When we stop to think about the first person to influence us from a beauty and grooming perspective, one person comes to mind—Mom! And that’s doubly true for women who make their way into the beauty business, including today’s favorite beauty editors and bloggers. Here, popular bloggers share the best advice gleaned from their marvelous mothers:
Aging backwards
“When my mother was a teenager growing up in Miami, she used to slather baby oil all over herself to get tan — and then spent her thirties and forties ruing all the sun damage she could have prevented,” says Nadine Jolie Courtney of Nadine Jolie, who was raised in Alpharetta, Georgia. “I'm so thankful she indoctrinated me in the ways of sunscreen at a very young age. She counseled me to wear it not just on my face (child's play) but every day on my neck, chest and hands — the sneaky places where the sun betrays how old you really are.”
Numero uno
Sili Recio’s mother instilled in her a philosophy of self-care. “She said, ‘Don’t abandon yourself,’ which basically means take care of how you look, how you present yourself, etc., even after you have someone else to take care of,” recalls the My Mamihood blogger and NYC native. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done but every time I take care to apply makeup or dress up, I remember her.”
Shine bright
“My mom taught me from an early age that beauty is both internal and external,” says Patrice Grell Yursik of Afrobella, who hails from Trinidad and Tobago. “Even though she loves makeup and glamour and all that comes with it, she also takes excellent care of her skin and she drinks water non-stop. She also taught me ‘beauty is as beauty does,’ meaning if you treat other people well, as well as exemplify and walk in beauty, then it will shine from within you. If you really think about it, the most genuinely beautiful people are also the friendliest, sweetest, and kindest, right?”
Natural beauty
You may not think of Orange County as a bastion of natural beauty, but it was there that Christina Farrell of The Makeup Blogger developed her appreciation for the purer things in life. “My mom introduced me to essential oils as a facial moisturizer, and it absolutely changed my skin. She was way ahead of the curve! Thanks to her advice, using a facial oil is a now a part of my daily routine and my skin drinks it up."
Watch and learn
Growing up in Palm Beach, Florida, The Luxury Spot’s Bryce Gruber learned her skincare lessons young: “My mom always taught me that clean, hydrated skin is the most important foundation, and that makeup just isn't necessary 100 percent of the time if you use a good cold cream cleanser at night to sort of take away the day. I love Pond’s Cold Cream Cleanser because it's rich and reminds me of her timeless routine.”
Skin is in
“Always take care of your skin and use good skin care," was Nancy Houlmont’s mother’s favorite tip. Says the Beauty411 blogger and Michigan native: “I took her advice and am grateful I did!
Protective instinct
“My mom has a skin condition called vitiligo, so she was always on me to stay out of the sun and to wear SPF 30 — all day, every day," says Annie Tomlin of The Glowhow, who grew up in Southwest Michigan. "I am incredibly grateful for her insistence on smart sun care, because my skin is (so far!) showing relatively few signs of aging.”
Salve-ation
Growing up in Bergen County, New Jersey, Glam.com’s Valis Vicenty heard one refrain: “Moisturize!” “I learned that you must keep your skin hydrated especially as you age, as it tends to dry out.”
Sleeping beauty
Nicole Feliciano’s mom always said, “Never go to bed with makeup on,” reveals the Maryland native who blogs at Momtrends & The Shopping Mama. “And I never, ever have. My pores thank her.”
Down under
"Don't step outside without sunscreen" was the best advice Aussie Danielle Melnyczenko of Danimezza ever got from her mom. “With an average day in the outback hitting 40+ degrees Celsius, applying sunscreen was second nature from a young age and it's a practice I'm thankful for to this day,” says Melnyczenko. “Not only am I doing the best for my skin by preventing skin cancer but it's also still in great condition. Many beauty products actually contain sunscreen now which means I don't have to layer as many and I can just 'let the real me shine through'... another tip from Mum.”
Glam squad
“Hire a professional!” said Christiana Molina’s mother when her high school freshman daughter — who now writes about beauty for ELLE.com — wanted to wear makeup for the first time. “My mom took me to the beauty counter at Nordstrom in Orange County and said, ‘Pick one!’ She asked me to choose any brand I wanted to teach me my first makeup lesson, and like a moth attracted to the brightest flame, I selected the M.A.C counter without hesitation. There, a makeup artist showed me in great detail how to apply everyday makeup to half my face, while I replicated his technique on my other half. Having a pro show me first-hand how to fill in my brows and where to tap on blush from the very beginning has given me an advanced knowledge of beauty ever since.”
Southern sun
"I was warned to never leave home without sunscreen,” remembers Belle Belle Beauty’s Lindsay Rogers of her upbringing in Birmingham, Alabama. “I was told, ‘Not only will you regret it when you are older, but you'll prevent the melanoma that runs so prevalently in our family!’"