This is my morning face, post- concussion. I'm semi surprised I can write this email and make sense. Well, that may be debatable. It's not even a cool concussion story. I was reaching into a refrigerator for a water jug, the jug leaked, it startled me, and I stood up fast, whacking the top part of my head on the flat bottom part of the freezer door. Lame, right? But I believe it resulted in my partially focused gaze and major sleep face, plus a headache since I just slept for 13 hours. And have a concussion. But isn't the morning light great in my room?

10:16 AM, San Francisco

Woke up feeling mad congested and mildly regretting the 6 cheap beers I had last night. I hit up two dive-y bars in the Mission with friends (and a pair of somewhat antisocial French couch-surfers)... think pinatas, taxidermied animal heads, and two dollar PBRs. After last call we headed to a nearby apartment for Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" accompanied by Frank Zappa on vinyl. My friend was feeling flush and ordered a town car to chauffeur us back to our neck of the woods... hope that wasn't too much, eep! About to go wake up a friend who crashed on my couch for our standard hungover pile-o'-scrambled-eggs at the cafe next door.  

6:30 amI am on my side of the bed and woke up next to two dogs instead of just one.  When I went to bed it was dog free and just me.

 The night before chatted on the phone and chatted with Jecca drinking BV and Diet Coke.  

Morning routine is waking up, drinking coffee and playing around on the computer until I get bored or have somewhere to go.  When I am being good I go for a walk and work out, but I haven't been good for the last two weeks...BAH!

9:30am, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada

My 11 month old daughter wakes up at 7am everyday, which means I usually do as well. Sunday is her daddy's day to wake up with her, so this photo was taken after a luxurious sleep-in.

Last night, she went to bed at her usual 7:30pm (lucky baby). My baby-daddy and I drank a bottle of malbec, watched some PVR'd TV (including Up All Night - which should be required watching for new parents), and went to bed by midnight.

Usually takes me 20-45 minutes to get ready, depending on how much I care about how I look that day.

9:45am Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada.

It was -15 degrees here this morning, so I found it difficult to venture outside of my fleece sheets and down duvet. It's okay, it's Sunday.

  Last night I stayed in and watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part two. Yes, this is perfectly appropriate for a 34 year old. I was in bed by 12:45.

  I'm a nighttime showerer so on a work day I'm ready in 15-20 minutes. I always pick out my outfit the night before. Is that strange, I wonder?

9:32 am, West Hollywood CA Fell asleep with wet hair watching baby sloth videos. Woke up feeling like a sloth and looking like a member of Duran Duran.

Kristine and Rooney Mara

Edmonton, AB

My deepest apologies to everyone, but I didn't want to be left out. After this was taken, I spent 15 minutes in the shower before running out the door another 15 minutes later. It takes 5 minutes longer on the mornings I deign to shave.

11:48 am Salt Lake City, UTAfter a night out with friends and late night texts with a cute, out of town guy, I crashed out on the couch - fully  dressed, contacts still in. (I don't really wear make up, though Cat has me dying to try BB cream now.) I woke up sans pants. It always kinda amazes me that I can do that without waking up. Never fails.

I'm in Oakland, Ca, 8:15 am.

I'm a full time single mom and teacher and student, so Friday night consists of watching some kid TV with my sons and then doing homework.

It takes me 30 minutes to get ready in a pinch, 45 if I do it well.  My hair is crazy so a shower in the morning is essential if I want to look non-crazy-haired.

8am  Jersey City

Last night I played boozy pictionary with college friends. A writing major at a visual arts school, I'm the weakest link. Bed by 2ish.

It takes me about 20 minutes of the snooze button, 10 minutes of virtual dress up to decide what to wear and 15 staring at myself in the mirror and too much jersey girl bronzer before I leave for work. Team night shower.

My cleavage would eat my face if it could.

8:30am Saturday Minneapolis, MN

I went to a party last night at my coworker's house down the street and subsequently left two hours later because I am an old lady and was exhausted. In true old lady form, I fell asleep watching Top Chef right after the Quickfire Challenge. And then I woke up with a charley horse, so this photo is after a failed attempt at massaging it out of my calf.

I usually don't wear much makeup aside from a dot of concealer here or there and some lip balm, so I can usually get ready in out the door in 5-10 minutes flat, 20 minutes if I shower in the morning which I usually don't (I'm a nighttime shower person). But depending on makeup and hair effort put forth if I'm going out, it will usually mean 30-45 minutes getting ready.

Lynna

9:00 am, Bloomsburg, PA

Last night I was reading for class, planning out art projects, talking to my boyfriend, and watching 30 Rock in an attempt to break myself of the boredom-eating-binges I've been going on. It usually takes me about 10 minutes to get ready in the morning. I would rather get as much sleep as possible than wake up early to do my hair and make-up.

