#ShowUsYourBag

What’s always in your bag?

A thousand lip tints and lip balms. And I’m not even exaggerating. Tinted lip balm is my go-to product. I probably buy more lip tints and lip balms and lip products than anything else—typically in stick form; all of them pinks or reds. And then I also usually have a sunscreen. I prefer SPF 50 or above. A stick, or I like it in lotion, too. I stopped using aerosol cans.

What will you try to teach your daughter about beauty?

I really feel like my mom gave me my confidence. She’s just, from day one, been my biggest fan. Those times when I’d feel at my lowest low, she just wouldn’t see that; she wouldn’t have it. She would say, “No, you’re incredible. You’re wonderful. You’re beautiful.” All of those things you want to hear. I feel like if I can pass that on to Lu, in terms of teaching her what beauty is...I mean, it’s her; she’s perfect. She was born perfect. In my mind, that’s beauty.

Has motherhood impacted your beauty purchases?
Yeah, definitely. For starters, I think being postpartum creates a bunch of beauty challenges. You’re really tired. I’ve experienced a lot of hair shedding—I’ve never researched hair products more. Also, you’re constantly kissing and touching and being intimate with another human being that you care about more than anything. So I ask myself: What am I putting on my face and my skin? I look for green products, for sure. And I’ve started to use a lot of simpler things. Less is more, ingredients I can pronounce—stuff like that.
What’s one of your skincare staples?
I use a vitamin C serum. I just feel like it’s a kind of a brightener, and I’ve noticed a little bit of difference, in terms of evening my skintone.
“I think being postpartum creates a bunch of beauty challenges. You’re really tired. Also, you’re constantly kissing and touching and being intimate with another human being that you care about more than anything. So I ask myself: What am I putting on my face and my skin?”
Where do you find beauty?
Within my friends. They’re wonderful guides and inspirational, amongst their diversity of styles and looks and feelings. We trade tips. Whether it’s a product they’re using or just seeing how they use a bandana that day or wear a pair of jeans. We always laugh about lip balm. I feel as though a lot of my friends and I are addicted to lipsticks and lip balms—anything lip product-related. We always joke about how, as a woman, you need to fall asleep with an array of lip balms next to you. Maybe in the middle of the night, you wake up, and you need to apply one, just to be able to go back to sleep. So at all points of the day and night, you have a moist lip thing happening.