Beauty Tips

I Imposed a 15-Minute Mirror Rule on Myself for One Week. Here's What I Learned

Trust me, this story is not going where you think it's going

by Katie McCarthy | COMMENT

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You know your most extra friend? The one who needs two bags for toiletries and skin-care on vacation, who's never been to the grocery store without wearing concealer, who reserves a hot 45 minutes each morning just for doing makeup and hair?

Well, that's me. You can check out my painstakingly groomed self in the photo at right. It's not unusual for a beauty writer to be so high-maintenance, but that doesn't mean my mom or ex-boyfriends have hated it any less.

Author Zadie Smith recently made waves by announcing that she gives her not-quite-tween daughter a 15-minute time limit on grooming each day. "I saw that she had just started spending a lot of time looking in mirrors," she said."It was infuriating me. I decided to spontaneously decide on a principle: that if it takes longer than 15 minutes, don't do it."

"I explained it to her in these terms: you are wasting time, your brother is not going to waste any time doing this," she added.

Total Beauty editors were split on this idea. One called the time limit makeup-shaming. Editor-in-chief Jill Provost, who famously gave up showering for a month, saw this restriction as potentially liberating.

Me? I thought the rule was savage and condescending AF, but I was willing to give it a go for science. Here's what I learned after a week of spending no more than 15 minutes getting ready each day.

Image courtesy of Katie McCarthy

Cover image via Imaxtree

SEE NEXT PAGE: Day 1: Making 15 Minutes Count

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