TO MY 15-YEAR-OLD SELF…
Dear Alexia,
You are one of the tallest in your year, a bit chubby, uncoordinated, ungainly and you fit in like a bicycle in a sock. It will take years, but you will come to understand that those most awkward, questioning parts of your being will become your building blocks to a life that will blow your mind.
Introverts don’t tend to hit the high notes on the aspirational scale, it doesn’t suit the modern image of the go-getter entrepreneur, windswept and interesting with a party in every port.
You are an introvert, learn to love its quiet power. The introverted listener observes what is stirred up and exposed in the wake of an extrovert’s propeller. It’s easy learnings.
You will eventually shed the chubbiness and will even become a model after university, but contrary to expectations this will teach you that the, ‘Glamourous Dream’ is a LIE. That the rich, sparkly curtain hides an anxious-ridden Wizard of Oz, unsure of why he’s propagating the myth.
When you are younger and less experienced you will be habitually ignored and underestimated, rather than being indignant about this, absorb the insight that spills out of people when you are unthreatening - be useful to have around, make the tea.
NO experience is wasted. In fact, your multiple-category jobs ranging from the mundane to the outright bizarre - tyrannical bosses, mind-blowing events, catastrophic failures and a stuttering inability to choose a career lane - will all, it turns out, pack you a ‘life suitcase’ of contacts, knowledge, blagging practice…. and of course, photos for blackmail purposes (as yet unused, as yet…).
You will spend many years waitressing and working the door at clubs and it will furnish you with a degree in human behaviour, and a PHD in empathy. It will teach you not only how to disarm an aggressive drunk, but to be disarming to a panel of potential investors.
Have the confidence to respect what you bring in that ‘life suitcase’, so you can use it effectively. Always take time to bring others up with you, they will be the metaphorical arm to grab when you stumble.
Share your good ideas - ideas jealously guarded shrivel and die, they need light and collaboration to grow into their promise. There will come a time where the world moves so fast that the most precious thing for your businesses will be originality.
Don’t set yourself age-based life markers, it is a sure road to depression because it ignores all of the inciteful and joyful experiences that come day by day. Focusing on a checklist of society norms (marriage, money, mortgage) leaves less time for an expansive examination of the areas where you lack conformity, and what other opportunities your life will present in the future.
You will come late to the marriage/baby party in your 40s, but any earlier would have seen both suffer in the shadow of Cult Beauty’s conception and the years of toil that followed.
The best thing I’ve learned so far is that advice is a form of nostalgia presented as fact. Listen to people’s recommendations in context and never let another person’s life choice or achievements make you feel bad, or better than them, as things can and will switch profoundly in a second.
It’s also very easy to give good advice in hindsight... Good luck girl, you’ll be fine
Love,
Lex xxx
Dear 15-Year-Old Me,
Who would have thought it? Definitely not us, right? A job in the beauty industry, it was as much a dream as you wanting to marry Paul Walker. Beauty wasn't always our forte, in fact we abstained from make up for such a long time, I wasn't sure we would ever move past Johnson's Baby Lotion (no shade, it served us well). And when we finally dipped our toe into the beauty pot, we went bold. As bold as could possibly be: bright blue eyeshadow pressed along our lower lash line and generously swept across our eyelids. That was it. No foundation, no powder, no brows, no blush, no mascara. It was a look. Not a good one, but a look no less.
I understand you were emboldened by the blue (despite its ice-cold reception), and therein began our journey. A bumpy ride, regularly rough - particularly in our baby pink lips and ever babier pink cheek era - but rest assured we stay strong (not strong enough not to avoid double false lashes, but we move). One day (quite far away from now) you'll see it all gets a lot better. Not perfect, but definitely much, much better.
With love,
Billie x
Dear 15-year-old Gary!
I just want to say everything will be ok! Just breathe, relax and stop picking your skin LOL!
I know you think you’re slaying by using that apricot scrub every day, but this is the very reason why you’re getting those dark marks AKA hyperpigmentation!!
Also, babes you’re going to grow up and realise in order to wear vibrant pink lipsticks on the lips we need a brown lipliner to make it look cute.
When you grow up, you’re going to love that we no longer just draw on thick caterpillar eyebrows and call it a day. We actually now use a brow pen that gives us natural fluffy snatched brows.
We now also have a 6-step skin care routine and our skin does get better after the age of 21! All the years of picking those ingrown hairs and wearing a foundation that is two shades lighter than our actual skin (it’s giving ashy) are GONE!
I remember the times we would go into the store and only have one shade of foundation shade for us, that would make us look red and odd! We now have so many options for foundation shades!
You will thank me for wearing SPF everyday instead of just going outside wearing cocoa butter oil!
