5 Simple Habits to Add to your Beauty Routine

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Colgate-Palmolive. All opinions are mine alone. #OpticSmiles #CollectiveBias.

Being a mom isn’t overly glamorous. I’m lucky if I can make it out of the house wearing matching clothes so an elaborate beauty routine is just out of the question. Instead, I focus on quick and easy things I can add to my beauty routine to get a bit of pampering into my day. None of these take a lot of time but you’ll notice a big difference in the way you feel if you get in the habit of taking some time for yourself every day.

When things get crazy I’m tempted to ignore my own needs. I try to remember that I have 3 little girls who are watching me and I hope that they’ll learn it’s important for them to take care of themselves too. I can’t teach them that if I don’t show them that it’s important to me too.

Deep moisturize your hands. My hands are always dry. I spend half the day changing diapers with the twins and the other half cleaning up messes so I wash my hands a lot and that leaves them dry. Once a week or so I slather my hands in moisturizer and sleep with a clean sock over each hand to hold the moisture in. By morning my skin feels nice and soft.

Whiten your teeth. I don’t have time for a trip to the dentist to whiten my teeth but I love the new Colgate® Optic White® Express White toothpaste because it whitens your teeth while you brush in just 3 days*. Since I’m brushing my teeth anyway it doesn’t take any extra time and I love being able to whiten my teeth with something I’m already doing. Colgate® Optic White® Express White toothpaste has 2 times more of the professionally recommended whitening ingredient vs. Optic White Sparkling Mint Toothpaste so it is super effective.

If you want to check it out for yourself, selected Walmarts will have a roaming demo on February 28, 2015. You can snag a $1 off coupon good for Express White Toothpaste at the demo. I found Colgate® Optic White® Express White toothpaste in the health and beauty section in my local Walmart. There was a great big endcap display that I couldn’t miss.

Groom your eyebrows. I don’t know what it is about having my eyebrows fixed up that makes me feel more put together but it does. I can get in and out of a salon near my house in under 15 minutes for an eyebrow wax. If I don’t even have time for that I’ll spend a few minutes plucking my eyebrows before bed. I have a love hate relationship with plucking. I mean, on one hand, ouch. On the other, I’m always so glad I took care of it when I go to put my makeup on.

Remove your makeup at night. I’m terrible about this. I am so tired by the time I roll into bed that I don’t want to do anything but leaving all that makeup on overnight can be rough on your skin (and your pillowcase). Get into the habit of taking a few minutes every night to wipe off your makeup. Coconut oil is actually great at removing mascara and is gentle on your skin.

File your nails. My nails are seriously neglected. When I actually take the time to file my nails so they are smooth and let them grow out a bit it makes a big difference in my confidence level. I tend to pick at my nails and the skin around them when I’m stressed. It’s funny because I’ve found that keeping them filed and consciously making an effort to leave my nails alone actually makes a big difference in my stress level because I associate the habit with feeling stressed.

Do you have any quick and easy things that are part of your beauty routine?

*For best results, use as directed for 4 weeks.