Your alarm clock rings and you glance over to your bedside table to see what time it reads before you hit the snooze button for the third time. After oversleeping 20 minutes you finally roll out of bed and sleepily walk to your bathroom to brush your teeth. You squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste and groan irritably as you brush your teeth.

For me this is the worst part of the morning.

After I brush my teeth what motivates me to finish getting ready and start my school day: makeup. The simplest activity can change my mood. Opening my makeup drawer, picking out my foundation, bronzer, and mascara persuades me to get up every morning.

To prepare for my makeup, I always start off by, washing my face with warm water to wake myself up, and then using a pore minimizing acne cleanser.

After I wash my face, I then moisturize. Moisturizing your face is one of the best ways to get healthy, clean, and clear skin. Regardless if you have oily or dry skin, moisturizing is a necessity for everyone, whether you choose to wear makeup or not.

After moisturizing, I spritz my face with the Mario Badescu rose water spray. Mario Badescu’s rose water spray includes healthy ingredients such as aloe vera, herbs, and rosewater. This spray helps rejuvenate and refresh your healthy, glowing skin.

Then, I start off my makeup by filling in my eyebrows with the Dipbrow pomade in the shade chocolate by Anastasia Beverly Hills. This product comes in several different shades for different skin colors.

I then use a pore minimizing primer before I apply foundation. My personal favorite primer is the Hangover primer by Too Faced. I apply the primer all over my face with my fingers and then I apply my foundation with a Beauty Blender. The Beauty Blender is shaped like an egg and comes in several different colors, which is meant to help blend out foundation, concealer, crème contour, and pressed powder flawlessly.

I use the It Cosmetics CC Cream in the shade medium (in the summer I use the shade medium-tan). This foundation has medium coverage and has a dewy natural finish to it. I apply the foundation directly on my face and then blend the foundation with the Beauty Blender.

I typically stray away from concealer because I do not have intense bags underneath my eyes, but an excellent full coverage concealer would be Shape Tape by Tarte. After I apply foundation I “bake” underneath my eyes using the Laura Mercier translucent setting powder. To bake underneath my eyes I dip my Beauty Blender into the translucent powder until one side of the Beauty Blender is completely covered and then lightly apply the product underneath my eyes.

I let the product sit for a couple of minutes and then wipe away the product with a kabuki brush. This technique is supposed to set the foundation and keep it from separating and getting oily throughout the day while creating a matte finish.

I wipe the powder off of my face and immediately you can see the brightening effect of the powder.

Next I take my Chocolate Soleil bronzer by Too Faced and apply the product directly underneath my cheek bones, temples, and lightly on my nose. This bronzer is completely matte and smells like chocolate.

To create a natural look I apply the Hula Quickie Contour Stick by Benefit cosmetics on my eye lids to create a natural, bronze eye look. I then curl my eyelashes and use the Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara, and Covergirl Clump Crusher mascara to add volume, length, and color to my lashes.

Lastly, I use Champaign Pop highlighter by Becca and Jacklyn Hill and apply it directly on my cheek bones, down my nose, and cupids bow to create a sun kissed, illuminating effect to the skin.

Once I am done with my makeup I use the All Nighter setting spray by Urban Decay. Using a setting spray allows the makeup to stay in place throughout the day and this setting spray retails between $32 (larger size) and $15 (travel size).

This makeup routine takes up the majority of my time in the morning and can range from 20 minutes to 40 minutes depending on how I’m feeling in the morning. This routine can easily be done in 10 minutes and not every single product that is mentioned can be used to create this makeup routine.

Prices/Sizes of Products Used

• Mario Badescu rose water spray: $12.00 and 8.0 oz. (biggest size), $7.00 and 4.0 oz. (travel size).
• Anastasia Beverly Hills Dipbrow pomade: $18.00 and 0.14 oz.
• Too Faced Hangover primer: $32.00 and 1.35 oz. (bigger size), $15.00 and 0.68 oz. (travel size).
• Beauty Blender: $20.00
• It Cosmetics CC Cream: $38.00 and 1.08 oz.
• Tarte Shape Tape: 27.00 and 0.33 oz.
• Laura Mercier translucent setting powder: $38.00 and 1 oz.
• Too Faced Chocolate Soleil bronzer: $30.00 and 0.35 oz.
• Benefit Cosmetics Hula Quickie Contour Stick: $28.00 and 0.3 oz.
• Maybelline Lash Sensational mascara: $8.99 and 0.32 oz.
• Covergirl Clump Crusher mascara: $7.99 and 0.44 oz.
• Becca and Jacklyn Hill Champaign Pop highlighter: $38.00 and 0.28 oz.
• Urban Decay All Nighter setting spray: $32.00 and 4.0 oz. (bigger size), $15.00 and 1 oz. (travel size).