How To Look Sort Of Average In Under Ten Minutes.

We all have those days where we wake up late, and have something important going on in the day where we need to look semi-decent. This happens to me far too often, so recently, I've had to perfect the art of looking average, in as little time as possible. 

When it comes to speed, I try to use as few products as possible, so immediately I eliminate primers, contours, highlighters and lipsticks, because it just takes too much time. So this means I start at foundation. My current foundation mix is Revlon's Nearly Naked mixed 50/50 with MAC Studio Sculpt. The Nearly Naked provides the dewy, fresh, natural looking skin, whilst Studio Sculpt bumps up the coverage. When I'm in a rush I just smear this across my face with my fingers, and then quickly buff it out with the Real Techniques buffing brush. If I need an extra coverage on any unwanted visitors then I look no further than the MAC Studio Finish concealer. It's my all time favourite concealer for blemishes, but if I'm in a hurry, I'll use this under my eyes too. I then dust Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder over my face with the RT Powder brush, to set my makeup and give a little extra coverage. 

Then on to brows, I'm currently loving this brow palette from the Along Came Betty range available from Tesco, it's a great dupe for the Benefit Brow-Zings, and it's only about six pounds. I use the little brush that comes with it to fill in the middle part with powder, and then set the whole thing with the pigmented wax that comes with it, before brushing them out with the little spoolie that comes with it to make them look more natural. I really think that doing your brows is one of the easiest ways to make it look like you have made an effort, even though it doesn't take too long.

Onto eyes, my fail-safe speedy look means smearing my MAC Paint Pot in Painterly over the lid, with a smudge of NARS Galapagos (top right in the palette) in the corners, to add a little definition. I finish off the eyes with a swipe of Rimmel Scandaleyes kohl in Nude in my waterline to make me look awake, and YSL Shocking Volume Mascara on the lashes, my favourite mascara ever.

Finally, a wash of Benefit Sugarbomb on the cheeks for a fresh, natural looking flush, and a slick of a tinted lip balm, my current favourite is the Korres Lip Butter in Pomegranate.

I've got this whole process down to about six minutes now, so it's perfect for on the go. Soon, I'll be able to do it without a mirror!

I normally finish this off with a spritz of dry shampoo in the hair, and a big scarf.

What are your most reliable products?

P.S. Thank you to my boyfriend's flatmate, Alex Penfold, for divulging from his usual car-based photography, and taking this picture and editing it for me, since I was camera and laptopless. You can go back to your cars now. If you like that sorta thing, you can check out his awesome photography here.