Sharing one of my "Firsts" {and a $50 Giveaway}

Every year of my childhood the women in my family would vacation in South Carolina.  For two weeks we stayed in my grandma's Airstream trailer on the beach soaking up the salty sea air and hot sun. 

It was my mother and her two sisters, Grandma, cousins, my little sister and me.

The summer I was 11, they all decided it was time for me to shave my legs.  

Do you like my hairstyle and hot pink and neon yellow bathing suit?  It was 1990; I was pre-teen and thought I was so cool.  (I swear my aunt is wearing clothes in this picture.)

Aunt Cindy was my instructor, my mom took pictures from every angle.  Evidently this was a particular rite of passage they never wanted me to forget!

So that went well, and it was a "first time" in my life I will never forget, but I know the next few years were not easy in regards to shaving.  Inexperience, cheap razors, my dad's 2 for $1.00 Barbasol shaving cream all left my legs cut up, bumpy and smelling like an old man.  

Now 22 years later I have four daughters; my oldest is 11. 

I'm sure within this next year she will be shaving as well.  As mothers I feel we all want to give our children more than what we had growing up.  Not that I was set back in life because I had to use men's shaving cream, but I want more than that for my daughter. I want her to know that she is good enough to use quality products to take care of herself as well as for this to be a positive experience in her life. 

Even after I left home for college, I still only bought cheap razors and used just soap out of habit.  Of all people, my little sister gave me my first Venus and a bottle of yummy smelling shaving cream for my birthday one year. Sounds crazy, but it was completely life changing.  Why hadn't I been using this all along?

I want my girls to use this from the get go! 

I'm so excited to give a Venus Embrace to my daughter.  It has 5 blades for a close, comfortable shave, blade refills, and most importantly, the Soft Grip handle is pink! 

To go along with her new razor, she'll try a bottle of Passionista Fruit Satin Care shave gel. We're going to try for smooth skin--no bumps or cuts! She loves anything that smells fruity, so I think she will love it!

What I want for her, what I want for all my daughters, is to grow up feeling confident, safe, and beautiful inside and out.

We all could use a little encouragement when talking about things like this with our daughters.

Share a tip for tackling tough "firsts" conversations with your kids to be entered for a chance to win a $50 Visa Gift Card, courtesy of Venus and BlogHer!

I can't wait to hear your advice!

Rules:
No duplicate comments. You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
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d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 5/21 - 6/30.
Be sure to visit the Venus Brand feature page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!  If you have a first-time shaver in your home, you should check out some of these great tips from Venus Embrace!