Oh and one tip - STOP the make up wipes!! Your skin hates it babes!! Cleansing balms are a game changer!!
Gary xx
Dear Lisa at 15,
Well, where to begin? Firstly, I’m proud of you, kiddo. You’ve been working since you were 11, big up Alan and Mary at Chino's Coffee Shop. This grafting mentality will stick with you through life. Remember that pink Motorola flip phone you dreamed of? Yeah, you got that bad boy! Just a heads up, though - don't get too attached to mastering Snake, it'll be extinct soon. RIP, old friend.
Keep up those Saturday visits to Our Price on Gosport high street because shops like that won’t be around forever and neither will Walkmans, I’m being serious. Scratched CDs jittering on the same word over and over again will be a thing of the past. It will all play from your phone! I’m not even kidding dude.
So you know all those extra hours you do painting anyone’s face you can get your hands on? Well, that was worth it because you’re a makeup artist now. And FYI Heather Shimmer made a limited edition return a few years ago and seriously, WTF. I actually can’t believe you love that slushy, mauvy brown lip as much as you love Bon Jovi and Alanis.
Shout out to Daphne and Doris, the best Nans ever. Those extraordinary ladies were the epitome of class, grace, and wisdom. Their influence has shaped your life in countless ways, and you've become the strong, resilient woman you are today because of them.
They’re gone now but you’ll soon realise the impact they had on your life and what they taught you about makeup. The way they always looked perfect from their hair to the skin to their lips. The way they would dab that lipstick onto their cheeks, lips and eyes without a moment’s thought and blend it to perfection with their perfectly manicured fingertips.
No letter to you would be complete without mentioning your cherry-red Doc Martens phase. You'd smoke out that cherry-red eyeliner on your lash line to match those bad boys. Pretty iconic. You know what isn’t? Overplucked eyebrows, and you can thank your mum for hiding her tweezers from you. Sometimes mothers do know best.
Go and see Dad as much as you can, tell him you love him at the end of every call because one day you won’t be able to. Don’t worry about the 2.2 at Uni, he’ll forgive you, eventually. And you’ll end up laughing about it for hours on end.
Let’s talk boys: you like them… a lot. Maybe too much— lol. But that’s okay because you’ll meet the love of your life in 6 years. He's quite the catch, the best dancer you’ll ever meet, and together, you're the ultimate dynamic duo. Who knew that love could be this grand?
Your best friends now will always have a place in your heart. In fact, Holly, Joni and Amy will all be invited to your wedding. But you’re not sticking around on this island. You’re outta here in two years girl. And you’ll make new friendships that will be more like family. Get ready for the fun you’re about to have.
I know right now Mum’s chicken pasta bake layered with ready salted crisps is as exotic as food gets for you. But you will learn to love cooking (the best roast potatoes in the land, mind you) for your family consisting of about a million siblings. You think six is enough, well there’s still one more to come in the form of Eddie. Cherish and love them… but a note to self: watch their thieving ways around your pretty shoes, especially your cousin Georgina. She’ll grow up to look better in your clothes than you do damn it!
Lastly, a nod to David Attenborough and your love for animals. The minute you can fill your home with furry friends, you will. Spoiler alert, these will be in the form of
Diddy, Snoop, and Kimmy. These three will become your children and have filled your life with joy, snuggles, and the occasional chewed-up shoe. But, hey, nobody's perfect, right?
So, buckle up, young one. You're in for a wonderful adventure. Embrace every twist and turn, and remember that it's all leading to a marvelous life full of love, laughter, fabulousness… and champagne – you love that stuff now.
With love, laughter and bucketloads of sequins,
Future You
Dear Sasha,
I’d love to start this letter by telling you how sad I am that I hid you away so expertly. But, I can’t start any letter to you, my 15-year-old self without apologising for everything I put you through. I truly believed the St. Ives Apricot scrub was the answer to your already baby-soft skin and when blue eyeshadow was introduced to you via dancing… I let you carry that trend onto the dance floors you weren’t old enough to be on.
You’ll be grateful for those braces one day. They’ll make you proud of that big smile and you’ll realise that nothing is more beautiful than a genuine one. You’ll also be proud we stuck to our guns that a bit of lipgloss does indeed finish off a look. Those ‘trends’ come crawling back, don’t worry babes.
I wish I could tell you how little it matters that you don’t look like your friends, they’re beautiful and so are you. Your stomach doesn’t need to be smaller. I think those stretch marks are meant to be there to remind you just how much you’ll go on to grow. My gosh, you won’t believe how much you’ll grow.
I do feel sad though. I’m sad that I thought you deserved to be hidden. I was convinced by the voices around us that unless you looked, dressed and behaved a certain way, it wouldn’t be worth standing out. Perhaps I’d change nothing, I wouldn’t be who I am today without you. You really taught me everything. Being exactly who you are, regardless of how you look, will always prevail.