Courtney

Sarah, 6am, Los Angeles

I don't know how other women look so serene in the morning, or at least without too much emotion. I snapped this as soon as my alarm went off, and it captures every morning I've had since I was child: confusion, on the verge of tears, as if I've just been pushed out of the comfort of the sweet womb of sleep into the chaos of my work day. I'm sure this picture will really up my chances of finding a life mate.

This is me waking up at 4:30 a.m. After a night of pasta and cartoons with my two favorite guys Cooper and Carter<3. I love this look plain and natural:-)

9:00 am, Provincetown MA.

I came in late from work and had Boursin  on flatbread with tabouli for dinner. I've been going out a lot as of late, often coming home at five in the morning. I haven't even slept well after that because I have weird dreams. I showered before I went to sleep and didn't wash off my mascara stains.

It takes me about half an hour to get ready, sometimes more because I'm OCD about color and pattern in my clothes. I have to include a lot of black, otherwise I get overwhelmed with the idea that I'm dressing like other people. And that leads to anxiety. Then there's Dr Jart's BB cream.. Thanks, Cat! Mascara, Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray and NARS lipstick in Vesuvio, Fire Down Below or Scarlet Empress.

4:10 am Poulsbo WA

I fell asleep last night around 9:00pm after bf of a year breaking up with me, a tears filled conversation with best gf, one glass of red and .25 of Ambien. I still remembered to wash my face.

It's been almost two weeks since I sent my first photo to this project. The first was less than 3 days post-op.  While feeling my worst people were so kind in their comments and well wishes. It was some of the best medicine (you know other than the morphine drip).  I'm still not feeling great (they took the morphine away). You can see one of my three incisions in this photo, under it is where they placed the ICD (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator). I could complain, there is plenty left that hurts and sucks, and plenty more that will suck in the future. Right now, I just want to be thankful. Not to sound too much like a PSA but 1 in 100 people are born with a congenital heart defect like mine, some worse, many don't make it past 1 year, even more don't make it out of their teens. I just want to be thankful for every morning face that I get. In all of it's red, puffy and sometimes painful glory. In six months, I will be 30, even if this project is over, I am going to wake up that morning, and take a picture of myself. I am going to post that photo on every public forum I can. Morning faces are more than just crinkled up, confused, glazed over looks, at least for me, my morning face is a victory dance. Looking at other peoples morning faces, I see the same thing, maybe they haven't been fighting their own heart from day one, but everyone fights something right? Perspective. It really is the most important thing a person can have.  

The first three are me right out of bed. My kid has a broken arm that could not be casted, so she was sleeping with me until it got better. Light wakes her up so I stumbled into my closet to snap a pic, or in the case of me with a toothbrush in my mouth, into the bathroom. The first thought I had that morning was "Why is my cat's fur in my mouth?" I was up and in the bathroom in about 20 seconds. The last pic, the one on the bottom, made me see that I look pretty pissed off first thing in the morning. Which I guess most insomniacs are after losing consciousness for three hours, only to wake the fuck right back up. 

From the moment I wake up to leaving the house, if I have only myself to propel through the door, I can be locking the door behind me in 15 minutes. I use zero products. But, if I'm taking a shower before leaving, I'll need an extra half hour to wash my thick and long hair properly. But no blow drying. Turns my hair to straw and I have no patience for it. Up into a bun or braid, put on some earrings, and go. Hopefully with pants on.

9:30am on Saturday, Columbus, OH

Last night I went to happy hour after work, checked out my friend's new apartment, then had dinner and drinks with my husband and 5 of our best friends. We got to bed around 1:30am.

I like to get up an hour and a half before I need to leave so I can spend time with my dog, eat, check emails, and pick up the house. I spend about 45 minutes on myself with showering, putting on a little makeup, and picking out clothes. (I procrastinate a lot in the morning, so even though I'm up plenty early, I am usually still late.)

Here's my morning face! I woke up at 8:30am after my surprise 30th Birthday Party the night before! Who says your 30s aren't fabulous?!?!

Sarah Ford :-)

9.09 am, Callala Bay, Australia.

What I did the night before:  Barbecue at my sister's farm, swimming in the pool and drinking champagne. Came home and watched Muppets videos on YouTube. 

My morning routine:  I'm usually up at 7am to get my kids ready for school, but I sleep in until 9am on weekends. I never leave the house without makeup, and my makeup never varies : foundation, loose powder, black eyeliner, and plum lipstick. It's done in five minutes but it still takes me about half an hour to get ready because I have to straighten my hair. My entire wardrobe consists of black clothing, except for this dress that I am sleeping in here (my first piece of colour in seventeen years!).

