Have you ever had to get ready in the dark to avoid waking up your sleeping roommates? Don’t worry, Claire Ince has you covered with the best tips to still look great when getting ready in the dark. 

Whether you constantly oversleep and leave yourself with only 5 minutes to get out the door. Or you leave the house every day thinking you look incredible, only to look in your rear-view mirror and see an egg staring back at you, you know that getting ready for an 8AM lecture comes with a very unique set of struggles.

But have no fear – I am here with a foolproof guide to always looking fab when your commute eats into your morning lie in.

1. Lighting is Key

Doing your makeup in overhead fluorescent lighting is the equivalent of washing your car with no soap – it will look good for a while, but as soon as the water dries (or you step outside), you will realise you’ve made a grave mistake.

If you can’t afford one of those fancy light up mirrors that line the walls of Broadway dressing rooms (aka, if you’re anyone but a Kardashian), there are a few ways that you can make the lack of light work for you:

1. Go to uni way too early and do your makeup there (it’s more common than you think. If you’ve ever entered the ICT car park at 7AM, you know exactly what I’m talking about).
2. Get yourself a $10 mini ring light from eBay and clip it onto something nearby.
3. Turn on your phone’s torch, cover it with a sock or a few tissues to soften the light, and rest it against your mirror.

I’m well aware that all three techniques sound incredibly extra (and weird), but I promise that each and every tip will help you to avoid any ‘Oompa Loompa’ situations.

2. Pick Your Battles

When it’s 5AM and you’re likely very sleep deprived, it’s probably not a good idea to attempt winged eyeliner and an intricate updo.

Try and stick to a minimalistic beauty regime to avoid as many mishaps as possible (and it means you can set your alarm a little later).

For makeup, try to stick with neutral tones so you don’t accidentally overdo anything, and avoid anything that needs to be ‘perfect’ to look right (like a cut crease or a bold lip colour).

For hair, keep it as simple as possible. Stick with ponytails, buns, or simply rock your natural texture.

Pro tip: If you absolutely HAVE TO go the extra mile, pick between your hair OR your makeup. Attempting both never goes well.

3. Prep the Night Before

Of all the tips, this is probably the most important.

As annoying as the extra effort can be, taking some time the night before to set out your clothes and pack your bag can really help you to optimise your performance the following morning.

Think about the aerodynamics of the situation and get creative with your plan.

Position your bag and outfit in the place that will take you the least amount of steps to get to, remove the tags on any new items of clothing, choose shoes without any laces, and stack your clothes in the same order that you put them on.

At the end of the day, it’s all about efficiency.

Pro tip: If you heat style your hair, do this the night before as well so that all you have to do in the morning is touch it up. Take it from me, sleep deprivation plus flaming hot ceramic plates will always equal third-degree burns.

4. Make Use of Your Resources

If any of your housemates or siblings happen to be budding makeup artists, hair stylists or fashion designers, why not give their careers a kickstart?

If you really struggle with getting up early but don’t want your style to suffer, consider offering to do their washing or grocery shopping in exchange for glamming you while you’re still sleeping.

Don’t hate the player, hate the game.

5. Give Up

And if all else fails, just rock up to class in your pyjamas (or trackies or activewear) and call it a day.

By the time week 4 hits you’ll fit right in!

Feature image: Claire Ince