This Infographic Will Show You What’s Killing Your Creativity

Know Your Peak Performance Hours: The genius 30/30 app operates on the idea that highest productivity happens when you focus on a single task, completely uninterrupted, for half an hour.

Keep It Simple: Don't over-commit to long work hours, because you'll just lose inspiration and stress yourself out. Makers stay creative on the daily by scheduling time for hobbies and creative projects.

Creative Space: We're not going to brag, but we're kind of pros on the whole workspace front. From organizational hacks to these workplace essentials we've got everything you need for the most productive office ever.

Sleep Habits: For obvious reasons, we're totally behind the nap idea. And according to this infographic on the sleep habits of creative people, naps are definitely part of the creative process.

Morning Routines: You probably don't want to hear this, but getting up early will give you extra time to get everything done in a more leisurely manner. Don't worry, we've got a few tips and tricks on how to become a morning person.

Make That List: Whether you prefer an app or a good old-fashioned paper to-do list, the mere act of writing things down will inspire you to start checking them off.

Plan Ahead: Take some time on Sunday to plan out your entire week. Write down things that must be accomplished this week and then figure out how to divide it up into manageable pieces.

Make It a Habit: Instead of putting “be creative" on your to-do list every day, just make it a habit by scheduling it in at the same time every day (see Morning Routines!).

Eat Breakfast: How many times do you have to be told not to skip breakfast? It is good for your health and for your productivity, and we've got some amazing breakfast ideas that can be made in no time. There is literally no excuse left.

Feeling inspired yet? Let us know how you use these productivity tips @BritandCo!

(h/t Ethos3)

This article was published in March 2015 and has been updated.

1. Full Coverage Foundation

There was a time where wearing full-coverage foundation was all the rage. From drugstore to high-end brands, it seems like they were consistently shoved in consumers’ faces to help us achieve a ‘full beat’ without sitting in a makeup artist’s chair. Also, those of us with dark spots or hyperpigmentation may have relied on them when we were in the thick of our skincare woes.

But these days, wearing too much foundation isn’t as popular as natural and skincare makeup are prioritized. If anything, more people are interested in wearing light-to-medium coverage foundation, skin tints, or tinted moisturizers.

2. Too Much Concealer

It wasn’t until I watched this video by makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes that I realized some of us have been too heavy-handed with our concealers. There’s no reason we should be slapping products under the thinnest parts of our face, but we didn’t know any better!

Now that you know you can still get the desired effect with a minimal amount of concealer, don’t revert back to painting your under eyes!

3. 'Baking' Your Setting Powder

Before you throw away your setting powders, step away from your makeup drawer and have a sit-down chat with me. There isn’t anything wrong with applying them to your face to help ‘set’ your foundation and concealer. However, spending over 10 minutes ‘baking’ your powder (AKA letting it sit untouched) doesn’t work for everyone.

It can lead to creased makeup which can derail your look, plus it’s a pain to correct when you’re halfway through your routine!

4. Overlining Lips

I love a good lip liner, especially if it mirrors my favorite ‘90s makeup look. But, there’s such a thing as overdoing it. The key to lining your lips is following the natural flow of them. Going out of your way to draw above and under your lips’ lines comes off as comical and exaggerated. If anything, use a lip plumping gloss to help your lips look fuller.

5. Overtweezing Your Eyebrows

I don’t even have the words for this outdated makeup look besides wanting to say “no” 20 times in a row. But, I’ll bite and say why this shouldn’t be on your 2025 beauty moodboard.

Some people naturally have thinner eyebrows which is A-okay! However, purposely tweezing your eyebrows to smithereens is cringey. If you truly want to wear this look, here’s what you can do instead of tweezing:

• Create a faux bleached look by applying a skin tone colored setting powder all over your brows.
• Once they’ve ‘disappeared,’ take an eyebrow pencil or eyeliner to draw a thin line over them.

I’m…wondering what the ramifications of telling you how to do this will be, but only use go for this look if it’s a part of a themed party…like Halloween.

6. Exaggerated Highlighter On Cheeks

The shimmery look is in since it’s winter, but please don’t make it look like you dipped your cheeks into a vat of glitter. You can lightly dust highlighter onto your cheeks for a more natural glow that flows with the rest of your look. Otherwise you’ll look like a walking disco ball which could be the opposite of what you were going for.

7. Heavy Contour Or Bronzer

I know the ‘sculpted’ look is popular, but too much contour or bronzer can overpower the rest of your makeup and face. While it’s not impossible to fix if you do it by mistake, using the wrong shade of contour or bronzer may still peep through no matter how much you try to buff it out.

When in doubt, be gentle with your contour or bronzer application!

8. Incredibly Matte Makeup

Matte makeup that didn’t budge was the ‘It Girl’ look for oily and combination skin girls! We thought it was the answer to our skin’s incessant need to hydrate our faces instead of actually using skincare products that focused on combatting that issue (psst…Vitamin C serums help!).

But now’s the time to break up with this look for good for one reason: dewy skin looks healthier.