big sister blog

i was never the girl who showed up to class every day looking put together. i’ve always envied those who wake up a lot earlier than they have to to do a full face of makeup and pick a cute outfit out. but me? i prefer taking an hour at most to make breakfast, do my morning routine, and take the last 20 minutes to spruce up for class. 20 minutes actually gets me pretty far and doesn’t necessarily mean i look like a hot mess every day. here are 10 essentials that i use to look cute and comfy for class, while still getting every second of sleep possible. 

chug water and don’t touch your phone! 

this sounds silly, but i’ve found that this helps me wake up in the mornings so much! i have never been a morning person and anything before 12pm is the morning at college. so if you’re anything like me, you have to find ways to wake yourself up in the morning. especially if you don’t want to be one of the lazy bums who can’t wake up before 1pm (i learned this the hard way my freshman year). 

immediately when i wake up, i don’t scroll on my phone or snooze my alarms, but instead i force myself out of bed, wash my face, and then go chug a bottle of water. this not only increases my mood, but i truly think it makes your face brighter and ready for the day. if you have a reusable water bottle, it helps to fill it up before you go to sleep and keep it on your desk/night stand, so that it’s right there in the morning. doesn’t get much easier than that 🙂 

completing the other parts of my morning routine before touching my phone also helps with waking up and feeling energized. i always make sure to make my bed before i leave. if i don’t, my day is automatically ruined. then, i make breakfast, brush my teeth, and put on a little makeup before picking up my phone and heading out. 

conceal your morning grumpiness 

this one’s a given, but concealer makes a huge difference in your morning appearance. it’s probably the most important makeup product to use. not only does it conceal dark under eyes from not sleeping enough (which we all suffer from), but it also hides any imperfections you don’t want your class crush to see. all i do is my under eyes and any stubborn acne and it ends up taking maybe 2 minutes max. my favorite concealer atm are the dior forever skin correct concelaer. it seriously does wonders by itself and makes your skin look airbrushed. a great option if you hate the way foundation feels, like me. 

a few swipes of mascara goes a long way

i don’t always wear mascara, but on days where i want to look a little more spruced up, i will. my current go-to is the thrive causemetics liquid lash extensions mascara. my mom randomly bought this for me one day and i was skeptical because i’ve never heard of it, but it is now my secret weapon. it lengthens your lashes like no other and extremely easy to take off. if you pair this with using a lash serum every night, it will quite literally look like you have fake lash extensions. the reason i haven’t always been fond of mascara is because of the hassle to take it off, but now i have no excuse. never again will i go back to my lash extension addiction, this $25 bottle immediately does the trick and lasts forever. 

swipe some bronzer on the lids 

this trick elevates your appearance more than you’d think. rather than leaving your eyelids bear, it takes 2 seconds to swipe some on to make your morning makeup look that much more put-together. my go-to’s are the benefit hoola bronzer (i’ve been extremely loyal to this product since i was in middle school) and the physician’s formula butter bronzer (drugstore!!!). rather than taking the time to do a whole eyeshadow look, swiping bronzer on leaves you with an effortless, “clean girl,” look for the day. 

a quick and easy hairstyle 

high school was a huge messy bun era for me, but i had to change this when i came to college. doing my hair is one of my biggest weaknesses, but there are so many quick and easy ways to make up for this. one of my go-to’s is using a claw clip, whether it is putting all of my hair up or opting for a half-up-half-down look. amazon sells packs of the cutest claw clips, so i obviously chose the pack of neutral colored ones and i am obsessed. another go-to is wearing a headband with a ponytail or with your hair down. i’ll even try to match the color with whatever outfit i’m wearing, which makes it much more put-together. the last and most obvious one that’s clearly in trend right now is slick backs. achieving this look is much easier when you have a thick styling brush and a gel stick, but when done right, it radiates clean girl energy like no other. 