Karyn

12:43 am Manhattan, NY

I left work early because I was not feeling well. Came home braided my hair up and slept for 10 hours straight waking up in a stupor realizing that I had nearly slept till the next work day, I jumped up an immediately went in the bathroom to take a shower hence my half nakedness in the photo (sorry).  You see in order for me to be on time for work I MUST prepare the night before, and a major part of that preparation is showering... Yes I must shower at night or I will NEVER make it to work on time in the morn. Shameful I know, but with this hair and my slow as a snail pace in the morning I need at least an hour to get ready or I'm just not right...  I'm working on my punctuality/ the time it takes me to get ready but what can I say,  its a slooow process *shoulder shrugs* ;)

9:04 am Lugo, SpainMiguel

8:45 am, Frederick, MD.  

Late for most people, but I'm lucky and work later.. still, I manage to look surprised every day when my alarm goes off.  Almost as if I'm not expecting it.

As usual, my hair turns into an abstract art sculpture during the night, even though it is flatironed to death during the day.

I went to bed around 12:30, did some crosswords, and caught up on any news I may have missed during the day before crashing at about 1:00.  That's actually early for me - I normally go to sleep at 2:00.

In the morning, I really take my time by lazing around, drinking coffee and watching tv.  So my morning routine takes about 2 hours - I shower, drink coffee.  Makeup, watch a little tv.  Dry hair, pack lunch.  If I had to, I could be shower to door in 30 minutes.

Last night, I came home from work exhausted. I think I fell asleep for a second walking a friends dog. I'm a nurse on a cardiac unit, and to get extra money, I've been swinging shifts between days and nights.

I love what I do, even when there are days that I am either terrified and/or stressed for all 12 (sometimes 13 or 14) hours of my shift. I fell asleep at 1030 pm last night after eating an entire box of annies bunny pasta mac and cheese, because I was too busy and forgot to eat. If I am working, my morning routine is a perfectly timed 20 or 40 minutes depending on shower.

Sassy and Kristen Wiig

Sassy and Kristen Wiig

6:30 am, Austin

The night before I went to bed late (midnight on a weeknight is late for me) because I was working on an essay. My day job is editing for the web and I usually can't wait to get home to write all of the things I had to push aside that day. If I don't do it, I have trouble falling asleep because I keep turning it over in my brain.

I wake up in a snarly mood, but it only lasts a minute because I have 10 lbs. of dog on my chest as soon as I reach for the lamp (left). If I don't get up right away I have a super bouncy Pomeranian trying to stick her tongue up my nose (right). Lulu is my "therapy dog"--my first (cats only before) and she's three. She makes me feel happy and calm (the opposite of what I was three years ago). No, she's not a "purse puppy." Yes, she sleeps in my bed.

Kelly Love

@kellylove on Twitter

I stayed up till 3:30am watching Numb3rs last night and then regretted it this morning when my alarm went off at 8am so I could receive a parcel (an epilator of all things designed to cause even more pain)! x

9:00 am, Provincetown MA.

I came in late from work and had Boursin  on flatbread with tabouli for dinner. I've been going out a lot as of late, often coming home at five in the morning. I haven't even slept well after that because I have weird dreams. I showered before I went to sleep and didn't wash off my mascara stains.

It takes me about half an hour to get ready, sometimes more because I'm OCD about color and pattern in my clothes. I have to include a lot of black, otherwise I get overwhelmed with the idea that I'm dressing like other people. And that leads to anxiety. Then there's Dr Jart's BB cream.. Thanks, Cat! Mascara, Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray and NARS lipstick in Vesuvio, Fire Down Below or Scarlet Empress.

 7:30 am Ohio. Went out to dinner with my best friend last night - there was Prosecco and a cheese board involved. It takes me about an hour to get ready in the morning if I wash my hair - that also includes walking my dog (not a euphemism). Xo!

 8am, New Jersey (metro NYC area)

Last night I was watching trashy TV and Investigation discovery... also, got engaged. Legit. Drank Champagne.

It takes me 20 minutes to get up, showered and out the door, looking like trash.  My workplace is full of old people who think I'm young and hot no matter what.

xoSteph

Shannon

8:30 am, Toronto

Still hanging out in bed with my snuggly beagle (also pictured, because his cuteness makes my pale puffiness look a little better) (who hates mornings and likes to doze and cuddle for a long time before getting up)

What I did last night - not much for a Friday because I was tired from the week of work and not getting enough sleep any night of the week- rewatched this week's 30 Rock and Hoarders online and turned in early

8:00 am OntarioLast night was a self-indulgent, lazy Friday night consisting of watching the original 90210 on Netflix, having a long shower, eating pizza, and drinking tea in an attempt to unwind after a hectic work week. 

