Jessica Alba is a Girl Boss in her own right. She's a mom, a badass actress, and a beauty mogul thanks to her always-expanding Honest Beauty line, which the Allure team loves. She's been in the spotlight for more than two decades, so she knows a thing or two about beauty. Plus, she rose to fame in the '90s and early 2000s, so she's definitely experienced the same beauty blunders as the rest of us. Here, Alba tells Allure what she would say to her younger self about beauty and acceptance:
I would tell my younger self you are smarter than you think you are. I always felt like because I didn't go to college, I wasn't smart. That's not the case. I wouldn't be so hard on myself about being accepted [by others]. I cared so much about everyone liking me. If I could just spend a little less time thinking about what other people thought, I think that would've freed me up [to focus on myself]. I also thought a lot about boys even though I was so shy and never really had a boyfriend until I was 18. I would like to tell myself to be a little more brave or courageous if I liked someone. As for beauty, here are the five things I wish my younger self had known:
You don't need a full face of makeup.
I actually wore too much makeup when I was a teenager. I wore a full face, and I probably [should have] worn a lot less. I didn't know that there was the no-makeup makeup look until I was in my 20s. I used to use a foundation stick and just rub it all over my face, and then I would break out. Then I would wear more makeup to cover the breakout. The most important foundation is great skin.
Tanning beds really aren't cool.
I did it a little bit as a teenager and a young adult. I remember it was a trend, and we all used to do it. You put the sticker on to see how dark you got. I would go to my cousins' dances, like the Sadie Hawkins dance, and we would get a fake tan before. I would never do a tanning bed ever [now].
Don’t overpluck your eyebrows.
I got really excited about hair removal when I started shaving. I plucked the crap out of my eyebrows. I wouldn't recommend [doing] that because it really is hard for your hair to grow back, if it ever does.
Protect your hands.
I would tell myself to wear gloves. Back in the day, if I was washing dishes or doing any housework that used a detergent, my hands got ruined. I never used gloves. Now, I have more gentle products so people don't need to use gloves, but back then I didn't have that. I would also tell myself to use sunscreen and lotion liberally on my hands. [My hands] are the things that look not-my-age.
Think twice before getting a tattoo.
You're never going to be in the same place emotionally and mentally at 18 that you are at 20 or 25 or 30. Something that's meaningful to you when you're younger is not going to be meaningful to you five years later. Understand that tattoos are forever. I have a few tattoos. I'm not into them now the way that I was.
Go behind the scenes of Jessica Alba's cover shoot:
