Beauty Products for the Busy Woman
As a CEO, every minute of my day is accounted for. From early-morning strategy calls to late-night event dinners. I love looking polished, but I don’t always have time to spend an hour in front of the mirror to get ready or to freshen up my look between tasks. Don’t get me wrong – I’m grateful to be busy, but it’s forced me to reevaluate my beauty philosophy. What I’ve found: invest in products that multitask as hard as you do.
I’ve never believed that being “busy” means letting yourself go. To me, beauty is an act of self-respect. It’s how I signal to myself and everyone else in the room that I’m showing up, composed, confident, and in control — even when I’ve had four hours of sleep, and a double espresso is the only thing keeping me vertical.
Over the years, I’ve become something of a connoisseur of time-saving beauty products. It’s been years of me tying out different tools and formulas to finally find the ones that do more than one job, perform beautifully, and simplify my life. These are my tried-and-true favorites, the MVPs of my morning routine that help me go from bedhead to boardroom in under twenty minutes.
The Hair Hero: Dyson Airwrap
My hair sets the tone for my entire look, and even more so, my entire day. The Dyson Airwrap has achieved quite a reputation in the beauty world, and for good reason. It’s a blow-dryer, curler, straightener, and volumizer in one sleek wand and unlike the old-school tools that fry your hair into submission, it styles using tactics that won’t damage your hair. Nothing makes me feel better than knowing I can have the perfect blow out in ten minutes, and I don’t even have to feel guilty about it.
I’ll admit it, when I first saw the price tag at a whopping $649 — I hesitated. After the first week of using it, I realized it wasn’t a splurge; it was an investment that paid for itself. I can create a professional blowout in about ten minutes flat. I’ll do a sleek, smooth finish for meetings, soft waves for dinners, and quick root volume between video calls.
The Airwrap offers customization features which allow you to personalize settings for your exact hair type and preferred style. It’s the kind of thoughtful detail that makes me appreciate the engineering behind it. It’s functional luxury, and it’s truly worth the price. If the Dyson is outside of your budget, don’t worry, you still have options to get that luxury look.
Dyson alternatives:
Shark FlexStyle Air Styling System ($299): Practically the only true dupe. It delivers similar airflow technology, multiple attachments, and beautiful results with a smaller dent in your budget.
Revlon One-Step Volumizer Plus ($60): If you just want fast, bouncy hair before work, this one-step brush dries and smooths simultaneously. This is also a good one to keep one at the office for emergency touch-ups.
Hot Tools Blowout Brush ($80): Slightly sleeker and lighter than the Revlon, it gives that same “salon blowout at home” finish.
No matter which you choose, the goal is simple: get great hair on limited time. Good hair has power and no matter how busy we are, we deserve to look as powerful as we feel.
My Favorite BB and CC Creams
As much as I love a full-glam moment, most mornings I need to look radiant with as little effort as humanly possible. That’s where BB and CC creams come in. They’re essentially skincare, foundation, and sunscreen in one tube and they are a dream for women like me who are constantly on the go.
BB Creams are lighter coverage and more hydrating. It’s like “your skin but better.” CC Creams are similar but there is a difference. CC creams offer a bit more coverage and even your tone a bit better. Not as hydrating, but make you appear slightly less textured. I tend to reach for a CC cream for in person meet ups, but a BB cream for those early morning Zoom meetings.
My top picks:
IT Cosmetics CC+ Cream SPF 50+ ($47): This has full coverage, but it feels like skincare. It’s packed with hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, and peptides. Bonus: it includes high SPF, which means one less step in my routine.
MISSHA M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 ($13): A K-beauty legend that gives me a dewy, “well-rested” finish, even when I’m running on caffeine and adrenaline. It blurs fine lines, brightens, and hydrates beautifully.
e.l.f. Camo CC Cream ($16): The best budget buy for serious performance. It has coverage comparable to a luxury foundation and includes collagen, peptides, and niacinamide for added skin benefits.
Maybelline Dream Fresh BB Cream ($8): A sheer, breathable option for weekends or travel days when I just want a hint of glow and SPF protection.
Skincare Staples
My skincare routine on work days is fast but effective. I’m not into 12-step rituals (all the time). Most of the time, what I need is clean, radiant, hydrated skin in under five minutes.
Here are the products that I’m reaching for on the days of those early morning calls:
Drunk Elephant C-Firma Fresh Vitamin C Serum: Brightens and firms without irritation. I may have had a late night and an early morning, but with this product you would never know.
