If you are a mum of school aged children, you may well be relieved to get some respite – not of the school run, but because you can avoid other mums at the school gate…
And not, it’s not because of back biting, fake smiles, getting blanked by other mums or boring small talk (as annoying as they may be!), but it’s probably because you want a much-needed break from the indiscreet fashion and beauty contests or just feeling inadequate about your attempts to keep up appearances.
According to a recent surgery, 50% of mums feel under pressure to look good because of other mums and surprisingly only 10% feel the same pressure from celeb mums. But despite this, only a third of mums spend less than five minutes in the morning doing their make-up compared to one-fifth of women who do not have children.
The survey, commissioned by Sheer Cover mineral make-up, polled 1,600 women across the UK and found that the majority of mums are feeling pretty depressed about their appearance. So much so that more than 40% of mums agree to feeling more confident and attractive before they had children, and 1 in 10 admit to avoiding social situations due to a lack of confidence in their appearance.
It’s no surprise however when you consider that motherhood results in a 50% decrease in pamper time according to the mums surveyed.
More surprising is the fact that 56% of mums agreed that friends and other mums made them feel self-conscious while only 10% of respondents felt pressure from celebrity mums, despite the likes of red-carpet beauties such Victoria Beckham (although she still looks model thin in her now fourth pregnancy) and Danni Minogue flaunting flawless figures and fresh-faces just weeks after giving birth. Even more reason for mums to make that little extra added effort each morning before approaching the school gates!
When questioned about other sources of inspiration however, one startling find was that only 2% of women name their own mothers as their top beauty role model.
Armand Beasley, top make-up artist for Sheer Cover says of the survey findings: “For busy mums on the go, it’s important that they look and feel the best they possibly can. It doesn’t have to take an hour and you don’t have to look like a supermodel! You only need 10mins to get up and glow!”
Amanda is right – it really doesn’t take much to comb or brush you hair, moisturise your face, and look like you actually enjoy motherhood, instead of looking like it’s a prison sentence…and it doesn’t have to break the bank in the process!
So, during the course of the school Easter holiday break, I’m making it my personal mission to let all bust working mums know about products that are quick and easy to use to help them ditch the frumpy and grumpy look!
If you’re a stylish working mum who has bags full of tips and tricks to share, then please share!
If you’re a mum who wants to raise the bar when school opens for the spring term but don’t know where to start, just add a comment here on on our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/motherswhowork) or on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/motherswhowork) and let us know you would like some help – we’ll get some products sent out to you to help you on your road to discovery!
