How to Perfect Your New-Mom Beauty Routine

Disclaimer: I’ve never been a morning person. Never have been and never will be. I’m the person who has always rolled out of bed and gone to work or school within 30 minutes. So when I was put on modified bed rest due to pregnancy complications, I knew I had to simplify (even more) how I got ready every morning. Now that I have a squirmy new babe, I can absolutely say this routine makes me feel normal again. Getting ready in the morning helped me fight off postpartum depression and anxiety.

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While no one expects a new Mom or a very pregnant lady on bed rest to look put together on a regular basis, there is something about feeling put together that soothes me and makes me feel more productive. This isn’t date night or even a professional work look, but it works and no one will question how you feel whenever you’re standing in the checkout line at Target. I swear everyone who I talked to in the few weeks leading up to the birth of our son and the few weeks after asked if I was okay. Admittedly, I did not look great (pre-eclamptic) even with makeup and hair done.

Having a simpler beauty routine means that I am buying less product and have less product junking up my bathroom. When we did our massive clean out, beauty products that hadn’t been used in years (or that were years old) got thrown away. I am now spending way less than I ever have on beauty and hair products.

Pare Down
I went through all of my makeup, hair, and skin products and tossed anything that was old or that I didn’t use. This was part of the purge we did in 2017. That trendy eye shadow pallet I bought three years ago? Gone. Wrinkle cream that my 27 year old self really didn’t need and never saw results from? Buh-bye! Dozens of gross nail polishes, half used mascaras, and body washes got tossed too.

The result? Simplified magic.

I am left with: mascara, eyeliner, brow filler, tweezers, eye primer, two eye shadow pallets, eyelash curler, moisturizer, face powder, powder brush, bronzer, concealer, tinted lip balm, lip stick, face wash, Norwex cloths, hair brush, flat iron, dry shampoo, straightening mist, hair spray, TIGI Bed Head smoothing cream, and a few good colored nail polishes round out my entire beauty stash.

Could I do without some of these things? Of course! But the items that could be found unnecessary, like eye primer or smoothing hair cream, have actually made my life easier. Not only do products like these save you time, but they make your look last (even into the next day – hooray for just rolling out of bed!).

Timing It
I have always been a night time shower-er and this is still true with a kiddo. I also take abbreviated showers during the day in the event that I get puked or pooped on. As long as it isn’t in my hair, I normally don’t wash my face or hair during the short showers. Messy buns for the win. Showering at night allows me to do my hair quickly in the morning. I was ~~cursed~~ blessed with very straight hair that will almost always cooperate except when it is very humid and warm outside. On an ideal weather day, it takes 8-10 minutes to straighten my hair and about 5 to do makeup.

The Routine – Tips to Get it All Done
No Need for Fancy Products – The less complicated make-up is, the better. If something takes two coats to apply for full coverage – forget about it. The most “complicated” product I use is brow filler and I only use it when I get a little “pluck happy” the day before. The easier a product is to use, the more likely you are to actually use it.
Get Ready in an Order That Makes Sense to You – For me, straightening my hair makes me feel the most sane. My motto is “if my hair isn’t crazy – I’m not crazy”! (Not sure if that’s entirely true 🙂 ) So I always take the flat iron to my hair first and worry about make-up second. If foundation and mascara makes you feel like a superstar, do that first and make it look awesome! This way, if Little Guy toots too hard and starts to cry (a regular occurrence) I will have *most* of my hair straightened and won’t feel like as much of a hot mess the rest of the day.
Adding Extras – I love adding things that make my straight hair or somewhat-perfectly done eyeliner last. Adding smoothing hair cream and eye shadow primer (I use Urban Decay) helps keep everything in place even after a semi-disastrous day of spit up, crazy diapers, and twenty loads of laundry. This picture was taken after a particularly sweltering day in June when I had worked all day, cried a little at work from missing my baby, and came home only to work my favorite job of being mommy. See? Slightly less crazy. 🙂