Asking someone if they’re a skin care or makeup person is like asking if they’re a cake or a pie person. They are both so different that I can’t imagine anyone feeling like pulling one over the other. But still, I’m a … total skincare girl. Do not get me wrong. I also love makeup, but sometimes I feel like there are so many directions to look in and sometimes knowing what to do is overwhelming. But it’s more methodical with skin care. There are certain steps to follow and bracket products that you know you should really be using for certain results – like Lancôme’s Advanced Génifique Face Serum ($ 105) which, by the way, gives you a stronger skin barrier in a drop and one gives skin a healthy, radiant appearance in just seven days.
But there is more to it than that. I think everyone finds solace in the things they learned at a young age or learned over the years. Whether it is watching their mother doing her makeup or watching her sister doing her hair, most people have someone they ask for beauty tips. “I’m pretty sure my mom is the reason I’m a beauty editor,” says Erin Jahns, senior beauty editor at Who What Wear. “Growing up I loved her routines and rituals, and her playful spirit continues to inspire me to this day when it comes to skin care and makeup.” As the curious editor, I asked Jahns if she would be willing to share some of the best beauty lessons she learned from her mom so that we can all benefit too. She agreed, probably because she knew I wouldn’t take no for an answer. Keep scrolling to read how much her mother played a part in everything from her career to her own rituals.
“My mother is one of those lucky people who naturally have the greatest, most age-resistant skin. I always joke that she has better skin than me even though she is 45 years older than me, but I say it in all seriousness! Your skin is plump, even, and glowing, and I’ve been shown to be jealous. However, my mom always took a very balanced approach to skin care and sun protection (she has ultra fair skin, so SPF is the name of the game). And she is well aware of how diet and exercise also affect the appearance of her skin.
“I don’t like my diet as strictly as my mom was hers, but I’ve definitely inherited her love and passion for high-quality, effective skin care. We both like to stick to more basic cleansers and moisturizers, but we love cell-detaching scrubs and rich ones Using serums that keep our skin looking glowing, hydrated, and youthful. My final obsession is Lancôme’s Advanced Génifique Face Serum ($ 105). I never want to feel like using more than one or two serums in my routine, and I love this one because it really does everything. It turns rough, dry skin into a silky dream and I swear my skin became noticeably softer and more radiant in the first week of use! From then on, the results keep getting better and better and it has also repelled my outbreaks. I am responsible for the strategic amalgamation of the bifidus prebiotic lich – which provides a healthy environment for the good bacteria on your skin to thrive in – and plenty of hyaluronic acid for hydration, vitamin C for antioxidants, and ceramides for a plump, dewy texture. Both my mom and I love skin that looks glassy and bouncy, and this serum is helping me achieve that. I know my mother wants in! “
“I remember my mom telling me years ago that the contrast we have on our faces correlates directly with how attractive we are to others. (That’s one of those weird evolutionary things.) Of course, as I got older, I learned to care less about what other people think, but this little fact has continued to influence my approach to makeup, and it’s non-negotiable, and I love the contrast of my dark eyebrows against my skin and my platinum blonde hair; I also deeply appreciate how radiant a bright blush can make me look even if I slept for about three hours the night before. Mum’s really up to something! “
“Like so many other people in my ’90s baby age group, I plucked my eyebrows in high school and college and waxed them the hell. I inherited my father’s more caterpillar-like brows (RIP), of course, just to devastate her with tweezers. Big sigh. Fortunately, my brows have come a long way in the regrowth department, and while they will never reach their full, original potential, they no longer look like commas three hairs wide. My mom and I are both big advocate of brow serums and she was also the one who taught me how to fill in my brows like a pro (and find the right complementary color) without completely overdoing it, it’s all about framing, lifting, and defining our eyes “she tells me. “That’s why I always thought that filling in our eyebrows was the key to a classic and beautiful look.”
“I guess I hit every creepy beauty moment of my youth, right? While my mom was kind enough not to say anything years later, I know my ultra-baked, ultra-tanned period in high school and college was pretty much her worst nightmare. Not only did I apply too much of my much too dark foundation, I also covered it with bronzer. Eep. At some point I took a cue from my mom and began to understand that my skin tone was more important than covering it up. You will never catch my mom with cake-like looking makeup. Her appearance is always natural and luminous and she prefers tinted moisturizers, light foundations and maybe even a touch of concealer when it comes to combating discoloration, redness or hyperpigmentation, a little moisturizer or even a serum (I do this with my Lancôme Ad vanced Génefique Face Serum, $ 105) to give our skin the most flattering, natural finish. “Your skin should still look like real skin,” concludes Mom. “
“I used to be so rigid about what I would and wouldn’t try in terms of skin care products and makeup, but when my mom started having a cooler beauty vibe than my (true story) I had some kind of enlightenment mom wears almost every one Color under the sun when it comes to makeup, but she knows how to pick the right shade to flatter her color and undertones. And as I get older, I’ve internalized that more and more, I’m going to try a purple shimmery eyeshadow and not batting an eyelid, and I really owe that to my mom!
“’Over the past eight years I’ve been fortunate enough to work with hundreds of older women through my work for a cosmetics company, personal makeup courses I’ve given, individual consultations, presentations and now comments that I’ve made from women my YouTube channel, “explains my mother. “And one thing that became heartbreakingly clear to me is that a lot of us feel like we’re too old to wear makeup, or that we should just be wearing neutral colors and avoiding colors. So I try in to demonstrate my videos, makeup techniques, and types of products that work for us now. And it’s the wonderful comments from so many lovely women that really keep me going! One woman said, “I’ve been around for 15 years been invisible. Thanks to you, I’ll never be invisible again! ”Another woman recently said,“ It’s so good to have beautiful looking eyes again. ”And one of my favorite comments was,“ Getting older shouldn’t mean we just give up. ”Me couldn’t agree more. ‘”