On typical work days, I need about 30 minutes from the time I wake up 'til I walk out the door (provided that I've already chosen my outfit and showered the night before!), but if I need to shower I'd add about 15 minutes to that. My weekday "getting ready" involves doing something to make my hair presentable, slapping on a bit of foundation to try and even out my skin tone, and applying mascara since I have such light eyelashes. As for weekends... there is no "routine" - I'll put on some makeup if I feel like it and usually just throw my hair up in a messy bun. Going out/special events I'd say it takes me an hour or so - I'll add eyeshadow/eyeliner to do some smoky eyes and either curl or straighten my hair. 

9:00 am Collingswood NJDrinks with an old friend in Philly. Started out as happy hour but turned into closer to five hours. I like to take my time in the morning, I'd say about an hour.

9:00am, Boston, Massachusetts Last night I was babysitting (only for the richest family in Boston, nbd) and got home at 12, slept a few hours until my boyfriend came home from work at 4am and then eventually slept again for a few hours. I don't look too hot in the morning and I'm a makeup freak (none in this photo, au natural.) so with shower it takes me  an hour and fifteen, but I also have longggg thick hair (that has a life of it's own in the morning as you can see) so that includes drying/styling time. 

7:55 a.m, Los Angeles

What I was doing the night before: watching the season 4 finale of Breaking Bad (such a good show, WHY did I wait so long???)

How long it takes me to get ready: 45 minutes (breakfast, shower, hair, makeup, get dressed) if I'm on my A-game. One hour or more if I didn't get enough sleep.

8:45 am, Wildomar, CA

Katie & Roo

Getting up entirely too early on a Saturday to spend the day in LA with my mom and sisters for my mom's 60th birthday. I have a disorder called Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome, so I usually sleep from around 4 or 5 am till 2 or 3 pm naturally... it SUCKS! My body can't sleep at night like a normal person; I'm like a little vampire!

8:30 am, my cozy bed, Fort Worth, TX

The night before I had dinner and fancy cocktails that I should not have indulged in because I am too poor!

6:45am  Madison, WI

Wrangling my two young sons to bed and obsessively obsessing over wikipedia articles, getting lost in the rabbit hole of autodidact addiction for hours. 

If its a school day for the boy, I'm out of the house by 6:45, and refuse to climb out of bed a moment before 6:30am - which, of course, leaves me only time to manically yell at the boys to get their boots on before we're late, again. I shower at my mothers, close to the school, and it takes me about 20 minutes to get ready. Kat  

Melissa, Louisville, KY, 7:30 a.m.,  This is what results when i go to.bed with my hair wet. It takes about 2 minutes to flat iron, but only because i do a half ass job of it.

This is after 6 hours of sleep. I can't believe I don't look like a scary goblin. 

This was me looking grumpy as all hell @ 7:15 on 1/29/12, on my couch. 

Passed out there after a night downtown with my man friend. It usually takes me 15 minutes to get ready, an hour if there's a shower involved.

4:10 am Poulsbo WA

I fell asleep last night around 9:00pm after bf of a year breaking up with me, a tears filled conversation with best gf, one glass of red and .25 of Ambien. I still remembered to wash my face.

7:30am

Massachusetts

I spent last night doing my taxes (not sure why that sounds like code for something else) and eating popcorn. I'm normally up everyday around 4am so today was a supreme sleeping-in for me. Including a shower, it takes me about 35 minutes to get ready. 

This is my Saturday morning face, at 9:30 a.m. in my bed in Connecticut.  I performed in a musical the night before (I did wash my face before bed, but there is still some eye makeup under my eyes; I never seem to do a good enough job!) and then attended a fabulous house-warming party, so I got about 8 hours of sleep.

My morning routine usually takes me about half an hour, although I'll admit that sometimes I show up to work looking exactly like this photo, minus the messy hair!  I have a love/hate relationship with makeup.  I vacillate wildly between wanting to look pretty and "I blame the patriarchy!"

I woke up at 8:30, got out of bed at 8:45. Had my queen sized bed all to myself. I spent the previous night switching between Kung Fu Panda and 500 Days of Summer and reading The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht. I've had some tea at this point, that's why there's a smile.

I woke up around noon and I'm sure I wasn't happy about it. If only I remembered what I was doing in Tivoli the night before. It was one of those fall asleep with makeup on kind of evenings. Soon after I woke, I attached this photo in an email, "The filming / photos can be done wherever you are comfortable. Maybe some place in between us? Maybe a public place would be better? I've attached a photo of myself, I am a real person."