I’ve had a few people ask me recently for some makeup tips for college, and thought I’d write an article about it to answer!

College girls face special challenges when it comes to makeup: we need to get ready in a hurry, (8 AM classes on 4 hrs sleep means no time in the morning), want to look natural but pretty, but still love to have fun with makeup!

How can you create a look that’s pretty, but not overdone? What’s appropriate for college, anyway? These questions and more will be answered.

{RELATED POST: The Ultimate Guide to No Makeup Makeup}

Today I’m going to talk about daytime makeup for college – a beauty routine for when you’re going to class, work, and just hanging out around campus. I’ll be covering nighttime makeup looks in another post soon.

Read on for my top tips to doing pretty & simple daytime makeup!

Table of Contents

Keep it simple.

You don’t want to spend hours getting ready every morning, so keep your makeup routine as minimal as possible. You’ll be thanking yourself when you wake up late and have to run out the door to your 9AM class! Simpler is better.

Here are the cosmetics essentials that I recommend:

• Mineral foundation – Covers everything, looks completely natural, and is easy to use. I like Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 15 Foundation.
• Concealer – For those days when you wake up with a zit or didn’t get enough sleep. I recommend Benefit Cosmetics Erase Paste for the under-eye area, and Neutrogena Healthy Skin Smoothing Stick for blemish coverage.
• Mascara – 100% necessary no matter how great your natural eyelashes are. Mascara makes your eyes pop & helps you look put-together. My favorite is Maybelline Full ‘N Soft Mascara.
• Lip gloss or lip balm – Because dry lips are never cute. I love Rosebud Salve for lip balm, and Chanel Glossimers for lip gloss.
• Blush or bronzer – For a hint of color & to help you look awake, even at 8AM. Which brand to choose? NARS makes the best blushes and bronzers out there!

Start with great skin.

When your skin looks good, the rest of your makeup routine becomes 100 times easier. Instead of piling on the foundation and cover-up, you can just use a mineral powder or tinted moisturizer.