Despite giving birth to yours truly, my mother is incredibly low maintenance. She wears her favorite lipstick (usually Clinique) down to the nub. It’s only recently that she’s started on an anti-aging skincare routine (Prevage). But as a child, I was in love with the way she smelled. Nothing was more reassuring than the soft, floral scent of Anais Anais that she dabbed behind her ears and on her wrists. Although today she tends to wear more essential oil-based scents, like Aveda Ancient Attar (“Perfume gives me too much of a headache!”), I still thought of her, circa 1982 in a puffed-sleeve silk blouse and my great-grandmother’s pearls, when I caught whiff of Creed’s Acqua Fiorentina Parfum. Inspired by 15th century Renaissance Italy, it’s a riot of aromatic fruits and exquisite blooms, all sourced from the orchards and farms around Florence: sweet greengage plum, rose, pink carnations, bergamot orange, and Calabrian lemon. There are also hints of cedar and sandalwood, which spice up the sweetness. I think Mom would totally approve.
What beauty memories do you have of your mother? Share them with Beauty Bets readers and you may receive a bottle of Creed to give—or keep for yourself! I won’t tell. Happy Mother’s Day!
Update: Congratulations to Jen, the winner of this giveaway!
Filed Under: anais anais, aveda ancient attar, clinique lipstick, fragrance, prevage
The one thing I will always cherish, that my mother taught me was–Nutrition! I never understood why I had to wash my face or why soda was not allowed in the house, until now! I am thankful for the nutritious habits she instilled in me, that make me who I am today. Beauty flows from within!
My mom is extremely low maintenance as well, just using a dab of blush and mascara – for church! However, she did (accidentally!) give me my first experience with makeup. As a little girl you could find me sneaking to the bathroom closet to apply the light pink shimmery Cover Girl eye shadow that she saved from her wedding day. The color still reminds me of her!
My mother has never been much for beauty products per se. I’m not sure where I picked up the habit, but now I get to be the one to share beauty products and tips with her!
perms. {that were usually administered at home}
I’ll always remember my mother being so glamorous when she was going out at night. Her short dark, Gina Lollobrigida-hair, arched eyebrows, and her beautifully lined eyes. As she bent over to kiss me goodnight I recall a sweet sent of Femme perfume mingled with Max Factor powder. She was straight out of Mad Men. I’m told I resemble her but no matter how hard I try I never feel that I quite manage to replicate that sizzling glamor that my mother could pull off so effortlessly. She was a star!
Such a great post in honor of our moms! I remember watching my mom getting ready to go out and can recall exactly the aroma of her “going out” perfumes, Charlie or Ciara.
my first beauty memory of my mom, who loves makeup as much as i do, was the victoria jackson makeup she bought from TV infomercials. there was candy pink blush, blue eyeshadow, chalky lipsticks in a palette and she applied the face makeup with those triangular sponges, which feel really cool when you’re three. it was MAGICAL to me.
i forgot to add: the smell of chanel no. 5 ALWAYS reminds me of my parents going out somewhere and leaving me with a babysitter.
My mom has always been very thrifty so I remember very clearly when she told my dad that she was going to spend $50 on a whole Mary Kay makeup set. It was quite the extravagant purchase for her. I would sit in the bathroom every morning after she got it and watch her “paint on” her eyes. I thought it was amazing how she could transform herself so effortlessly with just a little “paint” and every once and a while she would paint my eyes too so we matched. Awesome memory, thanks for helping me stop and think about it!
Happy Mothers Day everyone!!
oh it is of my mom standing in a slip, in front of her mirror with her hair in a towel doing her face before…going out…to dinner, to church, to coffee…..she always put herself together while I would sit and chat with her. amazing how vivid that memory is now that I think about it…thanks!
My mom would never go out of the house without lipstick and she always wore hot pink. (The last one was called Powder Pink, and she only wore Revlon).
My mother wore Chanel No 5 too, when she went out with my dad. It was just a little bottle of parfum – I thought it was SO fancy.
I always used to sit in the bathroom and watch my mom put on makeup as a little girl, but it’s not my favorite memory. My favorite is when I was about 6 or 7 years old, I had to have my hair curled for a dance recital. My mom was trying to use the curling iron on me, but I kept moving around and getting the tops of my ears burned. So, she sat me down, and curled her own hair to show me how it was supposed to be done, and I was able to tackle it the next time all on my own. It was such a great lesson and gift of independence!
