FACT: 53% of women with young kids reckon that they would look much better if they simply had “more energy to care.” But given that a good night’s sleep may remain an elusive dream for most of us in the near future, special Fox contributor Kate Piasecka shares her top tips for getting by. This is her version of ‘foxy’.

By Kate Piasecka

Top 5 Tips On How To Not Look Like Crap When Pushed For Time

1. Hair.

Now I don’t know about you, but when it comes to my hair, I am really lazy. I’m going to be completely honest, I only wash it, like, once a week. I wash it on Tuesday mornings before work so I have nice, clean, straightened hair for one day. For the following three days I pop it up in a bun high on top of my head. I don’t re-do it, I just keep putting more bobby pins in it where required. On Saturday morning after three days of marinating in grease, I take out the fifty bobby pins my hair has accumulated, hang my head upside down, brush the roots out and then pop my once-straight hair into a high, ‘playfully curly’ (but actually disgustingly greasy) pony tail. Bit of hair spray and you’re on your way. Monday’s are my most feral day but I find I can get one last day out of my pony tail (now wavy rather than curly) before tomorrow’s weekly hair wash. Reading that back to myself makes me feel a little bit sick actually.

Awkward head tilt totes necessary to display high ponytail and $2 earrings.

2. Face.

On Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays I put on my full face because that’s when I work. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, however, I have a toddler standing next to me begging for “more toothpaste” so I have limited time to make myself look slightly more glamorous than a corpse. This is what I do. Moisturise. Apply just enough bronzer (remembering to BLEND down my neck) to look alive but not enough to look like I’ve face planted into a pooey nappy. Curl eyelashes. If time, apply a bit of mascara. And that’s it. Do you know what I should do? Buy a tinted moisturiser.

My no-frills beauty equipment

Tip: Remember to bronze your chest, you don’t want to look like Cadbury’s Top Deck. 

3. Earrings.

I’m not one to wear much jewellery. This is mostly because I never buy any and when I do, I usually lose it. I do however enjoy a pair of fake pearl earrings (eBay, $2), because they make me feel polished. Combined with my appropriately bronzed face, ‘classy’ high bun/’playful’ ponytail, I feel like I look not half bad. See pic above where I showcase these to full effect.

4. The ‘casual mum’ uniform.

This consists of the same ‘look’ year round, layered according to the weather. Right now it’s black skinny jeans (nothing fancy and usually covered in some kind of baby excretion), black/white/grey thick strapped singlet or ‘loose fit’ tee in same colours and a pair of black Havaiana thongs. Before I moved to Melbourne from sunny Perth and purchased my first ever pair of boots, I lived in my Havvies year round, and now during spring/summer, I still do. In the cooler months I team this same look with a pair of knee high boots because they a) keep my dry, b) keep me warm and c) make me feel a little bit sophisticated. Jacket, cardi, scarf and BAM, there she is! The half decent-looking mama. Oh and I should state, this is my leaving-the-house uniform. At home it’s my those-aren’t-pants leggings and a hoody.

Note to self: paint toenails. 

5. Feeling good on the inside.

Make sure you eat food three times a day and drink water. When I don’t eat, I suffer from severe hangryitis. That’s hunger and anger combined. Also don’t put off going to the toilet. Seriously, nothing will make you more scatter-brained and frustrated than constipation. Mate, someone had to say it. You know it’s true.

Shop Kate’s favourites:

 
What’s your secret to looking good when you’re too-busy-and-tired-to-give-a-crap?

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