Having been raised by a Lebanese-Irish family in one of the most Anglo parts of New England, West Hartford, Connecticut, my beauty ideals were all over the place. Throw in a Jamaican and a Puerto Rican best friend and it gets even more confusing.
At about 15 years old, I remember Sittoo, my Lebanese Grandmother, telling me how lucky I was to have “both”. Yes, my 70 year old, 4’11’ grandmother was complimenting my T&A. In a high school full of hot, lithe, blondes in Wellington, Florida, I was still only about 75% sure I agreed with her. And then came this family you may have heard of, the Kardashians. Love them, hate them, I am pretty much impartial. But I will say, when Kim K. came blazing onto the scene, she ignited a flame between each and every Middle-Eastern woman and her hips.
Long before Kim was a household name, my Puerto Rican and Jamaican girls were looking for the best angle to exaggerate their back half. And the whole duck-face, pouty lip thing is pretty much the poor girls’ lip augmentation. I remember going home from school and trying to scratch off my freckles (I am so sorry, Skin Gods…) and now people are drawing and tattooing (yikes) freckles on their noses. My, how beauty trends shift and are so very personal.
Recently, I crowd-sourced beauty advice on social media. Not just any beauty advice. Beauty advice from your most trusted source of wisdom – Mom. Additionally, I asked for the contributors to include their ethnicity and geographic location.
More than just another list of repetitive dos and don’ts, I wanted to see the correlation between geographic location and beauty ideals as well as beauty preferences based on ethnic background.
I received many different tips from many different demographics and I am so psyched to highlight and share some of them with you as we gear up for Mother’s Day this weekend. Before I do that, check out my Mom, what a babe.
My mom’s best beauty advice?
You can show cleavage or legs. Not both.
Large earrings or large necklace. Not both.
Smokey eye or dark lips. Not both.
Here we go!
Marie is also known as “Auntie Doc” to my family. My mom’s sister and a cosmetic physician, she had me on Obagi before it was cool. Her Lebanese roots love a good tan and it comes easy to her olive skin. Her common sense and medical education have made that a no-go. I will stay out of the sun forever if I age as well as this woman does.
How fly is Ella?! Seriously though. A California girl believes in great skin. Great skin means washing your makeup off every single night. Which means you wear makeup every day. Which makes me a fan. You can’t guess her age ( and I won’t give it away) but let’s just say her daughter Jennifer, pictured here with her, is genetically blessed.
Debbie – the mother of three daughters. All beautiful. All smiley. All with great makeup. And FABULOUS hair. Those Texas girls. They love their beauty but they also know the importance of a clean palette. PS – I personally know Debbie’s granddaughters and I will tell you that she has passed her beauty bombs to her daughters and, henceforth, to her granddaughters. Stunners.
Everyone ❤’s an Italian girl – and her luxurious beauty rituals! Look at Shelley. Really?! Shelley had passed down more than her beauty as her daughter, Melinda AKA the Beauty Broker, has been active in the world of cosmetic medicine for years. Not only has Shelley shared her secrets, Melinda now has an active social media following where she shares Italian beauty tips and tricks with her fans and friends. Check her out!
Lauren has a really cool beauty tip. A natural, glossy lash is so pretty, low maintenance and natural. The ultimate American-Girl look.
My Maryland girls! Diane has raised some pretty cool daughters who have beautiful skin. Can you guess why? Lotion. Water. Repeat.
Beautiful, smooth-skinned, blonde, Polish beauty, Kris, has an equally beautiful, blonde, fair-skinned daughter, Ali. Kris does NOT work for Nivea but I might after seeing their skin. The BEST piece of skincare advice, one we should all follow, is to “not neglect the neck”.
What can I say about Mary Ann? My Mother’s first cousin and the absolute raddest woman alive. The mother of two great adults and grandmother of the most adorable babes, this woman can be completely bare-faced and just glow. Why? because she lives her life with gratitude. She is the definition of a true warrior and has used the hashtags #OvarianCancerWarrior directly next to #LifesShortDrinkItUp. She is a shining example of all that is good in the world and I am not sure there is a photo of her NOT smiling.
My old school beauty, my great Aunt Annie. She is 95 years young and totally kicking life’s ass. Her daughter mentioned above, Mary Ann, one of five girls, shared a couple bits of wisdom I would like to impart on you today:
“She has always had female friends that are Aunts and adopted Aunts. Mom worked hard, always willing to try something new and still, to this day, beats me at word jumbles! So while the things she said to me may have been annoying as a teen, Mom’s way she lives life is the MOST beautiful beauty tip she shares.”
That and she once fell asleep in a yoga class and started snoring during Savasana.
Here’s to great Moms. May we know them, may we be them and may we raise them!
Happy Mother’s Day , Mom. I love you.
