Pare Down the Primping Into 10 Minutes or Less

NEW YORK -- If you're trying to streamline your beauty routine, experts say you should worry more about the tools than the time.

Primping in 10 minutes or less is a realistic goal as long as you have all that you need -- and nothing you don't -- immediately available. Invest one afternoon to assess the condition of your hair and skin, get a haircut, buy the cosmetics colors you want to wear that season. After that, the clock can start ticking:

Hair
Make sure you are using products appropriate for your hair type (moisturizing ones for dry hair or volumizing for fine hair, for example), advises stylist Frederic Fekkai. Otherwise, you'll waste time in the styling process trying to undo what you've just done in the shower, he explains.

After hair is towel-dried and combed, address volume and texture.

If you have curly hair, you want controlled volume, which you get by applying mousse, gel or hairspray only at the roots around the base of the neck. Flip hair upside down, then -- using one hand like a clip to gather the ends -- blow-dry the roots of the hair. Direct the nozzle of the dryer upward so it will give lift to the base, which will later act as support to the hair at the crown.

You don't want the dryer too hot or blowing the hair around too much, says Fekkai. He suggests using a tennis sock and rubber band around the nozzle as an easy diffuser.

For the rest of the curly locks, flip your hair back, apply a finishing product and now point the dryer down from the crown while scrunching curls in your hand. No need to fully dry the hair.

If your hair is straight, also do the hair flip after towel drying. Put mousse or finishing cream on the hair at the scalp. This is where gravity will help you, because you're trying to build a base.

Now tip your head back and go full speed with the blow-dryer in every direction. "You want to keep it from getting flat," Fekkai says. "You want to go backward, forward, upward, downward -- the idea is to create a good cushion of hair."

A quick spritz of glossing mist will minimize flyaways throughout the day.