Staff Picks: Beauty advice for our younger selves

A lot has been said about the folly of youth, and I personally feel quite lucky to have grown up at a time when Instagram and Facebook weren't around to immortalize my stupid-kid moments for all the world to see. I suspect we've all been there: making questionable fashion choices, underperforming at school, getting our hearts broken by boys who didn't deserve our affection in the first place. And then there are the beauty mistakes that range from making us cringe to leaving permanent damage on our skin. In today's roundup, the Project Vanity staff admit to our biggest beauty blunders and share the advice we would want to give ourselves if we could travel back in time.

Liz: I would tell myself to use sunscreen earlier, everyday! I would also tell myself not to frown so much and use anti-aging products earlier because now I have this deep line in my forehead that is starting to bother me. Lastly, I would want to do a full skincare routine - facial wash, toner, serum, moisturizer, and eye cream - because that really makes a difference in the overall texture of the skin.

Kim: My mom isn't the kikay type, so there were a lot of beauty musts I didn't know and had to find out for myself. Still I'd like to believe that I'm not too late for the beauty game at 20, and that for the most part, I've already made up for past mistakes. One error that's hard to recover from, though, is the habit of plucking and shaving my armpits. I only switched to waxing in third year college, and then made the upgrade to laser last year. The road to artista kilikili (I want it and I refuse to be sorry for it, lol) is a long and arduous journey, but I wish I tackled that road sooner.

Kisty: I should've started using sunscreen and moisturizer as early as possible! Also, although not a beauty tip per se, but I wish I had taken up a sport and embraced healthier eating habits.

Kathleen: I'd tell myself that it is important to start using sunscreen as early as possible. I only began to use it regularly when I turned 23. I also didn't use moisturizer back then because I thought that with my oily skin, I didn't really need it. Now, I know how wrong I was but better late than never! I'm really happy that sunblock formulations have improved over the years. Now it's easy to find something that doesn't smell or make me feel like I'm going for a swim at the pool.

Marielle: I wish I had been more discerning with my foundation/BB cream color at an earlier age. If I had learned about undertones and lighting tests before, I would've saved myself a lot of money and from photos of my face not matching the color of my neck!

Katsy: I shouldn't have used those blackhead removing strips for the nose when I was young. I feel like that was when my pores "opened" and have since been prone to "filling" up. I guess there are things best left untouched, especially when nothing's wrong with them in the first place. But I loved (and still love!) experimenting with beauty products and treatments so maybe the beauty tip I wished I knew then would be to just proceed with caution because prevention is better than cure. But never regret having fun and enjoying the process! (Yes, colonics, I'm referring to you! LOL)

Rae: I wish I could go back and tell myself to wear correct prescription glasses and sunglasses when I'm out in the sun. My elevens, those two frown lines that usually form between the eyebrows, are starting to deepen and I blame it on habitual squinting.

Den: I'm guilty of having sported skinny brows past the 90s because I didn't know when to stop plucking! Finally managed to grow them out just two years ago, so I wish had known better than to try and force my eyebrows to look exactly alike. Also, instead of constantly obsessing over brow shape, I wish I'd paid attention two inches lower and applied eye cream religiously. While the rest of my face has great skin, my poor eye area is still playing catch-up!

Stacie: I'm still young! HAHAHAHAHA! But seriously, I guess I did a lot of research before I started with beauty so there isn't much I want my younger self to know. Maybe learning how to draw and shape my eyebrows? I only started shaping and filling in my brows a few months ago. Before that, I had gradient droopy eyebrows which look full near my nose but almost non-existent away from it!

Do you share any of our beauty regrets? What beauty knowledge would you have wanted to know sooner?