Take a trip to Memphis, Tennessee and you'll be overwhelmed by many things. For vegetarians, it's the extraordinary amount of barbequed meat; for travel-enthusiasts, it's the family of ducks who live at the Peabody Hotel; and for music lovers, it's the sweet sounds flowing from BB King's Blues Club on Beale Street. For me, as a beauty editor, it's that I learned the real meaning of beauty in an unlikely place: St. Jude's Children Hospital.

Let me back up a bit. A few weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to go to Memphis with Lancôme [1] to learn more about the brand's partnership with St. Jude. When we landed, we were handed an itinerary full of events, including one that made my heart race: makeovers with the patients. As an emotional human who cries in the most benign situations, I was nervous. I worried I'd say the wrong thing, fail to make a patient smile, or worse, bring someone else to tears. I pocketed my favorite red-brown lipstick [2] — the one that makes me feel my most confident. It just didn't seem important right now.

We all met at St. Jude to make DIY flower crowns [3], get makeup done, take photo booth pics, and pick out fun cosmetics bags [4] full of Lancôme goodies. Eager to interact with the kids, I walked up to a young, teenage girl who was wearing a purple Love Your Melon [5] hat and looked a little nervous. At first, she wouldn't make eye contact with me. I struggled through the basics like her name, her hometown, and her favorite television shows. But the moment I asked her about makeup, her eyes lit up. "I love it," she said, her eyes meeting mine. "I love that it's about creativity and that it's such a supportive community."

Once we covered all things beauty, including the 10 beauty vloggers she binge-watches daily, we stood in silence for a few seconds, finding comfort in the quiet. We chuckled when we heard a young girl request a "Kardashian face beat" makeover from makeup artist Alex Sanchez, and the way he diligently compiled his beauty tools to make it happen. We watched as a young girl with bright purple lips strutted across the room, and a baby smiled at its older sister assembling a festival-worthy flower crown. It was beauty that bonded us, but most importantly, I could tell that this little bit of normalcy is what made her feel comfortable and happy.

Before leaving the event, I helped my new friend pick out a makeup bag (she chose a lavender glittery one, a favorite of mine) and it all hit me — hard. It wasn't sadness, like I initially thought it would be, but rather an understanding that beauty is more than just a collection of products to hoard on your vanity. It's simple joy in life that, prior to this trip, I took for granted.

I came into this event worried how makeup played a role in all the love and support of a place like St. Jude, but it turned out to be exactly what these children were missing: a fun-colored lip gloss to make their parents smile, a full-face beat like the Kardashians just for the thrill of it, or a community of beauty-lovers to chat with and take their minds off of the day-to-day.

We may have given them makeup, but these children gave me a reason to fall in love with makeup all over again. As I pulled out my red-brown lipstick on the flight back home, I smiled, knowing that back in Memphis, a young beauty-lover at St. Jude is doing the exact same thing.

If you're interested in donating to St. Jude Children's Hospital, you can give a one-time donation here [6] or sign up to donate monthly.