Our girl Katey McFarlan and her beautiful mother (aka "mama mcfarlan") curated our Mother's Day Balanced Beauty Gift Set this month and we couldn't be more thrilled! She's been such an incredible supporter of TULA since the beginning. Check out an excerpt from her post on important mother-daughter lessons and read the full list here.

*****

It's no secret, I am a mama's girl. My mom is my very best friend and we are the same person! In our family it's so funny because I look like my dad and my sister looks like my mom but we have the opposite parent's personality. My sister is incredibly independent, total extrovert and if you told her she needed to move halfway across the world tomorrow she'd say, Sounds great! Wherever the Lord wants me!

I'm the total opposite. I'm a homebody that needs her mom! My mom and dad live about 15-20 minutes away from Paul and I and every week since we've been married I call and beg them to move closer.

My mom was always the ringleader of my group of friends. Everyone in Fort Worth calls her, Mama McFarlan. She is always there to mend any broken heart and give incredible advice.

I've even had readers reach out [probably after her rants on my Snapchat!] and ask about things my mom has taught me and one even called them Southern-isms.She said, Your mom just seems like the ultimate Southern mama! What Southern-isms did she teach you?

I thought that was the absolute sweetest thing and it would be fun to share 5 Southern-isms she taught me in honor of Mother's Day coming up.

1. If You Need to Vent, Vent to Your Mother

I know! I know! A fool vents and a wise man holds his tongue. But sometimes, sometimes you just got to let it out.

I'm a people pleaser that bites my tongue and because of that, things will pile up. I'll spill milk on the floor and just want to cry. I remember in 6th grade my mama used to tell me,

Sweetheart, you will start to get to an age where you will want to vent. Your emotions will pile up and you'll just want someone to comfort you and acknowledge that you feel the way you do. You vent to me. No one else cares more or understands more. You might offend people if you complain about your day because they are having a worse day than yours. So just vent to me. I'll always understand.

This isn't to say girlfriends aren't great for venting. I don't even know where I would be without my girlfriends picking me up when something stressful happens with work, etc! However, no one quite gets it like a mama. They always know your heart and always know why you feel the way you do. I could call my mama and vent to her that my dryer isn't working right, and she knows I'm not complaining about my dryer. I'm frustrated because I was up late working or because someone hurt my feelings or because I got put in a sticky situation socially.

I've never regretted venting to my mother, but I have regretted holding it all in and then taking it out on other people.Your mom knows your heart because it formed in her.

2. Skimp Anywhere But Your Face

Since before my mom and I both found out we had similar autoimmune disorders, she has preached about skincare! When I was little she told me if I wanted to lay out at the beach I had to put on a lot of SPF and lay a hat or a towel over my face. I mean I was 3 soaking up the sun in my Hello Kitty bikini worrying about sun on the face! haha. When I wanted to start wearing makeup she told me I needed to save a certain amount. I didn't understand why I couldn't just run up to the drugstore with my friends after school and buy whatever frosted blue eyeshadow they did.

Once I had saved that amount from babysitting [it took months! I remember the days! haha] she took me to Neiman Marcus and had a professional do my makeup. I came home with mascara, blush and a pink gloss and was so excited. My mom was actually a makeup artist when she was my age! She has always encouraged my love of beauty products as long as I wasn't damaging my skin.

It's better to not put anything on your face, than to skimp on skincare and wreck your face. Your skin is your largest organ and if you damage it with the sun or products that don't work for you, it will scar. Skimp in other areas of your budget, but if you can invest in your skin.

 

She and I both use TULA and because of this they wanted to create an offer so that you and your mom could try their products for Mother's Day! Starting Sets includes a full-size Purifying Face Cleanser, a full-size hydrating day & night cream and a travel size of the exfoliating mask!

I'm SO excited that they are doing this for all because this is a brand I can't praise enough. It has helped my Discoid Lupus, my mom's Rheumatoid Arthritis and heals any issues we have so quickly.

I'm always writing about them, and I really feel these 3 products give you a great idea of the brand and how it works. I use the cleanser morning and night [it removes makeup perfectly!] and use the mask once a week. I also use it if I ever get a blemish or a flare up. I had a blemish from testing another brand a few weeks ago, put a dab of the treatment on it, applied makeup over and it was gone by the time I washed my makeup off at night.

....continue reading here!