What Makes Me Feel Like a Beautiful Mother

Good Ole' Vanity

The other day a friend asked me for my best parenting advice. I laughed and said, “Brace yourself, it’s kind of pathetic: Do whatever you gotta do to feel pretty.”

Probably it’s just vanity, or possibly it is all in my head, but I swear I have a better outlook on my life when my hair is curled. Maybe I haven’t seen a full night’s sleep in six months, but hey, at least my under-eye circles are concealed! Sure I’m covered in spit up, but at least I look nice! Similarly, I’ve found that if I don’t feel attractive, I spend a lot more time feeling grouchy, and then the entire day is doomed.

Read more about a few little things you can do to feel pretty and find out Natalie’s favorite no-fail beauty product

Seeing beauty through my
child's eyes

When you have small children and just showering feels like an accomplishment, it’s tough to look in the mirror and see beauty. I have to admit that yoga pants and a ponytail don’t help matters much, either. But despite all of this, there are times when I do feel beautiful …

… Not from what I see in the mirror, but by what I see mirrored in my 4-year-old daughter.

When I catch her copying me, my mannerisms, the way I often push my sunglasses on top of my head, or the way she wants me to paint her nails the same color as mine, I see myself in her eyes.

In those moments I feel gorgeous.

Read more about seeing beauty through your kids’ eyes and find out Nichole’s favorite no-fail beauty product

The pregnant lady's remedy

Internally, I love being pregnant. I longed for this experience for so many years and feel privileged to be able to be pregnant and healthy. But the appearance? I hate it. I am not one to primp and spend hours getting ready, but I do care what I look like, and pregnancy hasn’t been nice to me for that outer-beauty feeling.

A glance in the mirror at the right moment, mixed with some pregnancy hormones, almost guarantees a cry fest. I can take blame and do something about my appearance if I’m not pregnant. But pregnant, I’m supposed to embrace it, or at least bite my lip and not complain. Or I have a third option.

Find out Molly’s favorite no-fail pregnancy beauty product

Faking Fitness

So here we are. Gordon is 4.5 months and I have been to the gym exactly two times. It’s weird. When I go I feel so good. Sure it’s really good for you, that’s been established, but it actually makes me feel pretty to work out. The burn underneath the jiggly spots, the flushed cheeks — they just make me feel so good about myself.

Unfortunately, the whole time management thing makes it tough to actually get around to doing this thing that makes me feel so good about myself. So what if I need to feel good in the meantime? Easy: I dress the part.

Read how just dressing for the gym can make you feel pretty (or pretty enough), and find out Jacinda’s favorite workout wear

Compliments — for my daughter

Like most moms, I can spend hours just looking at my daughter’s face. I just think she is the most beautiful thing in the whole wide world. And the truth is, I would much rather hear someone compliment my daughter than me.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not living vicariously through my daughter. Though we do share some features, her beauty is unique and her own. But my daughter is, without a doubt, the best thing I’ve ever made, created or done. She makes me feel more beautiful than I’ve ever felt before, even as I develop crow’s feet, grow some gray hairs and add a pound or two on my tummy.

Read more about how your kids’ beauty reflects your own and find out Sunny’s favorite no-fail beauty product

Lady Lipstick

I don’t always wear lipstick. I am the polar opposite of one of those women who never lets her husband see her without her trademark slick of red. (I sometimes leave the house in such a disheveled state I am shocked by my own reflection.) I also don’t generally identify with the word “Lady.”

But when I twist up that tube and cover my mouth with a blanket of magenta or crimson or shiny pearl, I feel a connection to the generations of ladies past. I see my mother dressing for a night out, digging into her Clinique Bonus booty for A Different Something. I see my grandmother in that impossibly saturated shade smack in the middle of pink and coral that had the consistency of a glue stick. I see Lisa Fonssagrives and Marilyn and Madonna in iconic red. And I feel like all of them, if only for 10 seconds in a 1 x 3-inch area of my face.

Find out which lipstick shades and brands Rebecca likes best

Hands and feet first

Recently, someone asked me what gift new moms appreciate most. My answer was, without a doubt, spa services. After I had Evie, I felt ugly, fat and tired. All I wanted to feel good again was a massage, mani/pedi and lipo. Just kidding on that last one.

The fact is, EVERY single time I get a mani and/or pedi, I think, “I feel pretty.” My husband knows this. What was in my Christmas stocking? A gift certificate for a pedicure, and I love him for it. And I don’t even think of services like this as pampering. If we’re serious about beauty coming from the inside, from feeling good, then having your hands and feet massaged and adding a little color to your life with great polish is a no-brainer.

Find out Nicole’s favorite nail polish color for summer

Confidence

Someone asked me the other day, "What makes you feel beautiful?"

My brain started sifting through your typical female beauty "things" … The perfect pair of shoes? Makeup? Losing the last 10 pounds? Getting my hair done? A new dress?

But none of them were quite right. Don’t get me wrong, I like all those things (I’d especially like losing those pesky pounds), but they don’t necessarily make me feel … beautiful.

The more and more I thought about this beauty thing, the more and more one thing kept creeping into my thought process … confidence.

I realize confidence isn’t a "thing;" it’s a feeling. I would even argue it’s an emotion. Whatever it is, I can recognize it in myself now that I’m a little older. And I can see it on other woman as well.

Read more how confidence translates to beauty and find out Roni’s no-fail mom beauty product

Lock Love

I’ve been wanting to change up my hairstyle for a while now, but as a young, 20-something mom, I’m just not ready to chop off my hair in typical “mom hair” style. But having long hair means I typically twist it into a low-lying bun — especially on days when showering just doesn’t fit in my time frame — and it makes me feel so … frumpy.

But this weekend I finally got my way-too-long hair trimmed just under my shoulders, adding layers and bangs for a little more style. And I feel SO much better.

So my new goal? To wear my hair down more often, nixing my hair elastic habit. Of course I don’t have time for daily blowouts, but I deserve to feel more beautiful. And as silly as it sounds, having pretty hair makes me feel beautiful.

Read more about avoiding “mom hair” and find out Michelle’s 6 no-fail products for quick and easy hair.

The ultimate elixir

I know the secret to being beautiful. It is not always easy to procure but it’s guaranteed to work. And it shows incredible results. Here are some of the things it’ll do for you:

It reduces fine lines and stress wrinkles and minimizes break-outs. It adds pink and plump to the parts of the face that you want to be pink and plump and takes away pink and plump from the parts of your face where you don’t. It lowers your shoulders and helps you stand up straight. It reduces appetite and encourages healthy eating. It increases the likelihood that you will take the stairs not the elevator.

But it doesn’t just make you beautiful on the outside.

It makes you kind. It makes you a better person. A better mother. A better friend. A better you.

Find out Ceridwen’s #1 beauty secret