The 5-MINUTE FACE: Three Products, No Fuss, No Makeup-Makeup Look

If you've ever opened your makeup bag in the morning and thought this used to be fun, now it just feels like admin, we hear you. Most of us don't actually want a 12-step face. We want to look like ourselves...on a day we got more sleep.

Here's the thing we want to say up front, because it's the whole reason we wrote this: a genuinely fast everyday routine isn't a compromise. It's not the lesser version you settle for on a bad morning. For a lot of our customers, it just is the routine. One of them, Melanie, put it better than we could:

"I am a non make up wearer due to always being in a mad morning rush. It literally is Bam Bam Bam over the BB cream, throw on some eyebrow gel and mascara and you're done!" — Melanie B., verified, December 2025

What a "no-makeup makeup look" actually is

Since it's the phrase everyone uses: a no-makeup makeup look is the result of a light, natural routine where the point is to look like you on a good day, not to cover yourself up. Three things give it away. Even, not heavy, skin. A soft wash of colour on cheeks and lips. Lashes that look awake without looking done. You get there with fewer, more versatile products, not a longer routine.

The whole thing, in three products

If you skim nothing else, skim this:

1. Excellent BB cream our everyday BB cream. Evens the skin, adds a bit of glow, and saves you reaching for concealer.
2. Bam! Bam! Bam! one multi-use colour stick for cheeks, lips and eyelids. Yes, eyelids. One shade, three places.
   
3. You're Welcome our tubing mascara. Keeps your eyes looking awake without the drama. (Any tubing formula works, but this is the one we make.)
   

That's the whole routine. Under five minutes, which, realistically, is what most of us actually have.

The routine, in order.

Minute 1 — Face

Pea-sized amount. Warm it in your fingers , then press it in rather than rub. Blend past the jawline into the neck. BB cream blends more easily than foundation, so it should settle evenly. Need more coverage? Its buildable- no separate concealer needed. (More on why a BB cream tends to sit better than foundation as your skin changes.)

Minute 2 — Cheeks

Swipe Bam! Bam! Bam! straight onto the apples of your cheeks, one line each side, don't overthink it. Blend out with your fingertips in little circles. Push the colour up toward the temple if you want a lifted look, down and out if you want more of a natural flush.

"This is an absolute game changer in my life. Am 54 and have finally found a product that not only makes my not so professional makeup routine simple, but also provides luminosity to my skin. Who knew I had cheekbones :)" — Sharlene H., 54, verified, December 2024

Minute 3 — Lips

Same stick, as cheeks, now just straight into the lips. Press them together. Stop here for a soft stain, or add a lip balm on top if you want more. We make one called Where The Hell Is My...? specifically to layer over Bam! Bam! Bam!, but anything you already own will do. 

Minute 4 — Eyelids

Yes, eyelids. Same stick (Bam! Bam! Bam!..get it?) This is the bit that throws people, because most of us were raised to think eyeshadow comes out of a palette with a tiny brush and a YouTube tutorial. It doesn't have to.

A light swipe of the same stick, blended out with a fingertip. You'll get a soft wash of colour that looks like you put in effort when you really didn't. You try it once thinking it'll look weird. It doesn't. It looks like you've been on a weekend away.

Bam! Bam! Bam! comes in Rose for daytime and Red Wine for a deeper, evening look. Same routine, different intensity — or just put more on, like Emma does:

"It's a gorgeous shade and it's my go-to every day. And for a night out I just add more for more Bam!" — Emma H., verified, August 2024

You try it once thinking it'll look weird. It doesn't. It looks like you've been on a weekend away.

Minute 5 — Lashes

One coat. If you're using a tubing formula, one coat is genuinely enough. Two if you're off somewhere that involves a camera. And that's the face done.

(Getting smudges by lunchtime regardless? It's almost always the formula, not the technique.)

One optional extra: if your brows need it, a clear brow gel takes ten seconds and makes a disproportionate difference. Call it a fourth product if you like, we'll allow it. (We make one called Bring Back The Bush.)

Who this routine works best for

Everyone, genuinely, but it tends to land particularly well with a few people.

New mums and anyone with no time. We hear from a lot of customers who quietly assumed they were done with makeup for a while after having a baby. This is usually the routine that brings them back, because it asks almost nothing of you.

Anyone whose skin has started behaving differently. Skin changes in your 40s and beyond. That's normal, not a problem. What usually changes is how makeup sits, and a lighter, cream-based routine tends to settle it. (We've gone deeper on makeup for mature skin separately, if that's you.)

"At nearly 75 it has given me a real lift." — Ron B., 75, verified, June 2025

And people who’ve never really worn makeup and want something they can’t get wrong.

If five minutes is still too long

Honestly? Drop the mascara. BB cream plus the stick on cheeks and lips is a two-minute makeup routine. Still looks like you've done something. Your eyes won't pop quite as much, but you'll look awake and good in photos. That's about the level of commitment most mornings actually ask of us.

That's the 5-minute face. Nothing fancy, just simple and so clever. And if you don't believe us, believe the four-thousand-odd people who keep telling us the same thing.

Want to try the routine with our products? Grab them on their own or try our Base Face Bundle. The BB cream is Excellent BB Cream, the multi-use stick is Bam! Bam! Bam! (Rose for day, Red Wine for night), and the mascara is You're Welcome.