Life can be a juggling act, and when there are balls to be dropped, your beauty routine is an obvious casualty.

A third of women admit feeling guilty if they try to focus on themselves for as little as ten minutes, a new Twinings survey reveals.

So it’s little wonder a luxury like applying a full face of make-up isn’t always practical – or achievable.

“The idea of starting the day with an intensive regime of foundation, powder, mascara, eyeshadow and lip liner is about as appealing to me as setting my alarm clock for 3am just for the fun of it,” says Grace Saunders, author of new book Life’s Too Short, and freelance journalist, wife and mum-of-three.

But Grace argues that when time and money is tight, your make-up doesn’t have to be the victim.

Armed with a few simple cheats, you can be busy and still be beautiful.

Grace swears by a “no fuss, no frills” ritual, but if you end up leaving the house looking like death warmed up, take a few minutes for some beauty salvation with her time-friendly commandments.

CLEANSE: Essential unless you want a face full of grime and spot-inducing blocked pores. Opt for wipes for speed cleansing.

SERUM: A wonder for deep moisturising of the skin. Use as well as or instead of moisturiser, or even blend it with your tinted moisturiser or foundation.

MOISTURISE: Keep those worry lines at bay and choose a light moisturiser that absorbs easily.

SPF: Many new UV protectors are super-sheer and actually impart a glowy sheen to the skin.

FOUNDATION: Cheat and go for a tinted moisturiser containing minimum SPF15, so you can skip the SPF of the previous step.

CHEEKS: Blush a tiny bit of blusher in wide swoops to give tired-looking, lacklustre skin a little fresh-faced oomph.

EYES: A quick eyelash curl and slick of lash-accelerating mascara will give your lashes a lift while boosting their natural length in a matter of weeks.

BROWS: Add a quick comb and tint of the brows. Use coloured brow gel for instantly groomed eyes.

LIPS: Ditch the lippy if you’re in a dash – sheer gloss is quick and easy and can even be applied while running down the stairs towards the front door.