15 Priceless Little Pieces Of Beauty Advice From Mom

    When it comes to looking good, mom really does know best.

    Julie Gerstein
    by Julie Gerstein

    BuzzFeed Staff

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    1. Always pluck from below.

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    "My mom taught me that when shaping your eyebrows, always pluck from below the brown, not above —that way you can maintain the arch. Also that plucking eventually stops hurting, which it totally did."

    2. Dust your blush brush.

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    "I'm one of those people that can go a little crazy with the blush, so my mom always taught me to dust a little blush off on your hand before applying to your face."

    3. Protect your neck.

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    "I learned from my friend's mom that your neck has the same skin as your face so you should moisturize it just as often."

    4. Toss your old makeup and beauty accessories.

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    "My mom taught me that you should never use makeup that's 5-10+ years old that you just happened to find somewhere. My mom rarely wears makeup and she had some concealer in the medicine cabinet from the early '90s, maybe the late '80s. When I was a tween I was so desperate to use makeup that I just started using her old concealer. She told me that was a bad idea. My skin broke out like crazy and she was absolutely right."

    5. Make sure your hair is clean.

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    "My mom always said you shouldn't bother to spend time on makeup/clothes if your hair is dirty. Which I still forget to listen to sometimes."

    6. Keep your nails in tip-top shape.

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    "My mom is a nail freak and she said chipped nail polish is an absolute no-go. Either have the polish or don't."

    7. Keep it simple.

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    "When I was a ~cool teen~ I went crazy with face scrubs and masks and toners and acne products (even know I only had the occasional regular teenage breakout, never a major acne prob) and my mom was basically like 'WTF are you doing to your skin?!' And she told me that all I needed to do was wash my face and use a moisturizer with SPF — that's all — and I'd be good. I've been pretty much just doing that ever since, except over the past year I've started using retinol cream because I am old."

    8. Don't do anything if you don't want to.

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    "My mom taught me by example that when it comes to hair, makeup, shaving, bra-wearing, etc, doing absolutely nothing (or nothing more than you WANT to do) is absolutely fine. She showed me that there's never anything I *should* be doing and that my baseline, unaltered self is beautiful."

    9. Spare the shampoo.

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    "My mom recently showed me the light in terms of not using shampoo all the time. I rinse well & condition every other day but only shampoo once a week and my hair is way happier.

    10. Don't skimp on sunscreen.

    "I don't think my mom even really realized it was "beauty" advice but as a pale freckled kid growing up in Southern California, the importance of sunscreen is deeply ingrained in me."

    11. Don't forget your lipstick.

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    "My mom and grandma would say no outfit is complete without the perfect shade of lipstick."

    12. Appreciate the joys of coconut oil.

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    "During a Saturday or a Sunday when we didn't have any where to be, my Mom would sit me down and work coconut oil through my hair from the roots to the ends and braid (or pin or bun) my hair tightly out of my face. You leave the coconut oil in your hair for 24 hrs and wash out the excess that hasn't been absorbed the next morning, and boom, super healthy, mega shiny hair. Do it once a month and you can basically stop buying conditioner."

    13. Don't forget about your elbows.

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    "This might make my mom sound like a crazy person, but, dirty elbows have always been a pet peeve of hers so she always taught me not to leave my elbows out when I'm washing my body in the shower, and to this day I always scrub them extra hard in the shower."

    14. Leave your face alone.

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    "My mom used to give me a hard time about how much I touched and messed with my skin. But she was right! I was giving myself unnecessary breakouts by touching my face all the time. Now I've trained myself to leave my skin alone."

    15. Your smile is your best asset.

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    "My mom always told me that my smile was what made me beautiful."