The Beauty Advice I’m Giving My Daughter

With Mother’s Day looming, it got me thinking about all the little nuggets of beauty wisdom my Mum gave me. It’s those little adages of appearance and grooming that I so frequently notice myself repeating to Lulu now. Isn’t it funny how we end up a facsimile of our mothers, even when we’re not trying?

I recently got together with Mum and Lulu for a shoot to promote a Mother’s Day giveaway we’re doing with Daily Label and Luna Lux (check it out here). Mum, Lulu and I spent the afternoon reenacting our favourite ways to spend time together, albeit in a much more stylized way (think full makeup and wearing Daily Label pieces).

Sigourney wears Daily Label Cosy Roll Neck Jumper, Maxine wears Daily Label Mist Long Sleeve Tee.

We were laughing about some of those life/beauty lessons that have been passed down the generations. Here are a few of them and how I’ve tweaked them for Lulu… I wonder how many of them your mum said to you?

Wear sunscreen every day and stay out of the sun

Mum looks incredible for her age and I’m sure it’s because she’s fanatical about the sun. I’m so glad she was super protective of my skin, too. She would always slather me in SPF 30 as it that was the best we had back then. Lulu is starting to understand the importance of sunscreen after all my lecturing. Her favourite is the Kids Cancer Council Roll On sunscreen because she finds them easier to apply. For every day I like the Moo Goo Invisible Zinc for Kids and for the beach the La Roche Posay Anthelios XL Wet Skin Sunscreen is such a clever innovation.

Moo Goo Invisible Zinc

ALWAYS cleanse your skin before bed

Again, I’m not perfect at this but I cleanse my face 90% of the time and the other 10% is when I’m barely wearing makeup. Lulu is still too young to wear makeup but the one bed-time ritual she has adopted is wearing an eye mask. On the shoot day she loved the Luna Lux Eye Masks and ever since has been wearing her pink one to make sure she has only the most glamorous shut-eye.

Luna Lux Eye Masks

Lulu wears Tutu Du Monde Tutu.

Don’t overpluck your eyebrows

Another Mum Classic! Many of our Mums overplucked their brows in the seventies and learned a harsh lesson, just in time to warn their daughters for the pin-thin brow trend of the nineties. As is customary to ignore much of mum’s beauty advice, I plucked my brows like crazy in year 10. By some small miracle they did grow back. Thank goodness. But it’s proof – mum is (always) right. I’ll be interested to see what brow trend is in when Lulu is a teenager. If you’re going to pluck them, be a dear and use a nice sharp slanted Tweezerman Tweezer.

Tweezerman Tweezer

Sig wears Daily Label Blush Weekend Shorts and Blush Easy Tank.

Don’t leave the house without brushing your hair

Mum always made sure I was neatly turned out. I can’t say I’m as good at doing that with Lulu. Lulu has MUCH thicker hair than I did when I was a kid and she’s stubborn and dramatic about brushing it, so we follow through on this one about 90% of the time. If you have a similar problem with hairbrush tantrums, my tip is to try the Happy Hairbrush, it significantly reduces knot-removing pain.

Happy Hairbrush

Sigourney wears Daily Label Fitted Tank in Grey.

There’s no need for makeup until you’re older

Lulu is constantly breaking into my makeup bag, and while I’ve mostly held her back (mum’s words echoing in my ears) part of me wonders what’s so bad about experimenting with the artistry of makeup. Sure, the products contain chemicals that I don’t really want on her precious skin, but a little bit of blush and lipgloss occasionally can’t really hurt. So lately I’ve decided to start teaching her little bits and pieces. Who knows? Maybe it will spark a career as a makeup artist. My friend Sara (who was pregnant at the same time as I was) created an organic mummy and me lipgloss range with this in mind. Angel Wings Cosmetics (named after her daughter Angelique) has a peppermint scented lipgloss duo – one for mum and for daughter. It’s the perfect rose tint, too.

Angel Wings Lip Balm Duo Pack Mamma & Mini

Maxine wears Daily Label Soft Sweater in White.

For perfect skin and hair you can’t beat a silk pillowcase

Now this isn’t advice Mum gave me but I guarantee if silk pillowcases had been de rigeur in the 80s she would have had several. Lulu has discovered a penchant for silk pillowslips too, since she tried the Luna Lux pillowcases we had for our promotion that are especially made for your skin and hair. The mulberry silk is actually impregnated with hyaluronic acid and argan oil that stays for around 30 washes. So yep, she’s spoilt for life now. And so am I. Don’t think I could ever go back to cotton!