My genetics are a whirl of Spanish-European-Native American, which has left me with pale skin, red lips, dark hair, dark eyes, and moles/beauty marks! I do not just mean one or two moles—I have MANY, ranging in sizes, all over, including on my face. A kind person once told me that the left side of my face was the “Starry Night” stars in Vincent Van Gogh’s painting. I strive to be confident, but I find myself hiding the more polka-dotted side of my face with my hair and searching “scar-less mole removal” on the internet. Besides the moles my face is blemish-free. But moles and beauty marks are permanent, unlike acne. I don’t want people to think my beauty marks are unappealing, but I do!! How do I get over this? Are moles distracting and unattractive?

If all you’re doing is worrying about other people’s thoughts on your polka-dotted face, that IS going to show on you, your expressions, and the way you carry yourself. But if you don’t let other people’s opinions and questions bother you, and truly understand that a few moles on your face does not equal unattractiveness, you’re going to be awesome. Yes, your moles are probably going to get attention sometimes, but that doesn’t have to hurt your confidence. The more secure you feel about yourself, the more other people are not going to notice anything “different.” Wait a minute. PARDON ME FOR BEING FRANK, but you sound like a hottie: pale skin, dark hair, and red lips?? Who is this, Angelina Jolie? Honestly, who cares if you have some moles! Girl, I probably have close to 100 moles on my body, including one in my freakin’ eyelid, one in the middle of my boobs, and two on each of my nostrils that one time a boy, who I thought was GAZING ROMANTICALLY at me through the flames of a beachside bonfire, was actually staring at because he thought they were boogers. I felt bad for a moment, but I got over it; and now I love my booger moles. They are part of me! Perhaps even my personal trademark! Look at Cindy Crawford. She became a star with her mole. It made her stand out in a sea of other gorgeous models, which certainly contributed to her success. And think of all the other people who rock unique facial features, like freckles: Julianne Moore, Sissy Spacek, and LiLo. P.S. I like the “Starry Night” comment. I think freckles and moles are like pretty little constellations on the skin.

Now, the one important thing you gotta do is get your moles checked out by a doctor, especially if you are noticing a change in their color. DON’T FREAK OUT or anything, it’s just smart to keep an eye on our little friends. Keep these “ABCDE” rules in mind when inspecting your moles. If you notice any of them, have your doc take a look.

A = asymmetry: if one half of the mole does not match the other.
B = border: if a mole is irregular, with a jagged or blurry border.
C = color: if the mole has multiple shades.
D = diameter: if the mole has a diameter larger than a pencil eraser (about 1/4 inch or 6mm).
E = elevation/evolving: if the mole’s size, shape, and/or color change over time.

XoXo-Marie

All of the bras I own are old, worn out, and were never cute in the first place. I feel like it’s time for a wardrobe update, but I absolutely loathe bra shopping. I’m a 32A, and I am perfectly comfortable with this fact and have no interest in making myself appear to have C-cups or cleavage. However, the only bras I can EVER find in my size are ridiculously padded push-up bras, and it makes me so angry. I don’t want to look like I have huge boobs; all I want is something that fits, makes me feel pretty, and lies somewhere between boring and frumpy and obscenely sexy/lacy/push-up-y. Does this exist, and if so, where can I find it?

Ain’t nothing wrong with a little obscenity in your underthings!!! But I feel you—it’s so hard to fine the perfect combination of things you want when you’re shopping on the internet. I would recommend looking at ASOS—I really love their lingerie selection, because it includes cheap, expensive, super-frilly, and sporty things, and it has a large range of sizes. What you are looking for definitely exists; you just aren’t looking in the right places—I mean, Victoria’s Secret is like the most popular lingerie store in the world but it primarily offers frilly things, which are totally OK, but I think independent lingerie labels are often more affordable and more interesting in comparison. Limit your search to soft-cup bras; that will eliminate getting a million push-up bras in the lingerie category—balconette bras are super cute too and work with what you have instead of faking what you don’t. Stella McCartney has cute styles and makes lingerie in your size. For custom-made stuff and independent designers I recommend UnLoveableLingerie on Etsy and the Loved One. —Arabelle

Every time I put my daily moisturizing sunscreen on my combination skin, I break out. Is there a facial sunscreen that could make my skin look amazing?

First of all, I’m so glad that you’re wearing (or at least trying to wear) sunscreen on a daily basis! It’s incredibly smart of you to protect your skin from harmful UV rays that could cause skin cancer and other serious damage—so yay, you!

Second, there are a few different options here. I have very sensitive skin that reacts weirdly to all sorts of things, but I’ve used all these products with no horrible effects, so I deem them safe (for me, at least).

My all-time favourite daily sunscreen is from Mario Badescu: the Oil-Free Moisturizer With SPF 30. It is moisturizing and paraben free, it protects against UVA and UVB rays, and they don’t test on animals. It works for all skin types and it isn’t greasy or clogging. It’s just all-around pretty fabulous, and the bottle will last you a couple months.

For something a little more natural and mattifying for those oily situations, there’s Coola’s SPF 30 Matte Finish sunscreen, which comes in cucumber or rose scent, or unscented if you prefer that. This stuff is super-concentrated, so a little goes a long way, and it has a matte finish that seems to magically soak up oil. For your dry areas, I recommend putting on a regular moisturizer before the sunscreen.

Of course, remember to wash your face at night, even if you’re not wearing any makeup. While sunscreen is awesome to wear when you’re out and about, it can get pretty icky on your skin while you sleep and cause pimples that obviously ya don’t want. —Hannah

I am tall (5′11″) and I have never really been able to wear heels without people gawking at me. Are there any cute, low-heeled (under two inches) shoes that I could wear and not be gawked at?

Hellooo my supermodel! If you want my honest opinion, I think you should wear six-inch heels and not give an F. Let them gawk! I love it when really tall chicks rock a pair of crazy, fabulous, ain’t-no-shame-I’m-just-doin’-my-thang platform heels. But if you aren’t ready for that yet, I understand! Websites like Zappos and Myheels.com let you search by heel height, so check there first.

I looked around for you and found these cute leopard-print heels by Calvin Klein and some pretty Seychelles ones here and here. Now…if you are open to trying a 2.5-inch heel, you will find tons of choices, like these and these. NO PRESH! Just wanna give you the option…

I hope you eventually become ready for some serious platform heel game. Let me know and I’ll find some good ones for you then, too. XoXo-Marie ♦

If you have a style/beauty question for Marie & her Rookie team, please send it to [email protected].