Viva Challenge: wake up 5 mins earlier

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This is the first in a new series I’m introducing here at Viva Woman which I hope will be useful and interesting for you. The idea of this series is to PROMPT YOU TO DO SOMETHING which will help you look good and feel good. The challenge will be simple and most will not cost any money; even if they do, they would be within your original budget. And while some of these information may already be known to you, but the idea is to inspire you to actually DO it rather than just know it.

So ready? Here goes the first challenge!

SET YOUR ALARM 5 MINS EARLIER EVERY MORNING
Strange? I guess you maybe expecting me to tell you to sleep more rather than wake up earlier isn’t it? Well, most women I know are very busy with their lifestyles and morning is always a rush hour. We’re rushing to school, rushing to work, rushing to get the kids ready, rushing to beat the traffic or rushing to get into the day! But as we rush, let’s not forget to make ourselves beautiful and presentable too. And waking up 5 minutes earlier can get a few things accomplished for your beauty regime.

Allow your face serum to be fully absorbed
Allow more time to let your face serum sink into your skin before you apply your moisturizer or sunscreen. You may like to know that waiting at least 5 minutes until the serum is fully absorbed by the skin before applying your next cream helps seal and magnify the benefits of the serum.

Allow your moisturizer or sunscreen to settle before makeup
Allow your moisturizer, sunscreen or primer to set before applying your makeup. Your foundation will look a lot better and not appear streaky vs if you’ve applied your makeup over your cream immediately.

Allow yourself time to spritz your face after applying your makeup
If you want your makeup to look better, spraying a light face mist after applying makeup is a great way to help it “settle down”. If you’re already in a rush, you may not have time to do this. So that extra 5 minutes can be useful.

Allow time to work yourself a good lather during your shower
If you take a shower in the morning, then that extra time can mean you can afford to slow down and enjoy the shower rather than rushing through it. It makes a difference to freshen up your spirit definitely, especially with a body shower that smells great!

Allow time to apply body lotion and sunscreen to your body
Sometimes in our rush to get through every morning, we may only have time for our face. That extra 5 minutes can allow you time to pamper your body with a body lotion to keep your skin hydrated and to apply sunscreen on the parts that are exposed to sunlight!

The 5 mins difference
The idea is that waking up 5 minutes earlier every morning can do a difference and sometimes wonder for your beauty regime. That can help you feel better obout facing the day. You may not be able to achieve all of the above stated but at least some of it. And if you’re already doing most of these, that extra 5 minutes will allow you to slow down a little, relax and give you more time to enjoy your cup of coffee or cuppa! Hey, less stress is definitely good for beauty!

So do you like this challenge? Will you be doing it? Please let me know in the comments as I’ll like to know if this new series is useful.

Comments

  1. Florence says:

    5 mins earlier is too less for me, keke!
    I always wake up 11/2 hr to do my things in the morning, example, toilet, making BF for the kids before to sch,wash face,follow by skin care routine & makeup.I don’t like to make myself rush & so I always wake up 5am, then 6.30am send the kids to sch…..:)

    Florence: Wow you’re good! But what I meant was 5 mins earlier than your usual so that you can have an extra 5 to do more things! Haha. That means 1.35 hours earlier for you! ?

  2. Florence says:

    keke, means I can do lots of things!

    Florence: Yes defintely! ?

  3. Dee says:

    Wah… I like this one! I willing to wake-up early for beauty! =)

    Dee: Hee…5 mins is do-able right? ?

  4. Paris B says:

    Nice one Sesame! I do steel myself to wake up 5 mins earlier… but to prepare my lunch – I’ve got me beauty routine down to a science so what I really need time for is to get the food ready ?

    Paris: Wow, you bring your lunch to work? That’s really great. You’re quite a cook aren’t you ?

  5. pf1123 says:

    If I want to do all of the above, I got to wake up 5mins x 5 tasks = 25mins earlier.

    pf: Haha…just pick one first and do 5 mins k? You need your beauty sleep too! But some of them don’t need 5 mins. I always put on serum, then blow my hair, by the time I’m done, I’m ready for the cream, etc. ?

  6. Indulgent Diva says:

    This is absolutely great! I’m gonna give it a shot tomorrow onwards and see what I can accomplish. Thanks!

    Indulgent Diva: Great! You should be able to do at least one or even two things more!

  7. Peapot says:

    Normally I take 45mins to get ready in the morning and that’s only putting BB cream without any other makeup. If I put on the full works, I probably need 1 and half hour to be ready. The lazy me would prefer just the BB cream and go. So, maybe this 5mins will help. At least, I can put some eyeliner?

    By the way, digress alitte. Wanted to know whether the seabuckthorn seed oil can really reduce the wrinkles? I have fine lines under my eyes and I hate them. Thought of getting seabuckthorn oil after reading your review from here. Just want to know if it really works for you after so long. Also, where can I purchase from?

    Peapot: Yes, eyeliner would be nice!

    For Sea Buckthorn, the one I used was Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil which was okay but I found out that it’s probably the Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil which doesn’t have the yellow stain that has more effects on wrinkles. I got mine from Whoopeekiddies.com but they’re currently out of stock for the item and they don’t have the other type.

