summer beauty

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I'm 32 years old. I have five children. I think I can reasonably be called an adult.

And yet every time my mom sees me rub my eyes she yells at me: Don’t rub your eyes! That skin is very delicate! Do you want to get wrinkles?

This tells me a couple of things:
1.) Your mom is ALWAYS your mom, no matter how old you are.
2.) Your mom is a great source of beauty advice ... even if she’s yelling it at you.

With this in mind I sat down with Guinevere to talk about beauty-related things. A couple of weeks ago she asked me about wearing makeup. I helped her pick out some light lip gloss and clear brow tamer/mascara (my girls got their daddy’s eyebrows … those things NEED some taming).
But there’s so much more to beauty than just makeup, particularly in the summer.



We spend a LOT of time outside in the sun during the summer -- at the park, at the beach, in the yard, riding bikes. and now that Guinevere is getting older, there’s more involved than just letting mom slap 50 SPF on her wiggly body.

So we sat down to talk, and I asked if she had any questions for me. This is what she came up with:

Guinevere: Did you ever have any problems? Or have anything go wrong during the summer?

Well, the number-one thing I can think of is my skin. Everyone should wear sunscreen all the time, but as a fair-skinned redhead it’s like quadruple important for me! And as a hard-headed teenager there were plenty of times I skipped the lotion at the shore. I wanted to be like all my tan friends -- and I PAID THE PRICE, BIG TIME. I remember getting burned one time so badly that it peeled within a couple of hours. That is SOOOO bad. Now that I’m older I’m nervous about skin cancer and wrinkles and all the damage I did to myself. STUPID STUPID! So my advice to you: Wear SUNSCREEN! Trust me, it's worth it! Fortunately all you kids are blessed with your grandmother’s skin -- not the fair redhair-type skin. But the advice still applies!

See, now I have to do crazy stuff to try and repair the damage!

G: What sort of things should you NEVER EVER do in the summer?

Well, obviously never skip the sunscreen. Definitely take showers as often as necessary, but not more often than necessary, if that makes sense. Like, if you’ve been sweating and gross, definitely take a shower to clean up and so you don’t break out. But don’t just shower if you’re hot or bored—too much will dry out your skin and you’ll break out from that too!

G: Any other beauty tips for me?

Oh -- this is important! Sometimes all the shaving we do in summer can irritate the skin -- especially in the bikini area. So after I shave I use a little bit of witch hazel on a cotton ball to sooth any sensitive areas.
The other important thing is to use a good, sharp, clean razor! We’re still loving the Venus Embrace razor. It has five blades for a close shave, and the moisture ribbons around the blades help minimize nicks and cuts, which are never fun! Venus has some more great tips about shaving on their website.


Oh and of course: DON’T RUB YOUR EYES! Do you want to get wrinkles? Hahaha!
But really, don’t rub your eyes.

This was fun! Entering this new stage with you, Guinevere, is so exciting to me! Plus I’m loving all the mommy and me time we spend together -- like last week when we did home pedicures together sitting on the edge of the tub!

looks like it’s time for a new one!

And to the rest of you: What’s the best beauty tip you have shared with your daughter to prepare her for the summer? Or share your funniest beauty mishap for the chance to win a $50 Visa gift card! Personally, I’d love to hear all the funny mishaps, because I like to laugh

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This sweepstakes runs from 7/26 - 8/23.

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