Thursday Thoughts: My Momma Said

My mom dabbled with makeup here and there but is a natural beauty and never really wore a lot of makeup . Thus she didn't really teach me too much about makeup and skincare as that's not something she had time for raising my brother and I on her own.

But she did pass down 2 golden nuggets of advice that I use to this day; they have helped form how I think of beauty and my approach to makeup.

Momma Said #1
"The best way to put on makeup, is so it looks like you're not wearing any at all"

I benefited from this advice more so as a teenager than now - so I learned to put on foundation without the awful line, eyenliner without raccoon eyes, etc...

I do still think about this but maybe not as much. Overall I like makeup to look like it's me just enhanced. I don't want to contour the Amber right off of my face if you know what I mean. Now that doesn't mean that at times I don't go crazy, cuz we know that I do. But usually on the day-to-day I like to keep it natural(ish) and pretty. So the way I do this is:

Foundation should look like skin - it should match your neck and blend, blend, blend
Contour should add a shadow - but not look muddy or too stark
Eyeshadows in neutral colors - blended in to create beautifulness
No crazy eyeliner on the lower lash line or too much up top - just enough to define

You'll notice that mascara, I don't include in this. In my mind the bigger the better when it comes to lashes (sorry mom!). Really what she meant was just to accept you and try to enhance what you like more than hide what you don't (oh no, my nose... fail). But overall I think this is something to think about when you're just learning or just going all out... does this makeup still look like me?

Momma Said #1

"Don't forget your neck and chest, it's where you'll show your age first"

This is one of those that I don't really know if it's working because I don't have wrinkles yet (knock on a big 'ol pile of wood!) but I continue to do anyway.

You can see that this is true though in general, even on celebrities. They're faces are beautiful and luminous (and tight, in some cases) but their necks and chests might have age spots, wrinkles, sagging, etc... Now really that's all inevitable, but while you're anti-aging your face it only makes sense to continue down a bit so you'll match.

I do this by trying to include my neck and chest in my moisturizing, exfoliating, and treating with SPF. I'm sure there's more I could do with this, but no one says you need to go crazy. Sometimes little steps will go a long way.

FYI... I was singing this song the whole time I typed this post!

So those are the bits of knowledge my mom dropped on me in my adolescence that I swear by today. What's your favorite (or not so favorite) piece of advice your mom gave you? Do you follow it?

Let me know and have a great Thursday!

Amber But Better