My 73-Year-Old Mom Is Obsessed With Beauty—Here's Her Mother's Day Shopping List

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

For as long as I can remember, my mom has been my ultimate beauty hero. As a 4-year-old, I'd plop a play stool in the doorway of her bathroom (a very convenient location, I'm sure) and ogle as she got ready for work every morning. I took note of the way she'd roll her hair into curlers, wiggle a mascara wand through her lashes, and slide a sleek tube of lipstick back and forth over her lips before pressing and pursing for good measure. I was never anything less than enchanted by A) her beauty and B) her vast collection of bottles, tubes, pots, and palettes. Fast-forward 21 years, and not much has changed.

The apple didn't fall far from the tree in our house, and when my mom retired after working for more than 35 years in the television industry, she immediately switched gears to focus on beauty and makeup—her other big passion. Now, she works as a makeup artist and educator for women over 40, and seeing as her 27-year-old daughter is planted in Los Angeles as a beauty editor, roughly 94% of our correspondence revolves around the beauty products and trends we're loving; which products and trends we're hating; and every kind of tip, review, and suggestion in between. (My poor father had to leave our group text. Sorry, Dad!)

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

Even though I work with the best makeup artists, estheticians, and hairstylists on a weekly basis as part of my job, I'd say I've learned some of the most important beauty lessons and makeup tricks from my beautiful mom over the years. At 73—I kid you not—she has better skin than I do, and she also knows her way around a $4 highlight stick (read this!). Oh, and despite the fact that my product-strewn desk and bedroom are fit for an episode of Hoarders, my mom still has more makeup and beauty products than I do. (The difference being hers are perfectly labeled, organized, and out of sight.)

Since Mother's Day is just around the riverbend, and since my mom is a low-key beauty expert with an eye for both budget and splurge-worthy beauty shopping, I asked her to curate the ultimate Mother's Day beauty shopping guide. Ahead, the 18 makeup and skincare products she either already owns and loves or the products that are marked high-priority on her wish list this May—with, of course, blurbs from Mama Jahns herself. Keep scrolling!

Her Top Makeup Picks

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

Her Top Skincare Picks

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)

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(Image credit: @erin_jahns)
Beauty Director

Erin has been writing a mix of beauty and wellness content for Who What Wear for over four years. Prior to that, she spent two and half years writing for Byrdie. She now calls Santa Monica home but grew up in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and studied writing, rhetoric, and communication at University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She studied abroad in Galway, Ireland, and spent a summer in L.A. interning with the Byrdie and Who What Wear family. After graduating from UW, she spent one year in San Francisco, where she worked as a writer for Pottery Barn Kids and PBteen before moving down to L.A. to begin her career as a beauty editor. She considers her day-to-day beauty aesthetic very low-maintenance and relies on staples like clear brow serum (from Kimiko!), Lawless's Lip Plumping Mask in Cherry Vanilla, and an eyelash curler. For special occasions or days when she's taking more meetings or has an event, she'll wear anything and everything from Charlotte Tilbury (the foundations are game-changing), some shimmer on her lids (Stila and Róen do it best), and a few coats of the best mascara-type product on earth, Surratt's Noir Lash Tint.