10 time-saving beauty tricks for busy girls on the go

This year, you want to look and feel your best. But with so many things going on in your busy life, how do you find the time?

The good news is that glowing up each morning doesn’t have to mean a lot of extra work. When you know the right beauty tricks, you can have everyone thinking you spent an hour on your polished look - when it actually took you 10 minutes!

Here are our top 10 tips and hacks for looking your best on even the busiest day:

1. Focus on your skincare 

Taking the time to treat your skin right. This doesn’t just mean having a strong, simple, consistent skincare routine - it also means drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and eating a healthy, balanced diet. If you’re doing the basics right, your skin will thank you for it, and you’ll feel beautiful even on no-makeup days, or days where you only have time for a bit of mascara and lipgloss. 

2. Use 2-in-1 products

Two-in-one makeup products are a total life-saver, as products like tinted moisturizer or glossy lip balm give you color, coverage and hydration in just one step. The same goes for your morning skincare routine, which you can simplify with multitasking products like a cleanser that also exfoliates or a moisturizer with built-in SPF.

3. Invest in long-lasting makeup products 

Choose makeup products that have long-lasting formulas to reduce the need for touch-ups throughout the day. Just remember this doesn’t always mean buying the most expensive products on the market - you’ll find plenty of long-wear foundations at your local CVS!

4. Always keep minis in your handbag

Carry travel-sized versions of your essential beauty products in your bag for quick touch-ups on the go. This could mean buying a travel-sized version of your favorite perfume, or buying two or three of your favorite lipsticks so you can keep one in each bag!

5. Embrace the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic and a simple makeup routine

The real secret to having a polished look in minutes is to get to grips with a quick and easy makeup routine - with key items like concealer, mascara, and a tinted lip balm. Emphasize one or two features that make you feel confident. It could be your eyes, lips, or cheeks. This allows you to show off your best features without spending too much time on a full-face routine.

Plus, minimal makeup is right on trend for 2024! The ‘clean girl’ makeup look is doing the rounds on Tik Tok, and what we love most about this look is that it centers around dewy skin and minimal eye makeup, meaning you can skip the eyeliner and the constant face powder touch-ups. All you need to do to touch up this type of makeup is reapply your lipgloss or lip balm every so often - and you don’t even need a mirror for that!

6. Enjoy the magic of dry shampoo

If you don’t already own dry shampoo, it’s going to be your new best friend! Whether you workout daily and don’t want to have to wash your hair each day, you can save a whole lot of time on washing and styling by using dry shampoo to refresh your hair and add volume in the mornings. You’ll also be doing your hair a huge favor in the long run, as it’s not good to wash your hair more than every few days.

7. Wash and blow-dry your hair the night before

For days where you dry shampoo just won’t cut it, save yourself some time in the morning by washing and blow-drying your hair the night before. You can even use the opportunity to spend the night sleeping in heatless curling rollers like these satin ones from Kitsch to wake up with perfect, healthy and styled hair!

8. Learn a couple of quick, cute hairstyles

Master a few quick and easy hairstyles that you can do on the go. Our top three favorites are the quick claw grip updo, the slick-back high ponytail, or the classic messy bun.

9. Prep your outfit and accessories the night before

If you’ve got an early start the next morning, lay out your outfit, accessories, and beauty essentials by your bed the night before to say goodbye to the morning rush. Your future self will thank you for it! 

10. Have your beauty returns picked up from your doorstep

Online shopping for beauty items is every busy girl’s best friend. But the one downside of online makeup shopping is that things don’t always arrive looking the way you expected - and then you need to send the products straight back. But why work those dreaded post office trips into your routine when you don’t have to? 

With ReturnQueen, you can save hours of time on packaging, posting and keeping track of returns by scheduling your returns to be picked up right from your doorstep. Just download the app to try it yourself - your first 7 days are completely free, no strings attached! 

You’re all set!

We hope these tips save you loads of time. Looking your best doesn’t have to take hours. When you set yourself up with the right products and the right routines, you can be out the door in five minutes - looking absolutely fabulous. 💁🏼‍♀️

To find out more about how you can save time with hassle-free doorstep returns, find out more about how ReturnQueen works and download the app here.