Genevieve Brown shares her suggestions for streamlining your beauty routine.
“High maintenance to be low-maintenance” is a fun, recent TikTok beauty trend. The term accompanies videos of people offering time-saving beauty tips. The first video of this kind I saw showed a girl painstakingly contouring her face with fake tan so as to avoid the need to apply contour with her makeup. The big reveal was her face, looking slightly more orange, and slightly less well, than it did before – I think I’ll stick to my makeup, thanks! She was delighted with her results though, and more power to her. The idea of putting a bit of extra effort into your beauty regime to save time later does appeal to me though, a great deal. This is the entire premise of skincare – with better skin you don’t need to be as arsed about foundation and the like – and I am a skincare devotee, for better or worse. When I thought about it more, I realised there are actually a couple of things I do, beyond skincare, to skip some daily steps in my beauty routine. If this intrigues you, read on!
I have a fringe, first of all. I enjoy having long hair, but I’ve recently come to terms with the fact that I’m unwilling to style it so that it falls just-so, or mess about with lots of hair bobbles. When I see other girls with intricate hair I think it looks absolutely beautiful, but it will never be something I’m capable of! Having a fringe is an instant hairstyle, however you like to wear your hair. When it’s wet you just need to brush it back and forth while blow-drying to get it to sit nicely. It also feels good to forgo makeup and let your fringe do the work sometimes. Many hairdressers offer fringe trims from about £5-to-free, which nicely stops maintenance getting too expensive as well!
I also use a lash serum. Lash serums are products which you apply like mascara, for lashes that look thick and long after a few weeks’ use. The mechanism by which they work is mysterious, if not disturbing, but many of them absolutely do work – I use NYK1 Lash Force, not cheap at £45.00, but cheaper than lash extensions and longer-lasting than a tint and lift. I like mine because it lasts for many months – you don’t need to apply it every day – and the wee boost it gives my puny lashes allows me to skip liner and shadow. The main downside is that you can’t see a difference on lashes without mascara, particularly on myself because I’m a blonde in lash only. I quite like a wholesome, lash-free, Sissy Spacek-in-Badlands-look sometimes though, so it’s nice to be able to keep that option open. I’ve been asked if I’ve had my lashes done when I’m wearing mascara, so I stay loyal to this serum!
My final piece of advice for you is to buy an in-shower body moisturiser. I use the Sanctuary Spa Wet Skin Miracle Moisturiser, which is £8.50, but Nivea sell a version as well. I hate, hate, hate applying body lotion and I always have. I hate the sensation of it and I hate waiting for skin to become sufficiently dry so that you can put your clothes on post-shower. However, I also hate having itchy, dry limbs, which is the consequence of not applying body lotion. This is especially true in winter. A moisturised body just looks a bit healthier and happier. For this reason, I’m indebted to in-shower moisturisers for making me feel glam while saving time!
