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" The clock just struck midnight and, although you didn&amp;#039;t turn into a pumpkin, you&amp;#039;re still standing in front of the bathroom mirror. When it comes to maintaining your skin, teeth, hair and nails, after 8 p.m. tends to be the prime primping time for busy women. But that doesn&amp;#039;t mean you&amp;#039;re destined to skimp on beauty sleep every night. Thanks to the following tips, you can easily shave minutes off your daily beauty to-dos as well as less-frequent touchups, which will add up to your head hitting the pillow much sooner. Now if we could only find a real-life glass slipper... Skip Eye-Makeup Remover  Assuming you&amp;#039;re not shellacking on waterproof mascara and eyeliner for work, you probably don&amp;#039;t need a separate eye-makeup remover for everyday use. Save yourself a step by using a facial cleanser that&amp;#039;s gentle enough to be used around the eye area, like Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. Ultra-gentle cleansers are actually the best for your skin, anyway, because they don&amp;#039;t strip away beneficial oils, leaving the skin dried-out or vulnerable to irritation. If your skin isn&amp;#039;t breakout prone, you could even switch to an old-fashioned cleansing strategy: &amp;quot;Some of my patients use Pond&amp;#039;s Cold Cream to take off all their makeup at night, and it works great,&amp;quot; notes Kenneth Beer, MD, a dermatologist in West Palm Beach, Florida. Just dab it on and remove with a dry tissue or a damp washcloth (whichever you prefer).  Exfoliate the Old-Fashioned Way  With all the fancy scrubs, peels and devices on the market today, you may have forgotten about the easiest facial exfoliation tool of all: the washcloth. This linen-closet staple is gentle enough to use nightly with your regular facial cleanser and will sweep away dry, dull skin so you don&amp;#039;t have to waste time doing a whole separate exfoliation session (and possibly even more time soothing skin that&amp;#039;s irritated as a result). Bonus: Exfoliating your skin regularly means the night cream you apply will penetrate more effectively for quicker results. Plus, you&amp;#039;ll finally use the washcloths in all those monogrammed towel sets your mom bought you. Photo: Shutterstock Streamline Your Skincare Routine  Visit any department-store beauty counter and you&amp;#039;ll probably leave thinking you need to use a toner, several different serums (for antiaging, discoloration, etc) and a night cream before your face hits the pillowcase. But these days, plenty of moisturizing products pack enough punch that you can easily get away with a one-step application, says Dr. Beer. Focus on finding something ultra-hydrating; scan labels for the ingredients hyaluronic acid, squalene and glycerin. A formula that also contains retinol and/or alpha-hydroxy acids will help minimize fine lines and fade dark patches even as it moisturizes (we like Olay Age Defying Anti-Wrinkle Replenishing Night Cream). As for toner, unless your skin is extremely oily, there&amp;#039;s no real benefit to this step\u2014especially if the toner contains alcohol, which tends to wipe away too much surface oil and leave skin parched (something you definitely don&amp;#039;t want before bed, as it can lead to dryness).  Set Your Hair While You Sleep  Shower-at-night types know how relaxing this ritual can be (plus, you get to sleep in later). The downside? Blow drying your hair while sleepy. For a change, consider setting your hair using this easy method from Los Angeles-based celebrity hairstylist Jet Rhys: Squeeze your hair gently with a towel and work in a mousse or gel, like Samy Fat Hair Amplifying Mousse. After your hair has air-dried a bit, twist small sections until they loop into a circle that you can pin to your head. &amp;quot;For effortless waves, do six to eight circles,&amp;quot; recommends Rhys. Or, if your hair is long, save even more time by creating two high ponytails on either side of your head and rolling the ends into loops. &amp;quot;Go to sleep, and when you wake up, remove the elastics and shake, shake, shake,&amp;quot; she says.  Use One Super-Powered Hydrator All Over  Bedtime is the ideal time to treat dryness-prone areas of the body\u2014like your hands, feet and lips\u2014with a rich moisturizer, which will penetrate thoroughly as you snooze. But once you realize this, you can easily end up with a variety of different jars, bottles and tubes on your shelf. Truth be told, many overnight creams and lotions contain similar humectant ingredients, which help your skin retain moisture, so there&amp;#039;s no reason you can&amp;#039;t use one great multitasker on all your thirsty zones. A longtime favorite of beauty pros is Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant. Use it in place of lip, heel and cuticle balms, hand cream and body lotion. Plain-old Vaseline Petroleum Jelly also does the trick.  Try a No-Dry Manicure  Since you can&amp;#039;t paint your nails at your desk or in the car during your commute, the evening hours often end up being the default time for DIY manicures. And, even though this isn&amp;#039;t a daily beauty must, you probably want to save time on those nights when you can&amp;#039;t stand looking at your chipped nail polish any longer. Luckily, innovative nail-color strips offer a handy alternative to messy, time-consuming polish (try Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips). Once you get the hang of them\u2014just cut to fit, press on and file to shape\u2014these simple nail stickers take much less time than applying a base coat, two coats of regular polish and a top coat, and waiting for all those coats to dry. But the best part, really, is that you&amp;#039;ll never again wake up to sheet creases in your manicure again.  Whiten Your Teeth in a Flash  Many whitening strips require 30 minutes of time, but the touch-up versions, such as Crest 3D White Whitestrips: 5 Minute Touch-Ups, give you plenty of brightening effect when you use them regularly. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re an excellent form of maintenance for your smile,&amp;quot; says New York City-based cosmetic dentist Marc Lowenberg, DDS, who suggests using them at night to erase any stains you&amp;#039;ve accumulated during the day. &amp;quot;So much of what we eat and drink can stain the teeth, so this quick product helps to maintain white teeth by effectively removing coffee, wine and berry stains.&amp;quot; Switching to whitening toothpaste will also help you maintain whiter teeth (without adding any time to your routine).  Choose a Less-Fussy Self Tanner  It&amp;#039;s never been easier to give your skin a believable faux glow, thanks to non-orangey self-tanner formulas\u2014but applying the stuff properly still requires exfoliating your whole body first and carefully blending hard-to-bronze areas like your knees, feet and hands. Plus, you have to factor in drying time if you want to avoid dirtying your sheets (or getting streaks). Ironically, &amp;quot;gradual&amp;quot; self-tanners\u2014the kind you use in place of body lotion to build a faux tan over the course of several days\u2014can end up being the faster option if you prefer to tan before bed (try one of the Jergens Natural Glow Moisturizers). Just rub it on like regular lotion, making sure to wash your hands afterward, and you&amp;#039;ll develop and maintain a pretty bronze after just a few nights.   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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