the key to looking put-together: cute and comfy sweat sets

this one is probably my favorite on the list. wearing a matching sweatsuit is key to embracing a cute and bummy look for class. and with the right shoes and accessories, it’s chef’s kiss. my go-to sweatsuits are from the aritzia tna comfy fleece collection. my favorite color is “heather chrome” and i have probably purchased every single piece from the collection in this color because its the perfect shade of grey and so versatile. i know what you’re thinking, “i am not spending all that money on a plain sweat set.” as someone who wears loungewear 90% of the time, i promise you will not regret it. it is the comfiest set ever and is such good quality (and i have tried a lot), not to mention it comes in every color possible. if you don’t want to spend your coin on this, amazon has so many dupes (i love the hanes ones). aerie also has very cute and affordable loungewear (and they almost always have a sale)!

flare leggings

this is also another one of my faves, as i feel as you can pair these with anything and look like you put lots of effort into your outfit. thanks to emma chamberlain, my favorite flare legging look is with a crewneck and a turtle neck underneath. paired with accessories and platform mini uggs and a headband makes you look like the ultimate “cool-girl influencer.” i was able to get my hands on a pair of the lululemon nulu flare legging awhile ago and while they are definitely a good investment, there are so many other pairs that are much cheaper and equally flattering and high-quality. i recently got the aritzia tnachill atmosphere flare legging (in heather chrome, of course). and they come in different lengths. they are only $30, extremely flattering and i’ve never found a pair of flair pants that i don’t have to take to the tailor to get hemmed. aerie also has great flare pants, but fair warning: they are much thinner but the crossover ones do your waist wonders). btw, this is not sponsored by any of these brands, just a very loyal customer 🙂

accessories!!! 

i’ve always been a huge accessory girl, but that doesn’t mean you need to be iced out 24/7. simply adding a cute baseball cap to your outfit (especially when you’re having a bad hair day) will automatically make it look cooler. but, if you are also an accessory girl, i’d encourage you to throw a pair of tiny, chunky hoops in, a staple chain, and some funky rings. urban outfitters and amazon have lots of cute and affordable jewelry that doesn’t tarnish, or if you have a family heirloom or gifted piece, you can wear that, as well. i’m always complementing people on their accessories, as they are the first thing i notice! 

careful shoe choice 

i always tell people that if there are three things i can’t live without, its shoes, hoodies and lipgloss. i can never get enough and will gladly spend my money on them any day. though my parents don’t love this, i truly think spending money on shoes is a great investment. whether its a comfy pair of platform mini uggs, a cool pair of sneakers, or a stylish pair of chelsea boots, having a closet full of a variety of shoes is very useful, especially in college. therefore, choosing the right pair of shoes to go with your bummy fit makes it look more like cool streetwear. some of my essential pairs of shoes include: new balance 530s, classic mini uggs in chestnut, new balance 550s in carolina blue, platform doc martens, and steve madden chelsea boots. these five pairs alone allow me to go anywhere, no matter the occasion, not only in style but also in comfort. most short-lived, trendy shoes tend to be extremely uncomfortable, which is why investing in a basic pair of comfy shoes will definitely be worth it in the end. 

hydrated lips

my mom always made me apply lipgloss before i went anywhere when i was younger and i found it to be the most annoying thing ever. we’d get in screaming matches over this. now, i can’t go one second without having something on my lips. whether its chapstick or a tinted lip oil, i always make sure to have some kind of lip product on hand at all times. having dry lips just looks crusty, and even if they aren’t chapped, having glossy lips is much more flattering and attractive. another “pro” tip that i learned from tiktok is to use the benefit benetint before applying anything else. its’ a perfect shade of pink that stains your lips and cheeks and lasts all day. while it doesn’t necessarily hydrate them, it gives them a very flattering tint that, when paired with a gloss or chapstick, looks bomb. and, even if your gloss goes away quickly, you’ll still have that adorable pinky/red tint on! my biggest problem with wearing lipgloss was how sticky it was, therefore, my go-to’s are ones that are not sticky, like the summer fridays lip butter balm, the rhode peptide lip treatment and the tower28 shineon lip jelly. 

this sounds like a lot, but again, this all takes about 20 minutes to do in the morning and will have you looking like a real morning person. i believe being comfy throughout your long day of classes is key to focusing and feeling your best. just because you aren’t all dolled up everyday doesn’t mean you can’t look super cute!