A new survey has revealed women spend almost an hour a day on beauty - but there's no need to quit it all together, writes Judy Johnson
How long do you take to do your make-up in the morning? If it's anything under an hour you're doing well, as a new study has revealed the average woman spends 55 minutes on her appearance a day - the equivalent of two weeks a year.
Of over 2,000 people questioned in the survey by Today and AOL , 78% of women said they spent almost an hour on their appearance to 'feel better about themselves' - around 6.4 hours a week, while teen girls spent even longer in front of the mirror with 7.7 hours a week on average. Unsurprisingly, men were the quickest to be satisfied with their looks and spend just 4.5 hours a week on perfecting them, despite 53% admitting they regularly worry about their appearance.
Here's the thing: we love make-up. We love a blow-dry (though we'd prefer it if the salon could do it every time). And we don't love the slightly women-shaming tone that the survey results have taken in outing us all as mirror-hoggers. But we're also pretty busy, and the idea of spending two weeks a year just on making ourselves look good seems a tad wasteful - especially when we're struggling to find time to get fit or cook a decent dinner. It's nothing to be ashamed of; we are Glossy by name and by nature, but life is hectic enough without a gruelling beauty regime holding us down.
However, while the Today show's anchors took it upon themselves to go make-up free as a result of the survey, we're not going to let go of our eyeliner or concealer any time soon (heaven forbid). Instead, we're clutching on to some multitasking beauty buys, getting savvy with our salon treatments and being smart about our skincare to save precious minutes in the morning. It's OK to want to look good - we just believe it shouldn't be such hard work…
3 ways to save time in your beauty regime
Ditch the mascara
No, we wouldn't leave the house without pristine lashes either, and it's the one product we require the most from (colour, curl, lengthening, thickening, separating, non-flaking, and non-clumping, if you please) and spend the most time applying. But get organised and book yourself in for some lash extensions with Flutter and you won't need to pick up a wand for up to five weeks. We've seen them up close; they're better than any mascara you'll find.
Skip a hair wash
Healthy hair is freshly washed daily, but if you're really stuck for time then a dry shampoo is a lifesaver (not to mention lank hair-saver). Spray a product such as Philip Kingsley's One More Day , £6 for 50ml, through roots of the hair and ruffle through for a bit of lift and life into your locks. It's not quite got that blow-dry feeling but from the outside it'll look almost as good.
Make your products multitask
If you spend a good ten minutes of that average of 55 rifling through drawers, handbags and make-up bags for that blusher when you're 'sure it's here somewhere', stop fiddling and start making your products work harder. We love the aptly names Benefit Rush Hour , £17.50 for a lip and cheek tint in one and Editor of GTG Susannah Taylor is a big fan of Garnier BB Cream , £9.99 for a tint, SPF and moisturiser mash-up that works.
How do you save time in the mornings? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @GettheGloss