Pick up your morning pace

Your morning routine shouldn’t feel like an Olympic steeplechase.

Real Simple compiled beauty tricks, multipurpose products and organizing ideas that will help make your journey out the door faster, easier and more relaxed – every day.

Body

What to do in the morning:

•Take a cooler shower. Hot water leaves skin red and blotchy and sets you back extra minutes in applying makeup.

• Streamline your underwater time. In the shower, first wash your hair, then comb through conditioner (which saves you detangling later, after a towel-dry). Next, apply excess conditioner to your legs (it’s a great substitute for shaving cream) and shave. Then lather up in the minutes it takes your conditioner to work. Rinse and you’re done.

• Use multitasking products. A body wash/shampoo lets you lather in one step from head to toe. A moisturizing body wash allows you to skip the step of applying lotion later. Moisturizers with sunscreens are a great way to skip a step, but if you don’t like those, try a cleanser with sunscreen; Freeze 24/7 Ice Shield Face ($48, www.freeze247.com) washes away impurities while depositing SPF 18.

What to do at night:

• Tan as you moisturize. Use a low-dose self-tanning moisturizer before bed.

• Exfoliate. Invest about 10 nighttime minutes once or twice a week in an at-home facial mask and body scrub. You’ll look fresher, moisturizers will be absorbed faster, and with your improved complexion, you might be satisfied with less makeup.

Long-term plannine:

• Impose a policy of one product per purpose. Organize one shelf or shower caddy for fast access.

• Banish body hair. Depending on your schedule, budget and pain threshold, cream depilatories (which smell less noxious than they used to), waxing, laser treatments and electrolysis can spare you from shaving for anywhere from a week to indefinitely.

Hair

What to do in the morning:

• Don’t stress over second-day hair. No time to shampoo? If your hair is long enough, smooth it into a low ponytail. If it’s not – or if it feels grungy – try a twist on the old-fashioned baby powder-at-the-temples tip and sprinkle a good-quality scented body powder at your hair’s roots to absorb oil, then brush.

• Leave it wet and accessorize. Wet hair can look “undone,” but add a barrette, hair band or claw clip and you have a neat, pulled-together look.

• Use the right drying tools. A dryer that’s 1,600 watts or higher gives you the fastest results. The nozzle attachment directs and condenses airflow and cuts drying time (for curly hair, opt for a diffuser).

What to do at night:

• Style while you sleep. For long hair, try dampening with a spritz of water and some pomade, then create a high ponytail, wrapping the tail around itself into a bun. You’ll wake up with soft, loose waves.

• Pillow-press it. If your hair is thick, poufy or frizzy (but not oily), consider showering at night, then blow-drying before bed. A night of lying on your hair will iron out the kinks.

• Deep-condition. A couple of nights a week, apply a nourishing mask to damp hair. Blow a hot hair dryer over your head, then put on a shower cap. The heat helps the nutrients penetrate the hair. It’s worth the effort: Healthy hair has less frizz to tame and responds better to styling.

Long-term planning:

• Script your next meeting with your hairstylist. Before moving on to celebrity gossip, tell him you want a cut that suits your hair’s natural texture, alert him to any foibles (like a cowlick or an odd part), and have him suggest ways to style the cut without blow-drying.

• Maintain your color. When dying your hair, stay within two shades of your natural color to ward off obvious roots and to lengthen the time between touch-ups.

• Schedule your next appointment before you leave the salon.

Makeup

What to do in the morning:

• Stick to the basics. Skip foundation if you have only a minute or two and instead apply a little concealer. Follow with lip and cheek tints and finish with mascara.

• Brighten your eyes. Apply a beige shadow all over the lids and to the inner corners of your eyes. It instantly brightens eyes and makes you look as if you’ve had a full eight hours of sleep (instead of three).

What to do at night:

• Groom your eyebrows.

• Lay out makeup the night before. Choose a few key cosmetics and keep them in one container.

Long-term planning:

• Weed out what doesn’t work. No matter how expensive they were, holding on to cosmetics you don’t use is a waste of space and time. Or…

• Double up. Keep a duplicate set of makeup in your handbag or office drawer for those days when you have absolutely no time to apply at home.