.

Even Out Your Skintone
Instead of using a thick foundation that would require an extra step of using a primer as well as a moisturizer.  You can use a multipurpose product like a BB or CC cream, as most of these can serve as a primer, moisturizer, and a sheer foundation for a quick application.

The best product for me is one from ItCosmetics, Your Skin But Better™ CC+ Illumination™ with SPF 50+. This is a Color Correcting Illuminating Full Coverage Cream that includes Anti-Aging Hydrating Serum + SPF 50+ UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum Physical Sunscreen. Not only does this go on flawlessly, it also adds that illumination so it is many products in one!

Bring Yourself To Life
It 'd be good if we all woke up with a radiant glow, but most of us don’t.  So the key to adding this extra pop of radiance is with a highlighter. 

Where to Apply
Under The Eyes: This is perfect for banishing those under eye bags.  It also brightens your look, allowing you to lighten the most shaded area, giving you an instant lift appearance.

For an added luminous look, sweep under the brow bone, corner of the eye, above your cheekbone, and the center of the forehead.

A Universal Makeup Brush For Your Face: To save even more time, you need to add the Michael Todd Beauty SonicBLEND makeup brush to your beauty arsenal, as it applies makeup at sonic speeds up to 200 times per second.  It is also ideal for applying your foundation and highlighter, hence saving you additional time from having to use multiple brushes!

Cream Blush: Cream blushes are moisturizing, and because of this, they are going to give you slightly dewy look that you can’t achieve with a powder. Plus the texture of the blush is perfect for aging skin and for applying to the lips for a hint of color.

Finish your look by applying a lip gloss!

And there you have it! After a few tries, you’ll have this down in no time!

The Best Tips To Better Looking Skin

When you see someone with beautiful skin, do you wonder how they keep their skin looking so radiant and healthy? Was it surgery, good health, their diet or a slathering of some great skincare products?

Well, to be honest, it is probably a combination of most of those, with surgery being the least common.

You see, great looking skin involves a healthy lifestyle and great skin-care habits enabling you to produce glowing, radiant looking skin. Hence,  what you put in your body is equally as important as what you put on it.

So, if you want the best tips to better looking skin continue reading! 

Maintain A Balanced Diet 
While eating some of those prepackage foods may be convenient, they are not always best for your skin.  Too much-refined foods, such as sugar, or that with a lot of added salt can drain the body of essential vitamins and minerals. This, in turn, encourages wrinkles and premature aging.  Instead, you want to eat foods that are rich in vitamins and essential fatty acids, such as fruits, vegetables, fish, and nuts.  Nuts like walnuts are great for the skin and fruits like Papaya are also fantastic!

Exercise
Working out brings more oxygen to your skin cells, leaving you with skin that's nourished and firmer. Exercise also helps to reduce stress.

Relax
As most of us know, stress shows up in our face, which can potentially aggravate skin conditions and cause premature aging.  A recent visit to my dermatologist also confirmed that physical stress could produce more cortisol,  a hormone in the body that can break down collagen and elastin, ultimately leading to wrinkles! So, find your zen time!

Beauty Sleep
Beauty sleep is real! The goal is to have 6-8 hours of sleep a night as lacking sleep can cause a lot of adverse effects on your skin, like dark circles under the eyes, bags, and that darn stress hormone can get elevated hurting your skin's quality! Oh, and don't forget to take your makeup off before you go to bed as makeup can clog your pores which can lead to irritation and blemishes!

Use Natural Skincare Products
The most revolutionary skin-care products today merge nature with science. For example, Michael Todd Beauty, this brand represents a synergy between science and the certified organic plants and fruits. The result is a unique skincare experience that enhances the complexion for years to come without the use of potentially harmful ingredients so common in many other brands.

Look At ALL The Ingredients In Your Skincare Products

While the packaging might be pretty, what comes on the inside is key!  Synthetic fragrances and other harmful ingredients can aggravate the skin and lead to premature aging.  Hence you want to stick with a skin care line that pays attention to the ingredients they add and once again Michael Todd Beauty is great at adding only the best organic ingredients to their skincare products.  The fragrances they use are real, no synthetic fragrances or colors are ever added to a Michael Todd Beauty product.  Instead, they use natural aromatic extracts scents that are much kinder to the skin.

Ingredients like…
Minerals: Charcoal and Kaolin Clay for their purifying properties.

Oils: Refreshing essential oils such as olives, jojoba, neem, seabuckthorn seed and tea tree are also used.

Butters: Altra-rich moisturizing butters like cupuacu, shea, and mango
 … all in which are excellent for the skin!

Another key component to a beneficial skincare product line, like Micheal Todd Beauty,  is to make sure that there are also anti-aging ingredients added, as simply rubbing a piece of fruit on your face isn't going cut it!

The success of Michael Todd Beauty line is that they combine the right blend of organic and natural ingredients and specific minerals, peptides, EGF, DMAE, beneficial acids with other extraordinary anti-aging and skin clarifying ingredients to help promote balance, protect the skin’s youthful look, giving us a healthier more radiant looking complexion.

So as you can see, while whipping out your credit card and purchasing some great products may seem significant, you need to realize that a great looking complexion is more than skin and wallet deep!

Speaking of wallets, Michael Todd Beauty is having a Thanksgiving sale, with 40% off everything, Click here to start shopping and use code TNX40 during checkout! 