Love, Sasha xx
Dear Adeola, When I look back at pictures of you, I can’t help but hold back tears. I want to give that little girl a hug and let her know that everything turned out just fine, in fact everything is more than fine, life as you know it today is amazing! Who would have thought that your love for beauty from such a young age, would now be your full-Eme career? WOW! Not only has beauty helped to transform your life, you are also using beauty to help change the lives of others too and that is awesome. You see, you really struggled to see your natural beauty; at Emes it was almost painful for you to look in the mirror because you didn’t love what you saw, you didn’t feel beautiful. How I wish I could turn back Eme and let you know just beautiful you are inside and out. Your ongoing journey with self-love hasn’t always been easy, but I am so grateful that you have stayed determined and resilient despite it all. You will now be happy to know that the age-old saying “ageing like fine wine” is very true in your case and that at 34, your skin is looking be%er than ever (Yasss Glow Queen!), and your eyebrows no longer resemble that of tadpoles. With age comes wisdom, you now have a newfound appreciation for the things you used to loathe about yourself and even though you are not perfect, you are Adeola and that is pretty perfect. Thank you for always remembering to wear spf every day and for leUng your eyebrows grow out, it is the best decision you have ever made. You are grateful for your body because it has carried you on this journey and every scar and mark is a sign that you have lived life, you love the skin you are in because it has protected you and kept you safe.
I am so proud of you; your life is far better than you ever imagined!
You go girl!
From Allana Davison
Dear 15-year-old self,
As you continue to write and create content that inspires others to feel confident and beautiful, I hope you remember to celebrate how far you've come. You have achieved something truly amazing, and it's a testament to your hard work, dedication, and talent.
With love and admiration,Your future self.
Dear 15-year-old Laura,
I know you hate having your picture taken and I know you hated this particular picture, so don’t be mad but it’s now on the Internet for the entire world to see, on a website you’ve spent A LOT of money on: Cult Beauty.
About the Internet. It’s changed. Quite a bit. It’s not just MSN and Freeserve forums anymore. You now buy all your favourite makeup online, except those Versace lip glosses you were obsessed with because they’ve been discontinued.
I know.
This might surprise you, maybe worry you, but you’re going to stop wanting to blend in with everyone else. I know right now that’s all you want. To go by a school day completely unnoticed, just like everyone else. But spoiler alert: those people making your life a misery are actually incredibly unhappy themselves.
It gets better. Your obsession with knowing exactly what makeup products celebrities wear is going to pay off. You know Cosmopolitan magazine? The one you sometimes steal from your sister? You’re going to work there.
Yeah, you’re a beauty editor and you no longer hide your YSL Touche Eclat in your pencil case because you’re scared of standing out in any way shape or form or wipe off your sparkly beige Bourjois eyeshadow in case someone notices.
Your passion is going to become your job and not many people can say that, so hang in there because if you could see yourself now you would never believe it.
Oh, and sunscreen isn’t just for holidays. If you could start wearing SPF50 on your face every day now, our forehead would really appreciate it.
LC x
Oh my gosh, its 2008, and thankfully you’re a confident teenager who prefers to take risks with your outfits rather than your makeup! Your skin is incredible and doesn’t need touching - leave it be and keep your skincare gentle and simple. You don’t have Instagram, Tik Tok or YouTube to learn makeup or skincare tips from, so speak to your older friends and get their advice, maybe visit a makeup counter and let someone show you what works for your complexion and face instead of copying your friends; a thick, dark black eyeliner doesn’t work for everyone - and darling 15 year old Josie… I don’t think it’s the best look for you!A natural makeup look will be your timeless go-to for many years, so keep it simple with a soft pink lip, a dash of blusher and brown mascara. You might think that ‘more is better’ when it comes to special event makeup - but focus on bringing out your pretty teenage features instead of masking them!
I know no one cared about eyebrows in 2008, but trust me, they’ll be ‘big’ soon - quite literally - so please refrain from plucking them!
Oh and one last thing - you don’t need to add filters to your photos! You’re beautiful enough with no editing!
Cult Beauty’s Content Editor and a Cult Beauty OG, Verity loves nothing more than the marriage of language and lip balm. A quintessential Libran, she’s a self-professed magpie for luxury ‘must-haves' and always pursuing the new and the niche — from the boujee-est skin care to cutting-edge tech. Balancing an urge to stop the clock with her desire to embrace the ageing process (and set a positive example for her daughter), Verity's a retinol obsessive and will gladly share her thoughts about the time-defying gadgets, masks and treatments worth the splurge...
