Racing a 5-minute timer to do her makeup

Primer goes on first, even in a rush, because it makes her makeup last all day. A beauty balm follows, a little on her hand and then onto her face with a foundation brush, working from the middle out. She thinks a couple of minutes here is time well spent. It makes "a canvas," she says, for the color that comes next.

The first shortcut comes at her eyes. There's no eye primer today, "cuz I haven't got time," so she sweeps a little balm over her eyelids and blends it in with her fingers. Concealer goes around her eyes, on "the little bluey bits" of the dark circles, and she says it works on age spots and sun spots too.

A touch of highlight goes just under her brows and along her cheekbones. Rather than full eye makeup, she presses a little charcoal gray along the base of her lashes, then a bit underneath with a wedge brush. Her lashes are fairly pale, she explains, and this makes them look thicker.

Peach cream blush gives her face color in a second. Then comes what she calls a little trick. She sweeps bronzer over the blush, then adds a little on her browbone for a soft wash of color across her eyes, in place of eyeshadow. If you're in a hurry, she says, bronzer is always a good thing to use.

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Waterproof black mascara is next, top lashes only if you're really rushed. "I wouldn't leave the house without my mascara, my blusher, my lippy," she says. "Absolutely not." Coral lipstick goes on, which leaves 24 seconds, and she spends them filling in her brows with a little taupe.

With seven seconds left, she takes her hair out, and the timer goes off. "There we have it," Sally says.

Women in their 60s, 70s and 80s wrote in to thank her. One called it the best makeup tutorial for their age group they had seen. Others were glad to see a real face with real wrinkles, done by someone who didn't take half an hour or a pile of products to get there. One summed it up kindly: she looks good because she looks happy, and the makeup is only the icing on a very nice cake.