The question was, though, how much makeup did I want to wear, and how much time did I want to spend doing it? On the second day, I woke up at 4:45 a.m. and put on a full face of makeup, the way I normally do it on any normal day. I used a liquid foundation, beauty sponge, contour, brows, eyeshadow, mascara, etc. I also flat ironed my hair. This whole shebang took nearly half an hour, and I was exhausted all day. But I learned two things from this experiment: 

1. I rather have 15 more minutes of sleep than straight hair. 
2. Using a makeup sponge takes time. 

So, I set my alarm for 5:00 a.m., blow dried my hair before bed, and purchased a cushion foundation. I had the L'Oreal True Match Lumi Cushion Foundation before, but when I dug it up from my collection it had dried out almost completely, so I had to purchase another one. The idea was that, if I was running late, I could throw it in my purse and put on my foundation on the go, or keep it in my purse for touch-ups. But I'm glad I had to repurchase it, because I forgot how much I liked it! 

I had to decide what was most important to me when it comes to makeup, and that for sure is brows. My microblading is fading now that it has been nearly a year, so I have to fill. But was eyeshadow really important? No, I decided, it wasn't. Highlighter wasn't important either; strobing is not workplace appropriate. But eye liner was definitely important to me. So then I had it. This would be my morning routine: 

• Primer
• Foundation
• Setting powder
• Brows
• Blush
• Contour
• Eyeliner
• Mascara
• Lipstick
• Setting spray

I know that doesn't sound very basic at all, but trust me, it really didn't take much time at all. If I had time, I would add a few extras in there, like illuminator/highlighter, or eyeshadow. But, this would be the basics. If I didn't have time, I could put the blush, liner, mascara, and lipstick in my purse and do it later, as long as I had foundation, setting spray and brows. But overall, I was able to apply my makeup in 15 minutes, and that included eyeshadow and highlighter on most days. 

So my advice to you, if you have to put on makeup early in the morning, is to decide what is more important: sleep, or makeup? Once you figure that out, decide what makeup products you must use, and then see how you can make application more efficient. For example, using a cushion foundation instead of a liquid and sponge, or making sure it is something you can take on the go to apply later, like lipstick or mascara.