CHRISTY: Vancouver & Seattle Lifestyle, Travel, Fashion, Beauty, Business, & Food Blogger ❀

As a bit of a busy bee, I try to make my life easier by experimenting with different beauty products and techniques. I went from taking about 1 to 1.5 hours to get ready to taking only 30 minutes or less to touch up each morning. It took a bit of an investment but I saw it as an investment to save my valuable time and efforts, while also reducing stress!

I also compiled this list after hearing from my friends who also agree some of these hacks changed their lives!

Time To Get Ready: ~15-30 minutes

Investment: ~US$200-$3000

Hack #1: Foundation With SPF (~$50)

I’m big on putting on sunscreen to protect my skin and there are foundation products out there that actually include SPF! So now I save time putting them on separately.

Some of my favourite products: IT Cosmetics CC Cream, Etude House Double Lasting Vegan Cover Foundation (I got recommended this at my colour analysis session!)

Hack #2: Ombre Powder Brows (~$200-500)

This was a life changer! I used to spend a full 30 minutes trying to draw out my brow properly, and honestly I felt so stressed out. After doing this, I can wake up with natural-looking yet polished brows and I only need to touch it up once annually. I picked powder ombre brows which creates a more natural effect.

I did mine from a friend at a discount for around $200 the first session, then annual touch ups which are around $100-$150. The process is a bit complicated though but acceptable.

You need to not drink any caffeine before the session. During the session, it may hurt a little bit but it was bearable for me (I don’t have a very high pain tolerance). It will take 1-2 hours and after that, you don’t want to get it wet for 24 hours or so and to keep out of the sunlight until it heals after a week or so. It gets quite flakey the first time and may be a bit embarrassing – after 3-4 days, you can try using an eyebrow pencil to colour in some of the flakes (it’s healing – don’t pick them off!).

After 1-2 weeks, you’ll have wonderful and natural-looking brows! Be sure to pick your brow technician well – look at reviews and pictures.

Hack #3: Magnetic Lashes Or Press-On Lashes (~$15-$60)

I recently came across magnetic lashes that aren’t your typical ones. You don’t need to put on any eyelash glue at all! Prior to this, I was using KISS eyeliner glue and then putting on fake eyelashes or doing an eyelash lift and then putting on eyelash primer and mascara. But this new discovery is much quicker! I was able to snap on my lashes in just a minute or less.

The ones I tried out was the viral Wosado Eyelashes. They have some natural styles that I like too. It’s on the pricier side though but it was definitely life-changing. Each set of lashes comes with magnetic top and bottom layer that snaps together when you clip it close to your eyelash line. It also stuck on for the whole day! The only challenge is to get it to clip close to your eyelash line so it might take a few tries.

I also came across Hanakoko press-on lashes that looked very easy to put on. I’ll be trying this soon! They just stick on when you put them on and doesn’t seem to fall off easily.

Hack #4: Laser Hair Removal ($1000-$2000)

If you dislike hair on your body and spend time trying to get rid of them sometimes, laser hair removal is such a life changer. I was always so hesitant to try and felt the process was way too expensive and time consuming.

I recently discovered that medical spas charge a lot lesser and you can also find some Groupons from decent clinics with reputable reviews and results! I managed to find a package that was at a 50% discount for only $1000 for 6 sessions! After the first session, most of my hair was already gone (I have black hair though so it might’ve been easier).

I’ll be honest though – it did hurt quite a bit especially near my bone areas, but beauty is pain right? Some wind from a small fan helped ease some of the pain, and also taking breaks in between.

Afterwards, you don’t want to take super hot showers or expose the part to sunlight as much as possible. It made sense to get this done during the winter times. It’s usually one session every 6-8 weeks.

Hack #5: Straight Or Curly Hair Perm ($200-$500)

If you spend a lot of time on your hair or have trouble keeping it smooth and shiny, hair perms are super helpful. My main concern is the damage so if you have thin hair then this may not be good for you. My hair is extra thick so this makes sense for me to do, instead of spending 10-15 minutes straightening it each day. I also like that you can still curl your hair even after a straight perm!

To keep hair shiny, I’ve been hearing a lot of good things from Mise en Scene hair oil and also the Shiseido Fino hair mask.

Hack #6: Colour Analysis ($50-$100)

This has been popping up quite a bit and I did mine in Seoul and really enjoyed it! It helped me understand the colours that worked well for my skin when it comes to clothing, hair, and makeup. I was happy to hear most of the colours I like and have already been using were appropriate.

After doing this, I am able to feel more confident in my beauty choices and also discover new colours that work best on my skin! They have quite a few places that do these now in Vancouver too.

These are just a few hacks I discovered personally and from hearing from people online. It has helped me greatly reduce my time and effort in getting ready every morning!