My mother, a wise woman when it comes to looking amazing for her age, always used to say, “Take care of your skin and it will take care of you.” Well, I didn’t do a great job of that in my 20s. After a night of three Long Island Iced Teas, two (three?) Kamikazes, a Jell-O shot and dancing until 4 a.m., passing out on my bed was priority number one. Taking off my makeup when I barely could say my name, not really a priority. And of course, if I had someone of the opposite sex stay over, I certainly didn’t want him to see me without my makeup – even if I looked like a raccoon when I woke up. Luckily, by the time I turned 30, I wised up. Probably because that’s when I noticed those first few lines on my face in the mirror. After that, I made it a point to wash my face every night before I went to bed – no matter how tired I was or who stayed over. I think not skipping my skin care routine in my younger years has helped me skip the Botox in my later ones.
Word to the wise: Wash your face and put on a little moisturizer before you go to bed. If you can do it most nights, you could look pretty fabulous in the decades to come. And maybe instead of spending your money on Botox, you could spend it on a vacation.
What do you think? Note: Your comments may be published anonymously in the upcoming book, “Wise Before 25, 50 Things All Young Women Need to Know.”
Wise Before 25 
1a. Don’t wear mascara instead of sunscreen to the beach! Remember?
Oh, the good old days! I also remember being so tan that the locals thought I was a native. Probably not the best thing…
I personally only ever wear mascara and eyeliner on occasions, but my facial skin is very well kept because of my nightly routine of using acne pads to clear the day’s oils from my skin. As for moisture, if you have dry facial skin, I’ve found that putting on non-oily facial moisturize after the morning’s shower (once in awhile) doesn’t cause much acne; also drink extra water because the face is one of the first places the body pulls moisture from when dehydrated.
Hey Breann, good for you – sounds like you’re a natural beauty. At least, that’s how I remember you…Some of us still need help though. Great tips and totally agree about the water – I drink a ton of it every day 🙂
Wise insight to the young ‘uns, I could not agree more! (But then again, I am the Howard Hughes of face-washing.)
Hey Judy! So nice to hear from you. And good that you got this one early on. I am now the HH of face washing, too although I gotta say, sometimes I just want to roll into bed (like right now!):)
Good advice. Is it too late to start now, if I’m 25×2?
It’s never too late!