We wanted to talk to women of all generations about their skin, and we needed to look no further than our very own senior social media coordinator and esthetician Alena, 25, and her mother, Jamie, 44, a hair and makeup artist and owner of Mobile Beauty by Jamie.
OSEA:
OK, let’s get right to it. What are your skincare routines? They seem like they’re working really well.
JAMIE:
I like heavily moisturizing and hydrating products. I use Ocean Cleansing Milk because my daughter recommended it. Then I use my new favorite—Anti-Aging Sea Serum. I cannot live without this. Then Firming Eye Cream. Finally, I'll use a combination of Atmosphere Protection Cream and Advanced Protection Cream. I also gua sha every night. Alena taught me well.
ALENA:
I love Ocean Cleanser. I use it every day. About twice a week, I use Red Algae Mask after I exfoliate. Then Sea Minerals Mist. Then I'll fan it in for a little bit while I walk around.
OSEA:
Tell us more about fanning.
ALENA:
I use a hand fan to make products penetrate better before I layer other stuff on top. After I mist, I apply Hyaluronic Sea Serum and then Anti-Aging Sea Serum right away. Then I fan it in. Depending on how my skin feels, I either apply Seabiotic Water Cream and fan it in, or I use my Blemish Balm and SPF of course. I won't tell you what brand I'm using because it's not good.
OSEA:
What do you think of Anti-Aging Sea Serum?
JAMIE:
I love that it's nourishing and gives me the most amazing glow without any makeup.
ALENA:
I agree. It definitely makes my complexion more radiant. It’s kind of like an oil/serum hybrid. It gives the skin a really nice sheen. How can I describe it...
JAMIE:
Gloss?
ALENA:
Glow.
JAMIE:
Glisten?
ALENA:
Glisten, yes!
OSEA:
Any tips for how to use Anti-Aging Sea Serum for people who haven’t tried it?
ALENA:
Definitely use it on your neck and décolleté—that’s where people show their age.
JAMIE:
I use it on my face first, then apply any excess to my neck.
OSEA:
Alena, what have you learned from your mother about skincare? Or about self-care?
ALENA:
For my mom, skincare is self-care. When I was a little girl, I would watch her do her makeup and pick out her clothes. She used to buy hemorrhoid cream and put it under her eyes to reduce puffiness. That's how I knew she took her skincare seriously. And my mom's been slugging since forever.
OSEA:
Slugging?
ALENA:
It's when you put petroleum jelly all over your face, neck, and chest as the last step in your skincare routine to seal everything in. A few years ago, I got her to switch to Essential Hydrating Oil, and now she’s totally hooked.
JAMIE:
I don’t use petroleum jelly anymore because Alena’s my boss when it comes to skincare, and she was like, "No, Mom!"
OSEA:
Let’s talk about beauty. How do you define it?
ALENA:
It’s internal. Beauty is how you treat other people, how you treat yourself, how you help others.
JAMIE:
It’s internal. And universal. I have been working to make women feel beautiful for 16 years, and I find beauty in each and every one of them. Women are just beautiful.
OSEA:
In terms of beauty, what do you love about yourself right now?
JAMIE:
My skin.
OSEA:
When do you feel most beautiful?
JAMIE:
After I'm showered, glowing, and moisturized.
ALENA:
After I wash my hair. My identity is my hair. It's something that I've worked really hard to like and nurture over the past couple of years. I love how it bounces and gets big, like a lion.
OSEA:
What’s the most beautiful thing about your age?
JAMIE:
Confidence.
OSEA:
Is there something that makes you feel beautiful now that didn't when you were younger?
JAMIE:
All my flaws.
OSEA:
Are there any beauty mistakes lurking in your past?
JAMIE:
Tinting my eyebrows and DIY baking soda peels. I burned myself a couple of times. Don’t try this at home.
ALENA:
I recently used too much acid on my skin. I burned off my skin and had dermatitis for two weeks.
OSEA:
Ouch. Aside from easing up on acids, is there any advice you would give your younger self?
JAMIE:
To not worry about impressing my peers as much, and try to impress my grandmother because she was right all the time.
OSEA:
Alena, any advice for your future self?
ALENA:
Slow down. Be more vulnerable. Nourish the relationships with your friends and family. And forgive.
OSEA:
What are your secrets to aging well? Clearly, something is working.
JAMIE:
For me, it’s eating well and exercising. And drinking lots of water. That's my beauty secret. As soon as you wake up in the morning, down water, and continue all day, until it's time for wine at night. Also, don't stress about things that you can't control. That's something we do when we're younger. When you get older, you realize, "I can't control it, so I'm not going to lose sleep over it.”
OSEA:
Alena, has your mom changed how you feel about getting older?
ALENA:
I feel empowered to age just by looking at her and seeing all the stages that she's been through in her life and how it hasn’t weathered her down.
OSEA:
Jamie, has your daughter changed the way you feel about getting older?
JAMIE:
She has changed my perspective on beauty. Since she started working for OSEA, she’s turned into this huge hippie. And she's always coming home with all these natural, new ways of living. She's just become this great adult human.
OSEA:
How do you think the conversation about aging has shifted over the years?
JAMIE:
Diversity. I'm seeing ethnic diversity, size diversity, age diversity. I love it.
ALENA:
There used to be a negative connotation around aging. And I feel like we're kind of at this place where everyone is just trying to accept themselves. You can see this across multiple brands. I look at Fenty, Rihanna’s fashion show, and see a 76-year-old model. And I feel like as I get older, I'm going to be accepted.
OSEA:
What is the most important thing your mother taught you about beauty?
ALENA:
Comb your hair.
JAMIE:
I'm going to go with my grandmother. She taught me to moisturize. She just passed away at 97. She was still asking for her moisturizers—Pond’s and Oil of Olay—until the very end.