I’ve been in the ER the last month, and rolling straight into inpatient internal medicine next month. So…a LOT of hours and VERY early days. I’m extremely protective of my sleep, so that usually means I often leave myself very little time in the morning to get ready. For all of my fellow makeup-lovers suffering from the AM time crunch, this is my basic routine that has never let me down.

Up front, I should be honest and admit that I’m never going for a quite a full face on days like these. My goal here is to even out my skin, smooth over whatever issues I’m having that day, and add a little extra…something. Get me?

Ok, so first thing’s first. I’ve developed a pretty reliable skincare routine over the last couple of years and I’ve found that as long as I wash and treat my skin properly at night, the only thing I have to do in the morning is splash some cool water on my face, pat dry, and apply some toner with a cotton pad.

Then I smear some moisturizer all over. I have used Olay Complete since I was a preteen, though I often change it up if I’m feeling adventurous.

Then I put some Cicapair Tiger Grass Color Correcting Treatment all over my face as well–I just use my hands. I’ve been using this stuff for a few years now and I absolutely love it. It really goes a long way to blunt redness and as it changes to match your skin tone, it even provide some (very sheer) coverage. I use this almost every day, even if I’m not wearing any makeup at all. It just makes things so much more even and adds some more SPF.

Next is another old favorite of mine—I add Bare Minerals Complexion Rescue all over. This stuff adds a nice smooth, sheer-ish cover with a dewy finish. If I’m out of this, though, I’ll dab on some foundation and even it out with a brush (whatever I’ve got at the moment…I’m not particularly loyal to any one foundation yet). I much prefer Complexion Rescue since it’s much lighter and takes less time to apply than 99.99% of foundations I’ve tried. Also points for extra SPF.

My eyebrows are both light AND sparse—so just leaving them untouched is not an option. I have tried so, SO many different pencils and the only one I’ll ever use again is the Sephora brand retractable brow pencil. After I fill them in, I set them in place with Maybelline clear mascara. I should note that once every 6 weeks or so, I tint my brows with mustache dye…this has made a huge difference in helping give my normally invisible brows some definition. I also love these Sally Hansen wax strips—I’ve literally used them to shape my brows for almost 15 years, since high school!

Next, I touch up any blemishes or dark circles with a concealer. On really good days, I can skip this step. On really bad days, this can be the most time consuming part of the whole routine. I still have no standout favorite and have tried so many, but at the moment I’m using a travel-size of Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer I got from Sephora with points—so far, so good! Next, I really want to try Fenty Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Concealer since I love every Fenty product I’ve tried so far. An oldie but goodie and solid standby for me is Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Concealer…I love it for under my eyes, though I feel like it doesn’t quite do enough for red spots or pimples.

Ok! Despite all my rambling, by this point I’m like 2 minutes in. Now I dust a finishing powder all over. I’m currently obsessed with Hourglass Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder. It adds such nice amount of glow and just makes me look so awake! Currently I’m using the Mood Light shade because it works really well with my light skin/pink undertones, but I also like the Luminous Light shade, too.

Next, I add some mascara. I really like Too Faced Better Than Sex mascara. It’s pretty bold, but I wear it almost daily. If I’m feeling particularly low maintenance, though, (ie if I’m anticipating a shift that will be longer than 15 hours), then I’ll only brush some more clear mascara over my lashes…I find that whenever I go much longer over 13 or 14 hours, colored mascara starts to run/I start rubbing my eyes out of exhaustion 😉

LAST THING!! In my last 5 seconds, I spritz a setting spray all over. I have used Urban Decay All Nighter for at least 2 years, and it works so well. I have tried several other brands and nothing stacks up.

Now for coffee. So, so much coffee. It’s going to be a long 12-hour shift, y’all.

Nothing in this post is sponsored. Promise.