Teens Reveal the Best Beauty Secrets They Learned From Their Moms

More than women’s magazines, Instagram models, or the aisles at Sephora, my ultimate source of beauty inspiration is my mom. If I could sum up her years of wisdom in just a few words, they would be these:

Never overpluck your eyebrows. Always wear sunscreen. And most importantly, purple eyeshadow looks great with green eyes. (Just kidding — that’s not the most important, though I can testify it’s absolutely true. Something about the contrast!)

The real beauty lesson my mom taught me — the one that matters most — is this: smile, make eye contact, be kind, and ask questions. And, of course, purple eyeshadow doesn’t hurt.

Now that I’m 23, I still find myself relying on the beauty advice my mom gave me as a teenager. So, in anticipation of Mother’s Day, I asked teen girls to share the best beauty secrets they’ve learned from their moms.

To be honest, I assumed that in the age of “Sephora tweens” — when beauty often feels like something you can buy in a bottle, and every skincare product is treated like a status symbol — their answers might sound more like a shopping guide. But even though today’s teens are more exposed to skincare and makeup than I was at their age, the beauty wisdom they’re getting from their moms is still absolutely timeless.

In my conversations with teens in New York City, I heard a mix of practical beauty tips and bigger-picture advice.

On the practical side, 15-year-old Campbell shared her mom’s favorite beauty hack: instead of buying liquid concealer, use a little nude lipstick with a brush to cover up red spots.

Thirteen-year-old Reese’s mom gave her this advice: ’90s spaghetti-thin eyebrows aren’t coming back in style anytime soon. “Never touch your eyebrows,” she advises. “Keep them how they are!”

Another teen explained how her mom taught her to use kajal — a traditional Indian eye makeup — to define her eyes, applying it both along the lash line and the waterline.

And when it came to big-picture advice, one teen credited her mom with reinforcing the old adage: “Less is always more.”

Finally, one mother-daughter duo I spoke with shared a view of beauty as coming from the inside out. The daughter told me the best beauty secret she learned from her mom is to “Sleep well, hydrate, and be happy.” Her mom nodded and added, “Take time to take care of yourself first.”

Hearing that, I immediately remembered my dermatologist urging me, yet again, to drink more water. But even more than that, my takeaway from talking with these teens was clear: beauty is so much more than skin deep.

And so with Mother’s Day just around the corner, I’m feeling especially grateful to all the moms who teach us — through a mix of practical tips and timeless wisdom — how to glow from the inside out.