Ponderings on beauty and how things have changed.

Today is my 32nd birthday, and I've been thinking a lot about my own beauty trends over the years, and how they have changed. How the concept of beauty has changed for me over the years, and how I can help to pass on healthy and achievable beauty-image philosophies to my family and the younger generation.

Most of you know that I have 2 sons. They don't have much interest in the beauty world, so I'm probably not going to need to pass on a lot of knowledge to them in that regard, except to teach them that sometimes girls need to spend an hour in the bathroom to look as pretty as they possibly can, and that if they are the beneficiary of that effort, they should take the time to really appreciate it.

I also have a nephew, who I'll probably get around to teaching the same thing about girls and their bathroom time. Then there's my niece. She's already beautiful. She's got these gorgeous almond-shaped eyes and lovely skin, and I'm sure she got all of the best things from both sides of the family in that regard, so all I want to teach her when she gets old enough to learn about beauty and makeup and skincare (and she'll learn most of it from her mum, who is also gorgeous) is to be thankful for the good things she got. I, for example, am extremely grateful for my skin. I'm 32, I have very few wrinkles, rarely do I ever break out or have blemishes that are difficult to resolve. I'm very lucky to have nice skin. I am also grateful for these massive eyes that are so much fun to make up. i'm lucky, I have pretty eyes and I have learned great makeup techniques to make them really pop.

I really think that's the best thing that we can hand on to our children, or the children in our lives. Find a little love for everything you are, and don't worry about what you're not. Your beauty shines a little brighter when you stop worrying about flaws and shortcomings.