Since beauty habits and advice are often passed down from mother to daughter — and since Mother’s Day is right around the corner — we teamed up with Dove to bring you our favorite mom-approved beauty and style tips, tricks and hacks straight from the women who taught us best. We’re kicking it off with the new Dove Beauty Stories: Four Generations film that reveals one real family’s generations-old beauty secret, before *we* reveal our mothers’ bookmark-worthy insights and a few amazing throwback photos too. Scroll down to read ’em all, then share your #BeautyStory and celebrate the real women who inspired it!
1. “Store face and eye cream in the fridge to get a cooling effect when you take makeup off. It’s helps give your eyes a refreshed look.”
– Ashley Perlman, Digital Sales Planner
2. “My mom’s been turning regular scarves into infinity scarves for way longer than they’ve been a trend. A quick stitch by hand or on the sewing machine and boom, you’ve got a loop. Perhaps that’s what inspired me to turn my old sweaters into a circle scarf last winter! :)”
– Anj Temple, Head of Creative
3. “Always rub your eye area with your ring finger when cleansing or applying makeup. It’s your weakest finger which means you won’t rub rough enough to pull the skin and make it saggy/wrinkly in the future.”
– Brit Morin, Founder + CEO
4. “For bouncy curls with no irons/heat, wash your hair at night, then tightly twist pieces of wet hair and pin to your head with bobby pins. Sleep on a towel and in the morning, unpin + untwist to reveal a head full of Shirley Temple curls”
– Juliet Ashley, Manager, Brand Analytics.
5. “It’s always better to be overdressed. My mom is the epitome of being pulled together; hairspray, makeup, jewelry (where did she go wrong with me…) I don’t know if it’s truly a hack, but a good pair of heels can make any outfit better.”
– Tammy Evrard, Midwest Director Brand Partnerships
6. “My mom, Sherry, was always a big fan of phrases like “Less is best.” She advocated for minimal makeup… all you really need is a foundation, mascara and lip gloss. The beauty routine definitely worked for me throughout high school because I played sports before school and got ready in the locker room (ick!) Today, I can’t bring myself to wear much more.”
– Victoria Haas, Channel Marketing
7. “The best hack was how she convinced us that playing beauty parlor was super fun so we would give her head massages.”
– Alexis Monson, Managing Community Editor
8. “Use lotion to remove eye makeup instead of eye makeup remover.”
– Anj Temple, Head of Creative
9. “Deb has had some version of Rod Stewart’s choppy mod haircut for as long as I can remember, and I’ve never really seen another person rock it IRL. She helped me learn that it’s okay to not look like everyone else and to believe in the statements you make, like wearing a cowboy hat and a basketball tee together like in this pic.”
– Kate Puhala, Style Editor
10. “Put nail polish on your stocking runs, to stop them from running.”
– Krystle Cho, Designer
11. “My mother swears by Dove Beauty Bar. She actually brings her own bar when she comes to visit just in case I don’t have one at the moment (#yep). God bless it, if she can look this good at 69 she must be doing something right!”
– Tammy Evrard, Midwest Director Brand Partnerships
12. “Honestly, my mom taught me to mix patterns and to wear every single color under the sun, except beige. It’s not really a hack, but I think it’s pretty obvious that letting patterns and colors run wild throughout our home and in our closets has had a huge impact on my personal sense of style.”
– Anj Temple, Head of Creative
13. “My mom would sew quarters into the hems of my sister and my skirts when they were too short or the material was bizarro and wouldn’t hang right (think uniform skirts, any formal dress). She did this in coats too!
– Angela Velez, Community Editor
14. “My mom’s into essential oils and she taught me that frankincense and melaleuca oil are both good for clearing up breakouts.”
– Cortney Clift, Associate Editor
15. “Whatever you do don’t touch your dirty fingers to your face.”
– Kelly Bryden, DIY Editor
16. “She knew how to sniff out a deal like no other. She would be like “guess how much this is? GUESS?!?!?” And it would always be like $2… Til this day I still get the most compliments on shit she’s dug up for me… probably for $2.”
– Alexis Monson, Managing Community Editor
17. “My mom taught me how to look classy as ever in a dive bar.”
– Rachel Bullen, Vendor and Customer Support
18. “My mom has a super luxurious end-of-day routine, which is probably the reason she was able to wake up at 4:30AM every morning for work the last 43 years (#OGGirlboss). She’s a big-time bath lover. She takes one every night before bed, then spends the rest of the evening lounging in her teal and purple robe. And when it finally came time to hit the hay, she used to place a lavender pillow over her eyes to help her sleep. That’s how to spend “me time” right.”
– Kate Puhala, Style Editor
19. “If you’re in a pinch, wrap tape around your hand backwards to make your own lint roller.”
– Francesca Bean, Marketing Manager
20. “Don’t pick your face! I sound like gross girl even mentioning this, but yes adolescence and even adulthood has not always been kind to my smiling face. I can still hear my mom yelling from her bedroom to just leave my blemishes alone even now as a full on grown-up when I’m having a Kelly Kapowski-esque day.
– Tammy Evrard, Midwest Director Brand Partnerships
21. “It’s All in the Eyes/It’s Okay to Wear Full Makeup to Run Errands: I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup until I was 13, a tough age to make it to with just Lip Smackers at your disposal when you are raised by a mother who wears blush to the grocery store. I’m #blessed to have inherited Gina’s baby blues, which I grew up seeing surrounded by liner and a row of curled, mascara-ed lashes, colorful shadow artfully applied beyond them, shimmering highlighter below perfectly plucked and penciled brows. Every day.
In the year before the big 1-3, I employed a couple work arounds. I would sneak into mom’s makeup bag every AM, curl my lashes with her curler and brush their blonde tips with the slightest lick of mascara. My daily makeup routine has developed since age 12, but, just like mama taught me, it’s always about the eyes. And I feel totally fine applying blush+ to run errands.”
– Lisa Raphael, Editorial Director
22. “When my mom goes on a trip, she chooses a power color and packs everything to match. Last time she was here, everything she packed was navy blue or a print where navy blue was prominent. She’s actually here this week and on a red kick. Purse, shoes, coats, hats, gloves, sweaters, dresses, etc — she takes it to the next level.”
– Anj Temple, Head of Creative
What style + beauty tips did your mom teach you? Share your #BeautyStory in the comments below.
(Photos of our dear moms courtesy of Ashley Perlman, Juliette Ashley, Victoria Haas, Kate Puhala, Anj Temple, Cortney Clift, Rachel Bullen + Lisa Raphael)
This post is a collaboration with Dove.
