Beauty Advice from My Mother to You

Happy Mother's Day, to mark such a wonderful day I thought it would be a nice change of pace to invite my Mother on to my little space on the internet, to offer up a few beauty tips, musings and pointers - after all Mum's knows best.

Beauty Advice from My Mother to You

On confidence...
"I always tell my daughters that beauty comes from within - you can have the sharpest make-up application skills in the world but nothing can beat a beautiful smile and self-confidence. It pains me to hear my own children, or anyone for that matter, nit-pick their appearance; be grateful that you are alive, appreciate all you have because one day if you are lucky, you will grow old and not only will the bushy eyebrows, thin lips, acne or anything you have decided is less-than-perfect no longer trouble you, but you'll kick yourself for all the time you wasted hating on your appearance. Everyone is beautiful in their own right and it is time we all noticed this."

On what she wishes she knew then
"By the time I was in my mid-twenties I had four children and as such had next to no time for myself, I neglected my skin and rarely bothered with sunscreen despite coating my children in a high SPF, head to toe. I wish I had set aside a little time each evening and morning to properly form a skincare routine and of course applied a little SPF to my face everyday. Your (points at me) sunscreen obsession most likely steams from all those days I nagged you to sit in the shade, and of course help your younger brothers apply their sunscreen.

I also think a little and hand cream goes a long way, both are the first areas of your body to show the signs of age so the sooner you begin to take care of such areas the better - as long as you pick age appropriate products (no heavy textures for teens or very young adults), there is no time better than the present to add eye and hand cream to your routine. As a parting note on SPF make sure you protect your hands as well as your face daily!"

On beauty secrets...
"I'm sure we all know the value of a good nights rest, water and a multi-vitamin but if you can, I swear by silk and copper infused pillowcases - they are kinder on the skin and really help prevent hair tangles and general frizz. Speaking of hair care, Superdrug and Tesco own brand conditioners are two of the best I have ever tried and are super affordable. I do tend to purchase all my everyday beauty essentials from Superdrug as all their own brand products are cruelty free."

On everyday essentials...
"I am a tinted moisturiser (NARS Pure Radiant Tinted Moisturiser), tinted lip balm (Burt's Bees) and mascara (Too Faced Better than Sex Mascara) kinda gal or should that be woman? I'm forever on the go running errands and walking the dogs, I like to look fresh and awake and prefer a quick five minute routine for everyday purposes and reserve a smoky eye and red lip for a special occasion. That's not to say I don't appreciate the effort that others put in because I do, I've just become a little stuck in my ways and know what works best for me."

On what she doesn't use...
"As an asthma sufferer I don't really wear perfume all that frequently as some can leave gasping for air. I do have a soft spot for Chanel No.5 Eau de Parfum and Thierry Mugler Angel Eau de Parfum but due to my condition they are strictly reserved for the most special of occasions and even then it is a case of less is more. I also don't tend to burn scented candles for that very reason, the only candle that doesn't leave me a spluttering mess is Voluspa Laguna but even then I'm not overly fussed if I have one in the lounge or not.

I do find it rather amusing that my daughters have a similar attitude to brows and nail care as myself - as a family of natural blondes our brows don't really need all that much TLC and as such tweezers are fairly hard to come by in our home (speak for yourself mother). I let my brows do their own thing and if I'm feeling particularly fancy I may run a little Rimmel Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel through them - a fringe really does hide a multitude of sins.

Nail care is minimal at best, as long as my nails are short and clean I'm happy - raising seven children over the last 20 or so years means my hands have somewhat been neglected, I mean the last thing I wanted to do was hurt a baby due to nail extensions or worse loose a false nail while rustling up the evening meal. I enjoy looking at bold and eye-catching nail polish shades but that's really as far as it goes, for me my hands are for practical use and not to be pretty."

And there you have it, a fairly insightful and no nonsense look into the make-up bag and mind of the woman that created and raised me. I do wish that we had filmed this chat even if just for us to look back on in 10 or so years, who knows maybe next year!

Happy Mother's day everyone.