Guest post: beauty in a rush with Best Things in Beauty

Today, the always polished Charlestongirl from www.bestthingsinbeauty.blogspot.com shares her tips for getting out of the house in five minutes flat.

The word "rush" may may bring to mind a faster pace than usual - perhaps a few minutes faster than the hour a gal might spend on her beauty routine in the morning. I don't think of that as a rush. I'm thinking of a full-fledged emergency, when you need to look good with only five - maybe 10 minutes max - to "get pretty" before leaving the house.

It happens to all of us: moms who spend most of their time getting the kids out the door and on the way to school, night owls who overslept, gals who suddenly remembered an appointment. Here's what I'd recommend when you find yourself in a pinch for time.

Let's assume your hair is clean. Perhaps its style went kaput overnight, but it's clean. There's nothing like a ponytail (oh so stylish right now) to save time. Even if your hair isn't quite long enough, warm up a curling iron while you're doing something else and give a curl to the tendrils that won't stay put in your band. You'll look like you planned it!

Clean your face! If you bathed the night before and feel clean, you might skip a morning shower, but don't leave home without preparing your face. If you don't have time to wash your face, use one of the cleansing waters and a cotton pad. I like La Prairie's Cellular Cleansing Water for eyes and face, but there are choices galore. You might even want to use a wipe designed for the face like Josie Maran's Bear Naked Wipes.

Treat your face! Your skin has to look good. On a normal day, I use an eye cream, treatment serum, and moisturizer. I might even use a spot-treatment too. If I'm in a hurry, I'll skip the serum. Forget about spot-treatments; you've got to move. If you can use a double-duty tinted moisturizer - one that evens out your skin tone and hydrates your skin in one fell swoop, go for it. It saves a step.

I think concealer is a must for most women. Use it quickly and blend it well. Try Temptu's Under Eye Concealer, a treatment concealer you can smear on directly from the tube. Le Métier de Beauté's Large Concealer Brush is a perfect blending tool for beauty in a hurry. If you do a great job applying your concealer, use the perfect shade, and blend it well, you might be able to skip foundation entirely.

Let's consider eye shadow. Use a concealer designed to be used on your eyelids, and you'll brighten your eyes. Skip the eye shadow. Heresy you say? Try it. You'll need mascara, though, unless you plan to wear sunglasses all day. If you select a good non-clumping mascara, such as Maybelline's DEFINE-A-LASH, you can apply your mascara in two minutes or less - probably the longest step in my rush routine.

You won't have time for bronzer or contouring. Just add some color to your face with a blusher. I can apply a powder blush with a fluffy blush brush in four seconds. Smile at yourself, swirl it onto the apples of your cheeks, and move on to lipstick, the finishing touch. Choose a look you like (matte, shiny) and make sure to use a lip product that does it all. I love the new Dior Addict. It adds color and shine in seconds. No gloss needed.

There you have it - a polished look in ten minutes or less. No one will know you went tearing out of the house without a moment to spare.