10 Beauty Essentials All College Girls Must Own

Let’s be realistic most college students live in small spaces.  It can be a dorm or an apartment that you share with a few people.  Which means you have limited room for your beauty essentials, as well as limited funds.  This is why it is important to streamline some of your beauty supplies, whether it be your hair products, skincare, or makeup.  And today I am going to share with you my Top 10 Beauty Essentials All College Girls Must Own!

Skincare Products
Face it there are tons of damaging elements that are skin is exposed to every day, especially in a crowded college environment.  Elements like dust, pollutants, sweat, and even makeup.  Plus college can be stressful, not to mention your diet of fast food and possibly alcohol.  All in which can affect your skin, by causing clogged pores, leaving your face looking dull, uneven, and prone to breakouts!

That is why it is important that all college students have a great skincare regimen in place that is properly cleansing and exfoliating your face! If you don’t, all the limited money you’re spending on makeup is going down the drain!

A Sonic Cleansing Brush
The must have skincare item for all college students is The Michael Todd Beauty Soniclear Petite Deluxe.  This deluxe set has all the essentials you need, helping you to remove your makeup, exfoliate, prevent breakouts, moisturize and more.  See what all comes in this set below.

Includes:

• A Soniclear Petite: This is the ultimate sonic cleansing device for your face. If you are not familiar with a Soniclear, you can check it out here.  But briefly, this brush uses sonic wave powered cleansing that removes impurities, clears pores and thoroughly cleanses the skin leaving it ready to absorb your skincare products better! And of course, it helps with makeup application…As makeup always goes on better when you have a clean palette to work with!
• The soniclear petite is also waterproof (not merely water resistant) so you can use it in the bath or shower.
•  A USB Inductive Charger which magnetically attaches to the handle, allowing you to charge it anywhere, and with limited space this is a must.     
• Soniclear Petite Travel Case.  With the size of a dorm or sharing a bathroom, this can come in handy for storage.
• Damascus Rose Milk Cleanser that is perfect for moisturizing while helping to remove makeup! And, it is ideal for all skin types!
• Lastly, it has a 3-year warranty! So this bad boy is going to last you throughout college!

BONUS: Michael Todd Beauty is having a Back to School SALE. 20% OFF Entire Site: 

Use Code: BTS20

Makeup Eraser

You are going to need something to remove your eye makeup.  While makeup wipes can be great, they are costly.  Instead, you want to add a makeup eraser to your arsenal. This incredible eco-friendly cloth removes ALL of your makeup, and the best part is it does it with only water!  Not only do you use only water, but you can also throw this bad boy in the washing machine with your regular load of towels and dry in the dryer! This Makeup Eraser is reusable, so there is no need to buy and throw-away cotton balls, one time use makeup remover wipes and expensive eye makeup removers!

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Hair

Dry Shampoo
This is a time saver!  Plus, it helps to save you money on shampoo and hair treatments.  Over-washing your hair strips your locks of all of its protective oils, and because of this your body compensates, by actually producing additional oil.  Each time you wash your tresses, the more oils your scalp produces.  A dry shampoo can help give your hair those extra few days and add volume to your hair.  The trick is to apply it when your hair is wet, (before it gets dirty) helping to absorb oil.  You can then go back and use as needed.

Conditioner
A great leave-in conditioner like the Quenching Complex from Bumble and Bumble can also save and treat your hair.  This product has multi-purposes; this is why I like it.  Not only does it help to quench the hair, but it also seals in moisturize, renews shine and can be used as a treatment for the repeated applications of a heat styling and brushing! Trust me; this is one of those things you get what you pay for. 

Flat Iron
When most of us think of a flat iron, we think of great super sleek hair.  But this hair tool can do much more than that.  You can use it to create tons of different curls, waves, and if you’re in a pinch you can even use it to remove wrinkles from shirt collar!  

Makeup

An Eyeshadow Palette
This is one of those things that you must invest in, as when you do, you save money in the long run. How? A great eyeshadow palette that has excellent pigment and minimal fallout will allow you to use less product to get the job done, hence lasting longer, while saving money. Additionally, you can use some of the shadows as a highlighter on the face, as a bronzer and on the lips with some balm.   I suggest one of the Urban Decay Naked Palettes. Oh and these palettes also come with an eyeshadow brush and a mirror, making this a 6 in 1 product!

A CC Cream
Instead of using a thick foundation that would require an extra step of using a primer, SPF as well as a moisturizer.  You can use a multipurpose product like a BB or CC cream, as most of these can serve as a primer, moisturizer, SPF and a sheer foundation for a quick application. The one I suggest is IT Cosmetics Full Coverage SPF 50 CC Cream Illumination w/ Plush Brush.  This is six products in one, and you can get it on QVC, with flex pay!

Mascara
If you are running late to class and don’t have time for makeup, one thing you should never leave without is mascara.  Mascara can help to open the eyes, to make you look more rested.  Plus choosing one that adds volume and length will give your eyes the much-needed pop if you are not wearing any other makeup.

BONUS: Mascara is also perfect for defining and setting the eyebrows. And a mascara like, IT Cosmetics Tightline, can also be used as an eyeliner! It's your eyeliner, black mascara primer and mascara in one!

Lip Balm
No one wants dry, chapped lips, especially if you have to walk outside getting from class to class. This is why I suggest a product that is multipurpose for your lips!  You can do this with a lip exfoliating product, like this one for under $3 from ELF, which sloughs away the dryness and replenishes providing instant hydration.

Lastly, as I’m sure you may have noticed, all of these items have multi purposes, which helps with the limited storage and funds that most college students have!

So there you have it beauties!  My top 10 products every college girl should have in their beauty bag! Do you have any must-haves?  Let me know below!