An Essay on Motherhood by Ava Kennedy

My mother never really talked about beauty, at least not the kind you see in a mirror. If anything, she’d redirect us.

“Stop worrying about how you look. What are you creating with your mind? How are you showing up for the ones you love?”

She was eccentric, body positive, and completely unbothered by conventional beauty standards. What she cared about was that we were clean, taken care of, and, most importantly, ourselves. Fully, unapologetically ourselves.

She believed that being yourself was the most powerful thing a woman could do. That it’s how you make real connections. How you make a difference. How you actually feel confident—not by looking a certain way, but by knowing who you are and leaning into it.

That philosophy followed me into the way I approach everything! Including what I put on my skin. I’m intentional about ingredients. I always have been, and so was my mom. It matters to me what I’m actually using, what it’s made of, what it’s doing. A product earns its place in my routine.

When I found My July, that intentionality was already built in—the ingredients are thoughtful, and I can feel the difference. It fits the way I was raised to think: don’t just do things mindlessly. Be present. Make choices that mean something.

So skincare, for me, is never just a routine. It’s a quiet moment of presence. Of tending to yourself with care, not for anyone else, just for you.

Now I watch my two little girls, and that’s what I want them to carry. Clean hair, soft skin, a good night’s rest—and underneath all of that, an unshakeable sense of who they are. I hope they grow up knowing what’s in their products, why it matters, and that taking care of yourself is an act of self-respect, not vanity.

From my mother, to me, to them—be intentional, be yourself, and know that that has always been enough.

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Written & Photographed by Ava Kennedy for My July