I need very exactly 40 minutes. Not one minute less, not one more.
Shower;
Contact lenses : A stressful moment! Must often do it all over again because of a particle bothering my eyeball;
Moisturizer: Mixing a pea size inexpensive cream with the (large) pea size overpriced high end sunscreen;
Hair de-tangling, product, blow dry, a painful, fastidious process.
Brows: Penciling one, then the other, using the gauge, then realizing they are not even and one is too dark, rubbing them off, trying to start over, decide there is not enough time, rubbing again, dotting concealer on the now redden area; Feeling discouraged because now they look paler than before.
Make-up finally something fun - but must hurry. So frustrating! Concealer, mascara, blush, powder, done.
Dressing: Slipping on one set of clothes; Deciding against one element; Having to change everything because then nothing else works; Adding jewelry; Sighing loudly and profusely (this is why it's a very personal, solitary process); Checking for bra showing, see through zones, neckline too low, hemlines, odd wrinkles, defects etc; Sometimes having to change entire outfit again because of one defective or less desirable element.
Footwear: Try on two or three types of footwear; Finally decide on one; Remember I have to stand up and run around in it all day; Swap for my most sensible shoes; Realize my whole outfit is destroyed; Swap back to my first choice; Swear (softly!) because I don't find my shoe bag in order to elegantly carry the sensible pair - for when I can't wear the cuter ones anymore, which I predict will be around 2 pm.
Finding a suitable purse: Saying out loud: "Where is my phone?"; Grabbing my phone; Remembering the need for a purse; Hitting my head with my hand; Checking the metal on my jacket /buckle /etc.; Eliminating half of available options ; Looking for an ideal purse I have in my mind but not in my closet; keep looking and wasting time, but the purse in question is not showing up because it doesn't exist; Finally falling back on one of the two same purses I wear 90% of the time which is either black or tan; Making sure I fill it with the correct minimal items.
In the winter, I must also add a coat, boots, winter accessories... and do this 10 minutes early so I can remove the snow from the car. It's exhausting and I wonder how is it that I still do it!