The terrifying moment, when your beautiful young daughter comes to you and begs to be allowed to wear makeup to school or out and about, usually leaves you wondering “what is the right decision here?” It is clear, she is beginning to care about what she looks like, she has seen you all these years going out of your way to look fabulous, and now it is her turn to begin learning the ropes.
Whatever age your daughter is when you decide to let her wear makeup just remember to take it slow. Help her ease into the life of makeup and glam. It will help her to understand the fundamentals of what makeup is doing for her better, rather than throwing her into a pool of different wild products to use best guesses on whether she needs it or not. I would say the blind mess method is a sure fire way to have your girl looking trashy in a flash! Moderation is the word.
My suggestion would be, when YOU deem her old enough, (my opinion, 12-14 or right around the time their skin hits puberty) start her off with a skin colored slightly shimmery shadow, and a clear or skin tinted lip gloss. That is something to bring highlight to the two most noticed features, however the natural tones of the makeup she uses will not transform your baby girl into a “woman.” As they get older add small things like maybe a glitter gloss, and clear mascara and so on until they are comfortable with applying their own makeup and old enough to decide what kinds of makeup they wear.
I remember when I decided to begin wearing makeup (8th or 9th grade), I had no clue what I was doing. My foundation was too light/dark. I would have a mask line on my jaw where I did not blend well enough My eyelashes were terribly clumped together and I don’t even want to talk about my eyeliner. I think the reason most parents are horrified when they see their daughter wearing makeup for the first times is because the girls don’t naturally know how to apply flawless makeup. For all they know you just stick it on and it works. But that is surely NOT the case. Just as you had to teach them how to read and make bead necklaces and so on, you must teach them how to wear makeup, and wear it right, as well.
The path to becoming a woman is something we should never try to stop. It is normal for a girl to look at herself in the mirror and see errors that should be fixable with a little extra help. In that case why not help them to feel better about those “flaws” with little bits of girly magic? Your young girl will appreciate you understanding her needs more than you know. Plus, unless you manage to make keeping her in a hole all her life work, there is no stopping her from being exposed to the world of makeup and glam. Also, you’ll feel good about allowing her to boosting her self esteem, and introduce her to a grown girls playground.
I am not saying that you must allow your daughters to wear makeup, but if they ask about it and show interest in it, don’t ban them from doing something that comes kind of naturally in a girls life. Knowing that you understand their concerns, no matter how small they are to you will build a trusting and open relationship that will help you to always meet each other in the middle.
This is just my little opinion on the matter, so take what you will and leave the rest!
I will also be doing a series of tutorials showing makeup that I think is acceptable for the different levels of makeup, starting at the most basic to the full on teenage girl makeup face. Then you can view and decide what you think is appropriate for your beautiful young princess.
Loves & Kisses!
Aubs
Tags: art, aubrey brower, avon, beauty, blush, concealer, cosmetics, eyeshadow, fashion, girls, glamour, glitter, how old should my daughter be to wear makeup, howto, ladies, MAC, makeup, makeup for teens, makeup forever, makeup tutorials, makeupgeek, mark, mark kay, michelle phan, modeling, models, Natural makeup, nyc, panacea81, petrilude, pursebuzz, sephora, Smashbox, teen makeup, teens, Tutorials, urban decay, when should my teen wear makeup?, women, xsparkage
January 2, 2010 at 8:05 pm |
I think it’s a good thing for parents to sit with their daughter allow them to wear make up and even help them. I’m a dad but show some interest in her make up helping her with shading stuff as I like anything creative and artistic anyway. She’s 11 now and feels the freedom of being allowed to wear make up plus I think it helps to discuss everything with them too because while it may all seem like innocent fun for the child we as parents really know all the good and bad sides to it !!!
January 19, 2010 at 3:17 am |
Aubs, Before I read your post. I would fight with my 11 yr old daughter almost on a daily bases about her wearing make-up. I didn’t feel that she should be able to wear certain make-up products at such a young age. She got me to look on line at how old everyone else thinks she should be. So I did , my daughter and I read your post and during it all I was in agree. I didn’y look at the beauty of her wearing make-up as you have helped me see. I know now that there is a better way for us to connect now. Thanks for the great advice.
January 19, 2010 at 3:44 pm |
Robyn,
Thank you so much for writing. When I decided to write this I was playing with my daughter (who is 7) doing fun makeup just to play, and I began thinking, ahhhh!! when do I have to let her start wearing actual makeup, and not just for fun with me? Then this post was born. I am so happy it is helping parents feel more comfortable with this sort of thing. As a mother of a little girl I I know it is going to be hard to see my baby (even at 11) wearing makeup out and about. But I realize as well that it is not ALL about what I want haha.
Again, I am so happy you wrote to me. Good luck with this new transition. Keep an eye out on my blog, I am posting videos with examples of makeup I think girls should start out with all the way up to a nice natural but more finished look for those high school days.
Take care!
Aubrey