My 62-year-old mom doesn't do anything to her face, not even wear makeup. It's taught me a lot about confidence and aging.

• My mom is 62 and has sworn off makeup, Botox, and other cosmetic enhancements.
• I still wear makeup, but I’m glad I grew up with her example.
• She’s shown me another approach to aging.

My mom and I were both born and raised in Southern California, and here, beauty standards are high. Plastic surgery and other enhancements are common. Microneedling, chemical peels, microdermabrasion, and LED light treatment services are a “must” for many.

Her decision to skip cosmetic products and procedures taught me something important about aging — something I didn’t fully understand until recently.

She realized in college that she wasn’t interested in makeup

A couple of weeks ago, after a particularly long session staring at my crows’ feet in the mirror, I asked my mom why she never wears makeup. When I was growing up, she’d wear it sparingly: some eyeliner and a touch of lip gloss for a special occasion. However, for the last couple of decades, the only thing she’s worn on her face is lotion.

Standing at my kitchen counter, I asked if there was a certain day she decided: “Makeup isn’t for me.” As it turns out, there was.

According to her, the roommate spent nearly an hour every morning applying expensive products. Then, after brushing on a few thick layers of mascara, she’d open a safety pin and use the point to separate each individual eyelash.

“I already couldn’t believe the time and money she spent on her face,” Mom said. “But I was shocked that she was willing to put a pin next to her eye. What if there was an earthquake? What if, God forbid, she sneezed?”

So, at 18, Mom decided that makeup just wasn’t for her. She’s always been practical, and between the time commitment, money spent, and apparent danger to eyeballs, Mom’s cost-benefit analysis said ‘no’ to cosmetics.

“I know some people love putting on makeup,” my mom said. “It can be a form of art and self-expression. But to me, it always looked like work.”

Mom decided it wasn’t worth her time. In fact, she resolved that, as a rule, she wasn’t going to do anything cosmetic. No more eyeliner and lip gloss even for special occasions, and definitely no plastic surgery. “As I got older, the women I knew seemed to be spending more time on their looks. I just didn’t want to do that,” she said with a shrug.

I grew up with her example

But in the early 2000s, as Mom was swearing off cosmetics forever, I was just getting interested in them.

It started when I got lip gloss in a birthday party goodie bag, and it evolved into wearing not-so-subtle purple glitter eye shadow to school. At an age when I was self-conscious about every zit (and there were many), makeup made me feel pretty and even grown-up. I liked it.

Mom didn’t discourage my exploration of makeup. In fact, in high school, she’d drop my friends and me off at the mall, where we’d spend too much money at the MAC counter. She, graciously, didn’t make fun of my overlined lips or my overplucked eyebrows. Although I’m sure she had to bite her tongue, especially on the days I attempted “winged” eyeliner.

And yet, I always secretly wondered if she disapproved. I wondered if she was disappointed that, after years of providing me with an example of how women don’t have to subscribe to the whims of the beauty industry and Hollywood ideals, I was willing to drop all my Christmas money on a trendy new foundation.

After talking to my mom that day in my kitchen, I realized that, for her, deciding not to invest in her looks wasn’t about makeup being “good” or “bad,” it wasn’t even about self-confidence. It was just about choosing how to spend the precious amount of time we have in this life.

She’d rather spend half an hour every morning reading a book or going for a walk than putting on makeup. She’d rather spend money on a round of drinks with people she cares about than a new eyeshadow palette. But not everyone feels the same way.

At 35, I still like to wear makeup because it makes me feel pretty. And I’m not opposed to a little Botox one day. I’ll admit that sometimes I look at dolled-up Hollywood stars and I think, “Man, she looks great! I want to be like her.”

But I wonder if, one day, I’ll change my mind. Maybe one day I’ll decide to spend that time, money, and energy on something else.

And I think, in the end, it doesn’t really matter what my mom looks like. It doesn’t matter if she wants to wear makeup, or get work done, or not. But as I put on a little eyeliner and mascara this morning, I realized that I’ve gotten a unique advantage from my mom’s no-cosmetics rule.

Mom and I have always had a strong resemblance, and it’s nice to know, more or less, what I’ll look like at her age if I don’t do anything.

Her face isn’t a product of fancy creams or surgery; it’s just nature plus time. And even if I don’t make any changes or spend another dollar trying to look pretty, maybe that’s OK. I’ve seen my future, and I think she looks perfect.

Read the original article on Business Insider