Why I Am The Mum Who Wears Make-Up Everyday

People will often offer you pearls of wisdom before you have children. They will give you advice like “Enjoy the time to yourself because once kids come along your time will not be your own” or “Enjoy the freedom! You’ll never have a spare minute after a baby arrives”.

And while you wouldn’t swap the experience of becoming a parent for the world, there is definitely a lot of truth to these words. After you have children your time really isn’t your own. It belongs to others. The majority of it now belongs to your little people and the fulfilling of all of their needs. Demands are made of you constantly and you soon find that you are at the bottom of your own list.

When I think back through the hazy parental fog to my life before becoming a mum, I still cannot believe how much time I had to spend on myself. I pampered the hell out of myself. I went to the beauticians and the hairdressers frequently. I went shopping all the time. I walked into actual clothes shops and tried things on in the changing rooms instead of what I do now which is order all of my clothes online and try them on in my bedroom (normally with a child sitting at my feet). Now I would be completely mortified going into a changing room because I haven’t got a clue what I’m doing and I feel like a big silly frump. But back then I was trendy, I was confident. I wasn’t afraid to wear clothes. I also lived in high heels. I could run for a bus in those stilettos and not feel a thing. Last year I went to my cousin’s wedding in a pair of high heels and I was hobbling for days afterwards. They were that sore that I had to soak my feet in a basin of warm water. It was agony. 

 

So the point I am getting to is, after having children a lot can change. I changed dramatically. I never wear my skinny jeans anymore and my feet are permanently in flats. I often tie my hair back in a loose ponytail and most days I reach for whatever is comfortable to wear. As long as it’s baggy and camouflages all the things that I don’t want you to see, then I’m happy.  

But….there is one thing that I will not allow to change.  No matter how tired I am or how many demands are put upon me as a parent, I will always make sure to wear a little make-up every day. Because I have figured out that this is something that I need to do on a daily basis in order to feel like me.

Like all mums out there I don’t leave much time for myself and every morning there are one hundred and one things to do, but I will find ten minutes or so to apply a few basics like foundation, blusher and mascara. It’s all done pretty quickly and is by no means professional, but once I’ve done it I am ready to start the day. 

It took me time to realise why this is so important to me and how it affects my confidence levels. There were many days when I used to leave it, taking time only in the morning to apply some moisturiser and quickly run a brush through my hair. But any time I took a glance in the mirror I didn’t like what I was seeing. I didn’t look like me anymore and it was beginning to affect my mood. I was starting to feel down.

For me this was a step too far removed from who I used to be. I could cope with the transition from skinny jeans to leggings and the figure-hugging tops to baggy jumpers. I could even cope with surrendering my high heels for flats and trainers. But I couldn’t cope without my face. That I needed to stay the same. So I made a decision that no matter how busy I was each morning I would take a little time to apply some make-up and fix my hair. And as soon as I started doing this I immediately began to feel a little more like me inside.

As a mum, especially of young children, you will forget to take care of yourself.