Why you should own "fat" clothes and more style tips from Janice Min

So how do Hollywood moms bounce back after pregnancy? Editorial Director of The Hollywood Reporter and author of the new book How to Look Hot in a Minivan Janice Min set out for some answers. Here's what she learned about "fat" clothes, facial serums and looking great even when you're exhausted.

SheKnows: What is the oddest beauty trick you’ve ever tried in order to cut corners on a rushed morning?

Janice Min: Instead of drying my hair before I leave, I've rolled down my window with my hair wet to try to let the wind dry it for a tousled "beachy" look. Um, it has never worked once.

SheKnows: What is your stance on “the glow?” A mom beauty myth or is there a sliver of truth to it?

Janice Min: I have had the pregnant fat face, zitty face and exhausted face, but probably never the glow. But I do believe others do get a glow. The beauty chapter in my book discusses how pregnancy is almost like the best oxygen facial you could receive because of the increased blood flow when you're expecting. For older moms, especially, pregnancy sometimes can create a fullness in your face that no amount of fillers from the dermatologist could ever fabricate.

SheKnows: Name three to five products that are your go to, use-no-matter-what products.

Janice Min: My Shiseido eyelash curler, Retin-A and right now I'm completely loving my Origins Plantscription anti-aging serum. Serums have changed my skin completely. The dermatologists in my book say you are crazy not to use one.

SheKnows: The best beauty advice you’ve ever received?

Janice Min: Stop washing your hair every day. My hairstylist here in LA told me to cut it out since my hair was seeming dry. Life suddenly became better. I had more time, my color lasted longer and I could stop pretending I actually enjoyed styling my hair while trying to pack lunches at the same time.

Also, my book answers a question I had wanted answered for a long time: When should you spend money on department store makeup, and when is drugstore makeup fine? I now know the answer! I loved learning that some products in the drugstore are actually better, and the book tells you which ones they are.

SheKnows: What's the best fashion advice you’ve ever received?

Janice Min: Buy a size up when you need it. Even if the label says size four but you look like size 14 in it, you're not tricking anyone. Seriously. Spanx creator Sara Blakely says in my book that even she — despite all her fat-cinching products — bought larger-sized clothing after giving birth. There's a limit to what we can fake.

After I gave birth, I bought a few baggier pieces of clothing and wore them to pieces. I didn't spend a lot of money on them, and people were probably wondering why I was always wearing the same things, but it worked. Larges sizes are also useful to have around when your weight fluctuates even if your kids are older. If you're asking someone to help zip you into your clothes, stop fighting it. We all need a few pieces of "fat" clothes in our closet.

SheKnows: How do you make a 9-5 wardrobe last from 5-9?

Janice Min: Wear something sleeveless to work with a jacket on top. Take off the jacket at night, add a statement necklace and bring a pair of your sexiest shoes. Keep a little makeup kit handy to add either a dramatic lip or a dramatic eye, but not both.

SheKnows: What are one or two pick-me-up tricks that you use to look great even when you’re exhausted?

Janice Min: If I really feel and look haggard, I'll stop in to my local Drybar out here for a $35 blowout. It lasts for days, and frankly, I feel like good hair goes a long way in hiding a bad-face day. If my face is droopy, at least my hair won't be. Also, concealer. Always. I'll use it under the eye and on ruddy parts of my face. It can make it look like you slept eight hours instead of four.

SheKnows: After writing How to Look Hot in a Minivan, what’s the most surprising thing you learned about how Hollywood really bounces back to skinny and beautiful after giving birth?

Janice Min: Genetics are a huge part of why celebrities bounce back more quickly than most other women. As one doctor in the book says, if you had a great body before, and were in shape before giving birth, chances are you will be afterwards too. That said, not all of Hollywood is like Gisele.

Read more: Janice Min on bouncing back after a baby >>

Most new moms here struggle too, but they put in more time and effort from the outset into getting back into shape because, let's face it, their jobs are to be hot and sell the fantasy of celebrity. Luckily, these same pros that the celebrity moms rely on to help them bounce back talked to me for my book. Their advice is sane and doable — and free — for real moms everywhere.

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Photo credit: REX USA