In the days and weeks after you’ve given birth, most moms look like they’ve, well, given birth. Your postpartum look is comprised of spit up, unbrushed hair, and semi-permanent undereye circles. So when you do have a second for self-care, you might not have the time to dig through your makeup bag to find a product that will make you feel normal again. Debra Rubin-Roberts also knows what it’s like to look in the mirror and not recognize the exhausted face staring back at you. That’s why she created Mommy Makeup, a collection of beauty products that multitask just like you do. Rubin-Roberts explains how to soothe your tired skin, cut down the cosmetic clutter on your vanity, and how to get a pretty and polished look in mere minutes — just in time for Baby’s next feeding.
Debra, let’s talk about Mommy Makeup.
I’ve been a makeup artist for over 15 years, and I’m the founder of Mommy Makeup. I got inspired to start Mommy Makeup two weeks after I gave birth to my daughter, Daisy. Between nursing, pumping, changing diapers, and cleaning up spit up, you barely have time to brush your teeth. Then finally, one day, my daughter was taking an extra long nap, and I’m like, “Oh, I can be a woman. I can put my makeup on.”
I started to put on my makeup, and I said to myself, “This is a lot of stuff.” It was one product after another. I was unscrewing one eye shadow, and then unscrewing the concealer, and putting the caps back on. It was all too much. I realized that I had 13 products in front of me, and I thought, “This is crazy.”
What products were you using?
Blush, concealer, eyeshadow, base, concealer, foundation powder, about two or three shades of eyeshadow, liner, brow powder, blush, bronzer, mascara, lipstick, lip liner, and lip gloss. It’s probably even more than 13! [laughs]
Now, before you had Daisy, how long would it take you to put the makeup on the morning?
It would take a good 15 minutes. I had to take longer, because being a makeup artist, it’s like you’re your own walking advertisement. I had to always have makeup on, but I realized that I couldn’t do this anymore. I don’t have 15 minutes to put makeup on. I said, “All right, how can I simplify this?” So I did. I created multi-purpose products that each do the job of two or three ordinary makeup items. I would play around. I knew that I wanted a certain type of texture, so I would take two products, mix them together, and try it out. I was my own guinea pig!
What are some of your favorite products from the collection?
I love Mommy’s Little Helper Concealer. Rather than having eyeshadow-based concealer and face cover up, Mommy’s Little Helper Concealer does all three in one. I didn’t like liquid foundation; I always felt like you were wearing a covering on your face. I purposely created mineral powders because they’re great for people with sensitive skin. Your skin is going through lots of changes, so that’s why I went with mineral powders, because this way, no matter if your hormones are raging, you won’t have a reaction to this makeup.
The Mineral Dual Powder is foundation powder and has a natural SPF because it’s mineral. So that’s three things in one as well. Then I have two kits in the line. One is called Clean & Casual, which is geared towards someone who doesn’t want to wear a lot of makeup everyday but would like to still feel like they didn’t just roll out of bed. And that includes Mommy’s Little Helper Concealer, the Mineral Dual Powder and the mascara, a bronzer and a lip and cheek stain. Those are awesome because it’s an oil free creamy gel, and you just dab a little on your cheeks, and then you dab it on your lips. It’s a stain so it doesn’t kiss off on your baby or on your kids. It literally takes three minutes to do, and you just look fresh and awake.
And then my favorite product is Mommy’s Kisses. I named these after my daughter and her playmates. Before I even had my child, I was always losing my lip liner in the bottom of my purse. Well, you can’t lose your lip liner with Mommy’s Kisses, because you pull it apart and the lip liner is hidden in the handle. And then you roll it, it swivels up and down, so you never have to sharpen it. So your lip gloss is here, and it has a brush so it goes on nicely.
On a personal note, AnnMarie Sava-Duncan, a very dear friend of mine passed away recently. She’d been battling cancer for about seven years, and what I’d like to do is have a color of Mommy’s Kisses that would be named AnnMarie after her. The portions of all the sales of AnnMarie would go to the AnnMarie Sava Duncan Cancer Foundation. Her husband set up the foundation to help people stay positive who are battling cancer, because AnnMarie was a fighter.
What makeup tips would you give to moms?
Exfoliate. I exfoliate every day, because I’m prone to being oily. You may not need to exfoliate every day, but if you do, it should be on a wet base. You should do it about two to three times a week but be sure to go over your lips, too. On the days when you don’t exfoliate, brush your lips with a wet, clean toothbrush, then put on a vitamin E or aloe vera lip balm.
Also, use a really good eye cream. Your eye area which is the skin and the tissue around the eyes, is much more delicate and sensitive than the rest of the face. Eye cream is formulated specifically for that gentle area of your face.
You mentioned earlier that your husband has also been a pivotal part of the process, too.
Oh, my husband, Jeremy, is the love of my life, next to Daisy, Jeremy’s been extremely supportive — he created the entire website. He’s very computer savvy because he’s a music producer and owns a recording studio. He photographs the products and is very involved in the whole process. He also knows what it takes to start something from the ground up.
It must have been hard to juggle Mommy Makeup with a newborn.
Yes, Daisy was so little when I started doing this, which is tremendously time consuming. Daisy was and is always the priority, so I’m very fortunate that my daughter, even to this day is a very good sleeper. I got her on a good nap schedule pretty early on, so I knew when I had my chunks of time during the day where I could unload my dishwasher, I could take my shower, and then I could also play with my products and see how I could make these multi-purpose products a reality.
Now, I don’t want to sound like I’m tooting my own trumpet, but the products really speak for themselves. I’m very proud of the line in that everything is very functional, and it all makes sense.
Most importantly, I love what I do. I’m proud of Mommy Makeup, and that I’m also able to spend quality time with Daisy, whether it’s giving her a bath or spending bedtime together. I’m excited to see where Mommy Makeup goes and, of course, to help women feel pretty no matter what stage of life they’re in.