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Morning Must-Haves for Teens

By Makeup Morsels, Teen Contributor

Makeup Morsels is a pseudonym, and if that seems a little bulky, just call her MM! She resides in California and on her last year of high school. She has black hair, brown eyes, and pale skin (think NC15), and often has people tell her she looks like a corpse! She’s guilty of having a slight obsession for both sunscreen and lipstick (both of which she says she needs to stop hoarding). You’ll typically find her stalking drugstore aisles for bargains or lurking around high-end makeup counters to window shop. MM also enjoys cooking (and eating), food photography, reading, and exploring the world of makeup. Check out her blog, Makeup Morsels!


While my youthful days may seem like the perfect time to experiment with crazy, colorful makeup, the fact of the matter is that I rarely have more than five minutes to get ready for school. I’m out the door by 7:00 AM (still woozy from the paper I cranked out the night before), so I need my routine to be as streamlined as possible. I’ve spent many mornings throughout high school trying to find the perfect, low-effort system, and the products I’ve settled on are some of my favorites.

My first weapon of choice is Liz Earle’s Skin Repair Moisturizer ($31.00), which sports a light texture and a ton of hydration. I then apply my sunscreen, Bioré Aqua Rich Water Base ($19.99). Sun exposure can do a lot of damage to your skin over time, so SPF is something I wear all year round. Bioré’s version has a whipped, lighter-than-air texture that dries quicker than you can say, “poof.” As for that giant bottle of yellow stuff? Well, there are days when I don’t even have time to brush my hair. To smooth out any frizz, I run a pump of Lierac Sensorielle ($34.00) through my hair as I race out the door. It also doubles as perfume, which saves me a whole 5 seconds of spritzing time. Score!

Post-skincare, I start tackling the color cosmetics. I begin by banishing my panda eyes with Skin Food’s Salmon Concealer ($12.99). If you’re like me, and have lovely purple shadows under your eyes, concealers with salmon undertones work well to balance those out. The second pot of concealer is Maybelline Dream Mousse ($6.48), which I use for spot coverage on days when my skin is acting up.

Have you ever heard people throw around the phrase, “Brows frame your face?” Well, they say it because it’s true. Taking a minute to fill in your brows can make you look much more put-together. I have black hair, so I look for neutral browns that will define my eyebrows without making them look drawn-on. I use MAC Brun Eyeshadow ($14.50) from the beginning of my brow to the arch, and Milani Easybrow ($5.99) in Natural Taupe for the rest.

Assuming I have the time, I’ll curl my lashes and add some mascara. As far as curlers go, my advice is to find one with a soft, rounded pad. My favorite is the Koji No.73 ($6.51), since it fits my lash line like a glove. I’m actually out of my Holy Grail mascara (d.j.v. Volume Lash) at the moment, but I’ve been getting on well with Urban Decay’s Supercurl Curling Mascara ($20.00).

Finally, I like to swipe on a coat of lipstick. I’ve noticed that many of my classmates prefer to wear lipgloss, but I actually find lipstick to be much more low-maintenance than gloss (for one, your hair won’t get stuck in it unless you have 10 coats on). Lately, I’ve been favoring my Dior Addict Lipstick ($28.00) in Diorkiss (a bright pink with a dewy finish), but you don’t have to go high-end to get a good lipstick. One of my favorite drugstore lipstick brands is Revlon, which stocks a huge color range.

And that wraps it up for my early morning must-haves! What are your favorite products to use when you’re short on time?

See more photos!



25 Comments

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Haezel Avatar

As a teen, I love the Dior Addict Lipstick, too! I have one in Granville and am going to get one Createur (I think that’s how you spell it.) I love how they’re so moisturizing, pigmented, and easy to work with! A product I like using when I have limited time is the Becca Beach Tint in Watermelon. It can be used for both your cheeks and lips. It looks very natural and lasts because it’s water-resistant. Also, the NYC Blushable Creme sticks! Those are amazing for on the go. Somedays, I’d just dab some on my cheeks and blend it in the car instead of in front of my vanity mirror!

Makeup Morsels Avatar

Granville is beautiful! I swatched that one in store (actually, I swatched all of them hahaha). I’m really curious about the Becca Beach Tints too, they look nice for everyday wear 🙂

I miss the days when I could do makeup in the car! I started driving myself to school this year, so that would be a bad idea, to say the least.

Michilicious ~ Avatar

Though personally, I’m 14 and my everyday make up routine right now is mousturizer, foundation (I don’t have anything to set it with though), blush, contouring, highlighting, and glowy natural-looking eye shadow. Sometimes I’ll fill in my eye brows either lightly or make ’em thick and dark etc. and/or wear some lip gloss/lip balm.
I don’t really wear mascara or concealer or such.

I would like to experiment with colorful make up and stuff too, but yes, time is a BIG issue, so that usually only happens on weekends (and rarely even then, ’cause I don’t have a lot of colorful make up yet… Plus, I don’t have an eye shadow primer either so the colours would crease).

Ashley Sarah Avatar

I find some of these products quite pricey to be a must have for teens. I like your article however, nice writing and quality of photos. The the reasoning behind the suggestions as well are lovely.

cydoniac Avatar

words cannot describe how much I loooooooooooove Lierac’s Huile Sensorielle….I absolutely adore it!! its texture is non greasy and it absorbs really well,it is very moisturising and the scent is to die for!!I use it on my hair, on my face and on my body and it works perfectly!!!excellent choice there!!!!!

Miss_silk Avatar

I love the use of Asian Branded products, since the hype for BB Creams is slowly hitting America. But there are many Asian brands that carry good and more affordable products as well as good dupes for the higher end stuff.

I must buy that SkinFood concealer~!

Miss_Silk Avatar

TT I live in NorCal and rarely go to LA. But I do have a couple friends down there so I might have to bribe them to pick some stuff up for me. Thanks for the info ^^

I’m a big Etude House, Missha and Tony Moly fan though

xasperadastra Avatar

When I was a teen I spent a lot of time in front of the mirror to cover my spots -___- now I’m “older” (23 years old) and I don’t even use foundation or mascara during the day XD (unless it’s a special occasion or if I want to look nice).. sooo my daily and fast routine is:
Lush face moisturizer (I don’t know the english name since I’m italian)
Mac vibrancy eye
Mac concealer
prep&prime loose powder
a blush (this is the product I love the most!)
eye pencil
a lipstick/lipgloss/lipbalm

Sarah Avatar

I’m 16 and have been in makeup for 2 years, most of these products seem way too expensive. I have to pay for my own makeup and beauty products, and I don’t have that kind of money.

Makeup Morsels Avatar

It’s great to hear from another teen who’s into beauty! The splurge items in here are things I saved up for by working summer jobs, but I definitely understand not having the budget for, say, a Dior lipstick at 16. Which is why there’s always the drugstore 🙂 I probably bought the majority of my lip products there, love the Revlon lipsticks and glosses in particular.

Krystle Avatar

These are great product sugggestions but I think most of these products aren’t within reach or budget for most teens. There are plenty of Good quality drugstore products out there for teens to experiment with.

natalie Avatar

i’m a 16 year old beauty junkie and i liked the products you listed
ima huge fan of asian beauty products, have you tried dolly wink liquid liner or koji false eyelashes?
right now i cant decide on what to get between the dior addict lipstick in granville or lancome lipstick in rouge saint honore
any idea which is the better pick?

a great website for asian beauty products has to be sasa 🙂

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