What Is the Ready in 5 Minutes Set? An Order Built for a Five-Minute Application
The Ready in 5 Minutes Set is made up of four products arranged to fit into five minutes. The products were chosen by the minute, not by category: each step takes about a minute and requires no waiting before moving on to the next. The order is set in advance along with the products.
In a set where time is the deciding factor, drying time matters as much as the number of products. That's why, instead of a layered complexion product that needs setting with powder, the set includes a BB cream that's done in one step, so time isn't spent on the complexion stage.
How to Do Makeup in 5 Minutes: Minute-by-Minute Application
Five-minute makeup is done in four steps, with about a minute for each: BB cream in the first minute, stick blush in the second, mascara in the third and fourth, and lip gloss in the fifth. The remaining seconds are left as a buffer for fixes, and no extra product is added.
- Minute 1: BB cream with your fingers, from the center of the face outward
- Minute 2: stick blush in two lines on the cheeks, blended with your fingers
- Minutes 3-4: mascara on lower and upper lashes, from root to tip
- Minute 5: moisturizing lip gloss
The reason mascara gets two minutes is that the lower and upper lash lines are combed separately. When this step is rushed, product smudges onto the eyelid and the time spent fixing it is more than the time saved.
What Products Are in the Ready in 5 Minutes Set?
The Ready in 5 Minutes Set contains four products: an intensely hydrating BB cream, a satin-finish creamy stick blush, a volumizing nourishing black mascara and a moisturizing lip gloss. All four can be applied with your fingers or their own applicator without a brush, so there's no need to carry extra tools.
Not needing a brush is decisive for timing. With the steps of choosing, using and then cleaning a brush out of the picture, the five-minute flow is completed without interruption. If you prefer applying with a brush, finishing in the same time gets harder.
What Does the Ready in 5 Minutes Set Do?
On mornings when you only have five minutes for makeup, the Ready in 5 Minutes Set makes the decision of which product to use in which order for you in advance. Because the four products and their order are fixed, decision time disappears and all the time goes to application. The digging-through-your-bag stage in the morning is gone too.
Which Step Should Come First? Priority Order When Time Is Short
When time is short, the complexion step comes first and the cheek step second; if time gets even tighter, lip gloss is the last thing to go. When complexion and blush are done in two minutes, the overall look of the face is complete; the remaining two steps add to it but aren't essential. Mascara and lip gloss are the third and fourth priorities in this order.
For a flow cut down to three minutes, switching to multipurpose products is more efficient than reducing the number of products. The 3-Minute Makeup Set is built on exactly this logic.
How to Make 5-Minute Makeup Last Longer
For five-minute makeup to last all day, it's enough to place products in thin layers by pressing them in. Pressing BB cream on instead of rubbing it in, and applying stick blush in two thin layers, extends how long the product grips the skin. One thick layer breaks down faster than two thin ones.
Another point is temperature. Stick products soften in warm environments, so if left on the cheeks in a thick layer, they slide during the day. Applying the product directly to the skin and blending it with the warmth of your fingers stays in place longer than leaving a thick layer.
Why Does the Ready in 5 Minutes Set Use Creamy and Stick Textures?
The Ready in 5 Minutes Set uses creamy and stick textures because the first criterion is how long products take to dry and set. In a five-minute flow, a product that needs two minutes of waiting breaks the order, while quick-setting textures can be layered over without waiting. Layered products that need a long drying time don't fit this flow.
The second criterion is the applicator. Products with their own brush or tip don't need a separate tool, so taking a single piece out of your bag is enough. The third criterion is the number of colors: single-shade products don't cost you seconds at the choosing stage. If you'd like to go through the step order in more detail, see the Flawless Skin Routine page, and for other combinations, browse all the makeup set options.