Beauty: IN FAST FORWARD

Personalized Skin Care Analysis from Beauty.com

Courtesy of: Third Age

Makeup in Minutes
Achieve high-impact results with fewer products and smarter application techniques.

• Stay organized. Spare yourself the extra time it takes to wade through cosmetic-bag clutter by emulating makeup guru Laura Mercier, who divides her products into two kits: one with everyday essentials, the other with special-occasion products -- think body shimmer or that funky fuchsia eye shadow -- which rarely see the light of day. Another good idea? Sharpen your pencils and clean your brushes every other weekend. "There's nothing worse than getting stuck with a dull liner and not being able to find a sharpener when you're in a rush," says Danielle Doyle, a makeup artist in Houston.
• Get lush lashes, sans mascara. "If you have time for nothing else in the morning, curl your lashes," says Doyle. "It's a simple thing, but it really can make your eyes appear bigger, which perks up your whole look." Best bet: Shu Uemura's eyelash curler ($18; sephora.com).
• Solidify your base. Makeup artists agree: When it comes to foundation, sticks are fast and foolproof. Just blend into skin with your fingers and go. Bonus: They offer more opaque coverage than liquid formulas -- meaning you might not even have to worry about applying a separate concealer to obscure under-eye circles or a stray pimple. Try Shiseido the Makeup Stick foundation ($35; shiseido.com), which has an SPF of 17 and comes in 10 hues. We also like the oil-free Estee Lauder Minute Makeup Creme Stick Foundation SPF 15 ($33; esteelauder.com), available in six shades.
• Use the right tools. The pros generally poo-poo those tiny applicators that come with blush or eyeshadow compacts. "They make getting ready take forever!" says Doyle. "You're better off splurging on a couple of great brushes." For easy access, keep these in a cup wherever you do your makeup: A crease brush to enhance your eyes, a lip brush that can also be used to dab on concealer, and a big, puffy kabuki brush for blush, powder and bronzer. Try Sephora's brushes ($9 to $24; sephora.com).
• Stock up on shimmer powder. It's the ultimate multitasker, explains Bianca Alexander, a MAC makeup artist in New York. You can mix it into anything (dear lip gloss, hair gel, body lotion, even nail polish) to make a basic daytime look evening-ready in seconds. We like Revlon Bare It All Lustrous powder ($15; at drugstores) and Tarte Glistening powder ($40; tartecosmetics.com).

Hair in a Hurry
Try these tricks for head-turning strands in a heartbeat.

• Do your hair the night before. If you do the heavy lifting -- washing and styling -- in the evening, you'll save time in the a.m.," says Alien Edwards, a Los Angeles salon owner. Just sleep with your hair in a low ponytail or soft, wraparound headband to keep it neat. Upon waking, give yourself a quick blow-dry for volume, and fix flyaways with a few drops of a light smoothing styler such as John Frieda Frizz ease Extra-Strength Formula hair serum ($9; at drugstores), which contains conditioning marine extracts.
• Speed-dry your strands. Cut your drying ritual in half (no joke) by investing in a high-powered ionic tourmaline dryer, like the T3 Bespoke Labs Featherweight dryer ($200; sephora.com), which draws moisture out more quickly than traditional blowers, reducing the time you expose your hair to excessive heat. It is pricey, but your locks will thank you.
• Try spot-styling. For a fast, finished look, concentrate on just making the front of your hair presentable. For example, slip two jeweled clips into your bangs side by side. Insta-chic! Try Medusa Medium Jewelled crab clips ($38; zitomer.com).
• Quick-curl your hair. Rather than wrap individual sections around a curling iron, gather your hair into a ponytail and curl your whole pony at once. Undo to reveal Rapunzel-like waves.
• Rub out regrowth. Prolong the life of your hair color with one of the new fast-acting, at-home root touch-up kits, which provide just enough tint to cover telltale gaps. Try Nice 'n Easy Root Touch-Up ($7; at drugstores), which is available in 16 different shades. Or get The Mixer by Colour Revolution ($26; colour-revolution.com), an ingenious syringe that comes prefilled with colorant and developer and is available in six hues.

Score a Perfect 10 -- or 20!
Keep your nails in top shape without a salon trip.

• Polish while you talk. Any efficiency expert worth her salt will tell you to do two things at once whenever possible (and safely, of course!). How this works in the beauty arena: Keep quick-dry polish near your office or home phone so you can add flash to your fingertips during long conversations or conference calls.
• Go nude. "Fake a pro manicure by rubbing a little cuticle oil into the base of each nail," says Jan Arnold, co-founder of Creative Nail Design. "It immediately makes nails look shiny, like they were just painted with topcoat," she says, "and it helps plump up the cuticles, so they don't appear so unkempt" Try Creative Nail Design Solar oil ($9; creativenaildesign.com for stores) or OPI Avoplex NaII & Cuticle Replenishing oil ($15; opi.com for stores). Even Vaseline or lip gloss will work in a pinch.

Skin Care Stat!
Use these tips to pare down-and look even better.

• Stock your nightstand. For those late nights when taking off your makeup is the last thing you want to do, keep a pack of disposable wet wipes handy, like Pond's Clean Sweep Cleansing & Make-Up Removing towelettes ($5; at drugstores), which are presoaked with a gentle cleanser. "They're not ideal for everyday washing, but they get the surface oil and debris off your skin quickly, so it can't seep into pores and cause breakouts later," says Jeanine B. Downie, a dermatologist in Montclair, New Jersey, and a Shape advisory board member. (You can also make your own speedy face cleaners by tucking makeup remover-doused cotton rounds into a small Ziploc bag.)
• Look slim and toned. As any runway-show makeup artist can attest, the quickest way to appear leaner is to self-tan and firm up the surface of your skin so dimples are less noticeable. Luckily, the newest slow-build self-tanners not only tint your skin with each successive application, but they offer extra hydration to instantly quench and plump your cells, which gives you a firmer overall look. Try Jergens Natural Glow Firming daily moisturizer ($8; at drugstores), which is available for fair, medium, and tan skin tones.