We’ve all been there. Whether it was your alarm clock having a meltdown or you had an extra minute too many in bed, rushing to get ready is a stress we all endure at some point. But it’s how you take on the challenge of getting ready in five minutes that’s the real game changer, do you crumble under the pressure or rise to the occasion?

Often rushing around as you get ready results in forgetting to add a coat of lippy or your mascara exists more on your lids than it does on your lashes. So, for those of us that are yet to master the mascara in the rear view mirror, or applying lipstick evenly over a speed bump we have a few tips and tricks for making undone make-up look chic and well put together, no matter how much time you have.

Face

When time is limited, there’s no time for coverage building here. If I’m in a rush I want something that will even my complexion and cover my blemishes and dark circles in a single sweep. For this look I popped on the Vichy Dermablend  Fluid Corrective Foundation in Opal, a great pick if you want something that’s high coverage and blendable. The high coverage formula means you can also apply a little extra to areas of concern, if you need to skip the concealer.

And when it gets close to the wire and your makeup application ethics go out the window, we’ll still be safe with this foundation. It blends beautifully with your fingers and has the added benefit of SPF 35 – one less thing to worry about!

To add a little colour to the face the Michael Kors Bronze Powder in Beam is the perfect two-in-one, the copper-toned bronzer will act as a bronzer and blusher in one, illuminating and bronzing the skin. Buff onto the cheekbones, across the forehead and on the bridge of the nose for a healthy, sun-kissed glow.

Eyes

When there’s no time for a cut-crease or a beautifully blended eyeshadow look, I gravitate towards cream eye shadows. There’s no need for eye shadow brushes, you can create a look that gives the illusion of hours of blending when it was just a few smudges with your finger. The Shiseido Shimmering Cream Eye Colors are a cream dream, highly pigmented and more importantly crease-proof.

I chose the shade Meadow to pop all over my lid and on the inner corner, the golden hues of the eyeshadow really open the eyes and give a wide awake look even if you don’t feel it. For definition I then applied the shade Sunshower, a copper/rose gold shade with my finger into the outer corner of my eye and through my crease and smudged it out slightly. If you have a few extra minutes to spare you can grab a small liner brush and use the shade Leather along your upper and lower lash-line for intensity – and the great thing is you don’t have to be careful with it, if it all goes wrong you can just blend it out and it’ll still look amazing.

Lips and Hair

Application time plays a big part in what makeup items I grab when time is of the essence. Bright lipsticks can be a little time consuming if you’re not well practised, so lip liners can be a great option to get long-wearing colour on your lips. The Shiseido Smoothing Lip Pencil in BE701, a beautiful pinky-nude, is the perfect ‘your lips but better’ shade, and you handily use your finger to blend out any mistakes – yes, it happens to the best of us! To add sheen to the lips and a boost of moisture, use the Michael Kors After Sun Lip Balm, a lightly tinted balm with pearlised, translucent shimmer that will leave the lips with a lustrous glow. Paired together the Shiseido lip liner and Michael Kors After Lip Balm create an effortless lip look that takes no time at all, and has minimal up keep.

And finally, my 5 minute hair – undone style can begin as soon as you step out of the shower with the new Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion. For this look I spritzed Surf Infusion through the lengths of my damp hair before blow drying, and finished the style with a couple more spritzes and some scrunching (you can read my full Surf Infusion get the look here). Sprays like this can be a girl’s best friend when you’re in a hurry, giving your hair beautiful texture and completing your imperfect look, perfectly.