I’m Mexican-American. Both my parents are fluent in Spanish, but the kids aren’t. We know “enough to get by.” My mom got all glammed out for a big event she was attending one night and came in to ask me how she looked. Makeup was beautiful, hair was on point, dress was slammin’. And she was in her early 50s. I wanted to express something in Spanish that described how hot she looked and blurted out, “Ay ay ay, Chicharona!!” Her face went from an ear-to-ear smile to a furrowed brow — “Pork rinds?”
It’s not just me, right? Chicharona sounds like a hot, sexy word, doesn’t it? Well, clearly it’s not, but it’s become the go-to expression my mom and I use when “Wow, you look hot” just doesn’t cut it.
My mother would always take such pleasure in getting ready for her night out. Sitting in the bathroom with her as she first would put her makeup on,,with the biggest lite mirror I have ever seen. She would tell me about buying the mirror at Neimans and just couldn’t do without it, she still has it to this day. Before she would get dressed, she wore L’artisian perfume, she would spray from head to toe. To this day she will put a L’artisian scent on and I go back to that day in the bathroom sitting, talking..and best of all,,laughing. Then she would get dressed,,and one more time,,she would spray from head to toe. I wear L’artisian perfume today, because of her, but once over is enough for me. I think she enjoys people always asking her,,what is that you are wearing.
To this day, when I visit my mother, she still has the big mirror, chair in her bathroom and best of all, the L’artisian perfume, and I sit as she gets ready and we still laugh,,alot!
What a great post! Love the stories. Early beauty tips… my mom always used lipstick for blush and has never gone a day w/out mascara (ditto for the daughter!). I became totally curious about makeup by 8th grade; for Christmas she indulged me with 4 silver wrapped Clinique boxes from the only department store in town. That was the start of a lifelong love of cosmetic counters.
X, you crack my Chicharona up!
My Mom was famous for using her pink lipstick on her cheeks and lilly of the valley perfume. I still think of her every spring when those flowers bloom in her backyard.
My mom never wears makeup, but I have a few memories of her when it came to dealing with me and my makeup. When I first started to want makeup, my mom told me that if I would wear my hair in a ponytail every day for three months (she hated brushing it out for me every morning/night), she would take me to Clinique and buy me everything I needed. We both kept up our ends of the bargain, and I will never forget how happy we both were when I finally got my makeover!
Megan, sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me! I will totes keep my hair in a pony if someone would like to purchase me everything from Bobbi Brown.
My mom is not much into a lot of make-up, it’s a pretty simple and natural look .I like it. A funny story though as a little girl I always was saying ” I’m glad I’m a girl because girls are pretty.” I really learned my make-up secrets from my older sisters.
My mother is an absolute treasure to me. She’s very low maintenance about beauty. I remember her telling me that the only thing she ever loved about her hair was it’s beautiful color, which is why she never colored it. Hence why I don’t either! I remember very bittersweetly the day she asked me to shave her head after she had lost most of it from chemo…. That and using Jean Nate after baths :-) Aw, I love my mom!
I’ll never forget the smell of my mom’s silk nightgown that she would hang at the front of her closet. Whenever I would venture into her treasure trove of clothes and heels, I would walk past this alluring wisp of scent. It was and still is her favorite: Christian Diorissimo.
Tracy, now I know where you get it from!
[...] – If you missed Friday’s post, pop over for some hilarious and touching stories about what Beauty Bets readers have learned about [...]
I love this post and have wracked my brain for a relevant mom memory but alas, I’ve got nothing (my mom is and was extremely private and never one to share beauty secrets though she is quite beautiful!). However, I do have a memory of my great grandma Grace. A beautiful woman into her late eighties, she had the most gorgeous wavy white hair and was a believer in the 100 strokes before bedtime routine. She had an antique hairbrush with very soft, fine bristles and would let me “help” (so long as I hadn’t just slathered my hands in her jar of Ponds cold cream). She died when I was 8 and my grandma Marlene, reminds me how I stood in front of her casket and with my fingers “fixed” her hair one last time. Yup, kinda morbid to think about now, but at the time just felt like the most natural, wonderful way to honor my great granny.
Suzette, this is such a sweet memory! And just goes to show how thoughtful and sensitive you are!