Mornings are a bit of an adventure these days. During the week, Kendrick usually spends the night in Connecticut or leaves while it’s still dark out to make it to his first class, so when the kids wake up (simultaneously, just to maximize the chances that both will require help with ten thousand things at the exact same moment), I’m on my own. Waffles and juice and what-are-we-going-to-wear-today and spit-up on the comforter and diaper changes and dogs that need to go out immediately, please. It’s all very exciting.
Now, coffee is non-optional, but all of my other basic needs – brushing teeth, breakfast, pants that are not of the pajama persuasion – generally need to wait until things calm down and my daughter takes her first nap, sometime around ten. Makeup? I don’t think so. I’m lucky if I even see a mirror before I leave the house for my first excursion of the day.
But here’s the problem: I don’t have time to care what I look like in the mornings…but I still sort of…do. And what I’ve found is that the best way to allow myself to get out of the house makeup-free but still feeling confident enough to face the world is to put in a little extra effort the night before, so that I wake up looking (at least somewhat) refreshed.
- Get It Off. Take every. single. bit of makeup off your face before you go to sleep. No excuses! If you have a habit of laying down in bed to watch The Soup and feeling too lazy to walk the three steps to the bathroom to wash your face (ahem), I have a solution for you: keep Simple Skincare’s Eye Make-up Remover Pads and Cleansing Facial Wipes in your bedside table. See? No more excuses.
- Work While You Rest. Choose products that keep trucking while you sleep and provide maximum benefits. On your face, apply a moisturizer that works all night long to hydrate your skin (try the Replenishing Rich Moisturizer; I love the texture and find it works for all seasons). Rub just the tiniest amount of oil into the ends of your hair for some deep conditioning action, massage cuticle oil into your nail beds, and get ready to wake up dewy and glowing and moisturized from head to toe.
- Speaking of moisture: Another way to guarantee that you’ll wake up looking your best is to hydrate at night. A pretty carafe set next to your bed can help inspire you to drink an extra couple of glasses of water before you fall asleep (remember to knock back whatever’s left the moment you wake up, when you’re extra in need of hydration).
One more tip for looking lovely – or at least relatively non-disastrous – in the AM: Choose an eye cream with a rollerball applicator, and keep it in a drafty spot or the refrigerator. When you apply it under your eyes, the rollerball and the product will help take down the puffiness, and the coolness will help to wake you up.
(Not gonna lie, eyelash extensions offer quite the little assist when it comes to going makeup-free in the mornings, too. Slightly addicted over here.)
Join Simple Skincare’s #NoMakeupWakeup sweeps by sharing your morning selfie for the chance to win a $12.99 coupon (so that you can stock up on your favorite Simple products and have a beautiful #NoMakeupWakeup, too).