    For your fine lines under the eyes, where are they located? Mine is at the corner, towards the cheek area and I’ve been dabbing some oil (grapeseed oil or evening primrose oil) on it everyday before applying my eye cream. It works great. The lines are not completely gone but they’re less visible. I was initially a bit cautious cos I fear the formation of milia seeds but I’ve been using oil for a few months now and so far so good. You can read my post about applying oil around the eyes here https://www.vivawoman.net/2008/12/15/can-you-use-oil-around-your-eyes/

  8. pf1123 says:

    I take 30mins to put on the full works including brush teeth and wash face and I already think I’m taking a long time!

    But I don’t wait for anything to dry or sink on. It just 1 layer after another. hehe…

    pf: With the exception of toner, all the others, I prefer to wait till they’re fully absorbed before layering. Besides the skin care benefits, I find it very weird to layer one after another.

  9. prettybeautiful says:

    wow what a coincidence! a week ago i started setting my alarm clock to 10 mins earlier than usual one ? and guess what, within the 10 mins, my serum sits longer, essential oil sits longer, and i could surf and watch 10 mins extra of drama on my computer. hehehee

    prettybeautiful: You wake up earlier to watch drama? Haha…you’re interesting! But it’s a good way to start the morning especially if you watch your favorite idol acting! Actually I wanted to suggest 10 mins but I settled on 5 cos it’s less of a compromise on the sleep for most pple.

  10. Mag says:

    If there’s no time to spritz, you could carry a mini atomiser in your purse. Evian and Vichy (love this one!) both carry one. ?

    Mag: Yes, carrying one is good for hydrating all day. Personally, I prefer Evian over Vichy. The atomiser for Vichy didn’t work so well for me and was squirting rather than spritzing. Maybe it was THAT one I bought I don’t know.

  11. Tine says:

    Ooooh tough one. 5 mins more means an extra 5 mins of snoozing. Tee hee :p

    But I do agree with you, especially on the applying sunscreen on the body bit. More of than not, when we wake up early in the morning to go to work, it’s still relatively dark, and sunscreen is always forgotten.

    Tine: You belong to the snoozing category? ? Actually most of the time, we’re so busy with the face, the body can be easily neglected when time is tight.

  12. Jacky says:

    5 minutes sounds a lot more doable than 30 minutes, or something like that! =)

    Jacky: No not 30 mins. Not enough of beauty sleep! ?

  13. foreverheavenly says:

    i’ve tried this before countless times and realized that i would have to wake up at least 45 mins. before to keep up with my skin care routine, which does include most of those you mentioned…i take the extra 45 mins. bc i’m really slow in the morning. i’m hoping thats normal for most people. :/

    foreverheavenly: I take 45 mins too! Just that I suggest 5 minutes extra so that we can be a bit more relax and less hurried. So I wake up 50 mins earlier these days.

  14. peapot says:

    hi Sesame!

    The fine lines are under my eyes and also near to my nose. I suspect the lines near to my nose are due to sleeping position because I like to sleep on my side. I read somewhere it’s better to sleep facing up.

    I have been applying rosehip oil but doesn’t seems to help. Sigh! Feel like trying Vitamin E if I can’t get sea buckthorn oil. Worry Vitamin E will cause millia seeds because it’s richer and also nearer to the eye area. Sorry for moving away from your topic.

    Peapot: Realistically, when the lines develop, it would be hard to eradicate them completely. Don’t use rose hip around the eyes. They’re very rich and they caused me to develop milia seeds. Vit E is also very rich and I would advice against it. Actually using carrier oil as a whole is slow. For Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil, I learnt that it takes about 4 weeks or so too. And again, sometimes a product works for one but may not work for another…

    Yes, sleeping upright is the best. I covered this topic before here. https://www.vivawoman.net/2008/04/02/tips-to-optimize-your-beauty-sleep/

  15. Mag says:

    Sesame,

    These mini atomisers are hit and miss where their packaging is concerned. I’ve use two from Vichy – one works well, the other was wonky. ?

    Mag: Ah…I see. But hard to tell since we can’t try. ? I remember trying one from Avene and it was also the same problem.

  16. favcolorblue says:

    the face spritzers…are they just water? Are there any other benefits to that other than letting the makeup look better?

    I’ve been setting my clock 5 mins earlier..but only so I can trick myself and get to the bus on time.

    Favcolorblue: A face spritz keeps your face hydrated all day. Good if you have dry skin or under aircon environment for long periods. In addition, if you use a face spritz with some skin care benefits, then your skin will receive some goodies too.

  17. a says:

    Waking up about 10 or 15 min earlier, you can do all that..plus squeeze in some stretching or yoga. Just a mini routine of morning stretches keeps you healthy overall and gives you a beautiful glow. Also, I deal with daily stress better if I remember to do some yoga in the morning..overall it helps out in the beauty regime. You might wanna try this!

    a: Yes, if you can do yoga or some exercises, it’ll be a bonus. It’s such a coincidence cos I was just speaking to a friend about yoga yesterday. I did it for sometime but got lazy. I agree it helps in the overall beauty regime!

  18. Jadetive says:

    I’d probably spend the 5 mins reading the papers and enjoying my morning cup of coffee. Instead of gulping it down as I do now. Make my mornings a little more enjoyable. ?

    Jadetive: That’s great! The 5 mins extra can be spent doing anything you like…it’s quite short but can make a significant impact in the morning. Take your time to smell your coffee too! ?

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