Mom Life: The Beauty Industry Veteran who Advocates Self-Education

Sure, there may be tons of “beauty gurus” found on your Instagram feed but do they have three decades of expertise working with some of the most prestigious beauty companies in the business? Beth Ann Catalano, currently the president of Ahava Dead Sea Labaratories, has also held gigs at coveted  brands like La Prairie, Chanel, Clinique, Bliss and Guerlain, to name a few! Ahead, this industry veteran dishes on how her routine has changed over the years and the body cream she’s obsessed with.

How did you get into the beauty industry?
I started when I was 17 as a beauty adviser behind the Clinique counter in Colorado; you can’t get more grassroots than that. I didn’t have a mother who was a strong supporter of how to be glamorous.  So I used to go and shop by the beauty counters and they had these glamorous girls at the Clinique stall. One day, I asked them how I could do it. I ended up getting hired soon after and I started working there as a senior in high school. My entire career has always been in beauty. Even when I was a child, I was playing with Estee Lauder testers in my grandmothers hair salon. Since then, I have went on to every rung of the beauty ladder. I will always be a beauty adviser at heart. You need to be able to communicate the value of your product, you need to be passionate about it to bring the product to life.

Tell us about your current skincare routine.
I do EVERYTHING- services, products, it’s my industry. I love Erborian Solid Cleansing Oil ($39; sephora.com) to remove makeup. Then I apply May Coop Raw Sauce ($43; peachandlily.com) as a toner, it utilizes maple water and maple is one of my favorite flavors. For a women past 45, the most important thing you can do is to bring radiance back into the skin.  One day you’ll look in the mirror and think “something is different.” It’s not lines or wrinkles, it’s that youthful glow. Minerals add glow back to the skin, I use Ahava’s Osmoter mineral rich serum ($56; amazon.com). I use eye cream (Ahava Extreme Firming Eye Cream, $47; amazon.com) both day and night. I like micellar water too- it’s so interesting, we’re all busy and this is a double agent product. It removes makeup and cleanses.  If you go out at night and you need to wash your skin but don’t have the tenacity for the 10-20 min routine, this works in a pinch.

What’s your beauty must have?
Dry shampoo is my non-negotiable, I love Amika ($22; amazon.com). I also love Chanel no 19 body cream- it’s a beautiful green scent. I buy it whenever I can find it. I love Chanel fragrance, period. It’s so classic. That body cream is the skincare product I use everyday. 

How has your routine evolved over the years?
I think knowledge is so important. We can be much more educated today than I could be in my thirties. Now, you can go online and seek out products that address concerns. When I worked for Clinique, I was taught one simple question that opened up a conversation with any woman- the question was what concerns you most about your skin. Fifty percent of the time they know the exact issue, the other half really don’t know. It’s so important, no matter what age, to seek out info from beauty sites to really educate yourself. You can’t go through life hating your skin and body, you have to identify the things you’re willing to change and see how you can do that. Technology has so vastly improved and there are such savvy customers now. For me now, I add sun protection ALL the time. I am over 50 and my skin looks like that of someone in her 40s. I haven’t been in the sun since I was 30 years old. I have red hair and green eyes and I have thin skin. Going into the sun is a recipe for looking old, especially with my coloring. I apply SPF to my face, neck, and hands, it’s really important to use anti-aging products south of your face also.  It’s built into a lot of day creams so there’s not an extra steps. I’ve also tried professional peels and injectables, they can really make such a difference. I am not ashamed to admitthat, even if I wasn’t in the industry, I’d see if they were right for me.  Skin can really impact confidence, so educating yourself about it can completely affect your self esteem. 

Are there any beauty rituals you like to do?
Ahava has a mud mask that I like to use every few days. Mineral mud reduces inflammation in the skin. My husband has really bad knees, so I take the mud and put it in the microwave and warm it up. I put it on a wet towel and wrap it around his knees- it helps reduce inflammation and redness. I apply it all over my body.  Also, if you have a blemish on the skin, mud can help reduce the redness around it. The blemish may not be gone come morning but it looks completely better because it takes the redness down. Also, I started taking baths again. Showers wake you up, baths relax you. Saturday night with champagne and candles- it’s a whole experience that I love to indulge in.  I take a bath 3x a week, it’s all about me time.

Has your ideas of beauty changed since having a daughter?
It’s all about confidence.I have a 24 year old daughter, Jenna. She lives in Washington D.C. and we talk on the phone regularly, Instead of saying the typical sign off of “love you, good bye.” I always say “honey, enjoy your beauty.” Your beauty changes as you change and as you get older. You need to enjoy your beauty in the stage that it’s in and then it’s much easier to transition to the next part of life because you felt beautiful in the former part of your life.

What is your advice to other mothers?
Surround your child with love. Not just as a mother loving her child but rather, mothers are responsible for everyone around that child to show them love. When Jenna was little, my job was to make sure her father supplied that love, her cousins, grandparents- all around her, they shared their version of love with her. Today, my daughter is confidant and she feels loved- so many children feel insecure about feeling loved. Yes, she’s accomplished but I think that sense of love has really grounded her.