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream: Rich but fast-absorbing, this moisturizer is like an Instagram filter for your face. I use it under BB cream for a glow that lasts through back-to-back meetings.
Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40: The sunscreen that feels like nothing. It doubles as a primer which saves time during my makeup routine and keeps my complexion protected during outdoor lunches or long commutes.
When your skincare base is good, everything else looks better. Focus on your skin and you need less makeup overall, which saves even more time.
Makeup That Lasts (Because I Don’t Have Time for Touch-Ups)
When it comes to makeup, there are different products for every occasion. When it comes to a quick, daily routine though, it’s important to have those reliable products you know will do the job. Through much trial and error, I’ve found quite a few that have earned their place in my regular routine. These are products that last all day, require little effort, and serve more than one purpose.
NARS Multiple Stick in “Orgasm”: The original multitasker. It works as blush, lip tint, and even eyeshadow in a pinch.
Tower 28 Shine On Lip Jelly: Glossy, hydrating, and not sticky. I keep one in every purse.
Benefit Gimme Brow Gel: If I only have 30 seconds, this is the product I grab. Defined brows instantly make me look more awake and composed.
Loreal Panorama Mascara: Dramatic lashes in one swipe. No clumps, no smudging.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder: It’s like walking around with perfect lighting. I dust it lightly over my T-zone for an instant soft-focus effect.
The trick is choosing products that don’t require constant touch ups but are easy enough to work with if need be. These are long-wearing, buildable, and forgiving if you apply in a rush (and let’s be honest, I usually am).
Nails That Keep Up with You
I love a polished manicure, but being someone who operates multiple businesses, there’s no way for me to always guarantee those two-week fill appointments. Sometimes, you’ve got to work with what you’ve got.
Enter press-on nails and long-wear polishes:
Olive & June Press-Ons: Modern, easy to apply, and look completely natural. I can switch shades in ten minutes between calls.
Essie Gel Couture: A two-step polish that lasts nearly a week without chipping. The “Fairy Tailor” shade is my neutral go-to.
Keeping nails neat but low maintenance adds just enough polish to feel “put together” without the upkeep.
Fragrance That Defines You
In a previous blog post, I helped break down how to find “your signature scent.” I stand firm in my belief that scent is part of your personal brand. I keep a few fragrances in rotation depending on my mood and meeting type.
Baccarat Rouge 540: An icon. It’s elegant, warm, and unmistakable. Make an impact whatever room you enter. This scent doesn’t need to be reapplied throughout the day, so it’s perfect for a woman with no time in her schedule for touch ups.
Chloe Eau de Parfum: My personal signature scent. If you know me, you know this scent.
Glossier You: Subtle, modern, and perfect for close settings like planes or conference rooms.
The key is finding the small, roller ball applicators whenever possible. I love these because they make it so I can freshen up before dinners or after long flights. It’s the quickest way to feel refreshed and ready for the next task at hand.
My Morning Ritual
Here’s what an average morning looks like for me when I’m racing the clock but still want to look and feel pulled together:
Skincare (3 minutes): Cleanse, vitamin C, moisturizer, and SPF.
Base (2 minutes): One pump of BB or CC cream, a dab of concealer under eyes, a quick dust of powder.
Color (3 minutes): Cream blush (doubles as lipstick), swipe of mascara, brow gel.
Hair (10 minutes – tops) Airwrap blow-dry. Of course, while checking emails and sipping my morning latte.
Finishing touch: Perfume, a statement earring, and confident smile.
I’m out the door (or on Zoom) looking like I had an hour to get ready, when really, it took less than twenty minutes. Casual team meeting? I’m working on those 10,000 steps to cut down my work out time later.
In Short: Work Smarter, Not Harder. Even in Beauty.
Being a busy woman — whether you’re a CEO, a mom, a student, or all the above, you know that it means you’re constantly prioritizing. Your beauty routine should empower you, not exhaust you.
The secret isn’t in cutting out products or eliminating those touch ups that make you feel good about yourself for times sake; it’s about finding the right products that multitask as efficiently as you do. When you strip your beauty routine down to the essentials that are low effort and actually work, you gain more than time. You gain clarity, ease, and that reinforced self-assurance that comes from knowing you’re showing up as your best self, every day.
So, here’s to the busy, brilliant women out there - may your schedules be full, your coffee be strong, and your hair always have that perfect bounce. To see more of my tips for the busy woman, the businesswoman and the beautiful woman, follow me along on Tiktok and Instagram. Share with me in the comments your best beauty hacks for saving time!
