Adriana Lima on the Beauty Secrets She's Passing Down to Her Daughters

(Image credit: Getty)

published 9 August 16

I have four important role models in my life, and I take the spirit of these ladies with me everywhere I go. The inspirations for my work, for style and glamour, are Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe. And the women who taught me to be a strong, confident person are my grandmother and my mom.

In fact, my first memory of beauty is my mother's lipstick. She has a simple and casual style, but she always wore a burgundy or red lipcolor—and still does. Just hanging out at home on the weekends, she would have lipstick on. When I became a model, makeup artists told me that accentuating just one feature, like your eyes or lips, prevents your face from looking overdone. My mom had been doing that her whole life! It's still my favorite trick; all I need is a red lipstick or a little black mascara, and I'm good to go.

Once a week, we would make a homemade hair mask by mashing up an avocado.

We also used to do beauty treatments together when I was growing up in Brazil. I would go with my mom to the nail salon. And once a week, we would make a homemade hair mask by mashing up an avocado. After washing it out, we'd sit outside to let our hair air-dry in the sun. To this day, she still sends me a Brazilian almond oil that I use as body moisturizer. Nothing makes your skin softer.

And the scents I remember most from my childhood were in my mom's garden: She had roses, gardenias, and jasmine outside and in the house, so fragrance was all around. Now I have the same flowers in my courtyard so you can smell them when you walk inside. I think that's why I love Marc Jacobs' new fragrance, Divine Decadence, so much. It's sensual but summery, and has notes of those flowers that I love. It brings back happy memories of my childhood.

The scents I remember most from my childhood were in my mom's garden: She had roses, gardenias, and jasmine outside and in the house, so fragrance was all around.

I'm also trying to pass along similar memories to my daughters, Valentina and Sienna. We love having a girly day, and paint each other's nails. But, more important, I want to share the lessons my mother and grandmother taught me: that beauty comes from within and that accepting all your perfections and imperfections is what makes you unique.

1. LUX SKIN OILS Sweet Almond Skin Oil, $20. 2. SISLEY Black Rose Precious Face Oil, $235. 3. MAYBELLINE NEW YORK Volum' Express The Colossal Spider Effect Mascara, $8. 4. MARC JACOBS Divine Decadence Eau de Parfum, $122.

This article appears in the September issue of Marie Claire, on newsstands August 16.

Adriana Lima, As Told To Gina Way