If on this fine Friday morning I could wave my hands over a crystal ball and be granted a couple time travel requests to talk to a younger, adolescent Utibe, I would tell her to NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES slip that note into the locker of the boy she has a crush on; and two, ask how she was so unwaveringly confident in her makeup and skincare choices at the very worldly age of 14. Yung Utibe lined both her top and bottom waterlines with a thick Covergirl crayon liner, a lá the North American racoon. Yung Utibe was also a big fan of exfoliating cotton rounds that she would use to scrub her dry, dry face with a supremely dehydrating oil-free Neutrogena cleanser. She was also obsessed with getting a weave for prom—and relaxed her hair, doing so (against her mom’s explicit wishes) in order to get the aforementioned weave. I later learned that there is absolutely no need to relax your hair to get a weave, but that’s another story I’ve only recently broached with my therapist...

Which brings me to my next point! Reflection and acceptance. I’m sure you too have had your share of beauty errors as you work towards being a well-adjusted adult who understands beauty is completely relative to nature and nurture. What’s something you wish you knew about beauty when you were younger? Drop your confessions in the comments—and be freeeeee.

–Utibe Mbagwu

Photo via Getty.