Yesterday I hit up MAC with my sister for some fun dramatic make overs, and we saw these 2 very young girls come in to buy stuff.  When I say young, I don't mean 16 or 17, I mean around 10 or 11.  They were both wearing eye make up!  As in eye shadows and what not.

And in all honesty, it did not look good.  It just made them look peculiar and very not-age-appropriate.  I don't remember wearing make up around that age, except lip gloss.  Also, nobody I knew bought anything from MAC!  If we did buy any make up, it was the cheapy stuff from Wet N Wild and Bonnebelle.

For those who have kids around that age, do you allow them to wear make up on a daily basis?   Or what age is it appropriate for girls to start wearing make up?

I have two boys and, to be honest, I'm really grateful I don't have to deal with issues like this. My 14 year old goes to Catholic school so the girls are aren't allowed to wear makeup.  I've seen them out of school and some of them do wear makeup but not much, gloss, mascara maybe some poorly applied eye shadow, which is inevitably blue. On the other hand, we have friends who I consider to be overly idulgent parents and their 14 year old daughter wears fairly heavy eye makeup. It looks awful. Even she wasn't wearing makeup when she was 10 or 11.

I remember getting my first tube of mascara. I was in 8th grade and was wildly allergic to it. I think I started playing around with eyeshadow when I was in high school but didn't wear it regularly, mostly because my parents wouldn't let me.

I was looking at pictures of an 18ish actress ( I have no idea who she was) all done up for a red carpet event. The dress, hair and makeup were all beautifully done but I still thought she looked rediculous; like a little kid playing dress up so it's not just a matter of knowing how to apply it correctly. There are some looks you just have to grow into.

 

 

 

 

oh gawd, that episode of Sex and the City.. it's SOO true and SOO disturbing!!

I think personally I started wearing make up on a daily basis around 15?  Even then it was only when I had time, which wasn't daily.  It was mainly eyeliner, maybe foundation, and lip gloss.  When I wore eyeshadow, it was always the light colors like pink.  I don't think I ventured into dark colors til college.  I actually had no idea what to do with the black that came along with my Hard Candy palette that I bought when I was 18, so I used it to draw a black circle around my eye to take a Panda Picture.  Yea... ahhahahaa..

Even through college I'd wear make up on and off, and always stayed with light sheer colors. 

I did dance and perform as a kid, so I always knew how to put make up on.  It was something we all had to learn early on.  But we look soo weird! 

omg NO!!  I was NEVER in pageants!!

I did ballet when I was young, from 7-12, and afterwards I joined my high school's colorguard.  So for ballet, we'd have 2 performances a year (the annual Nutcracker and a spring/summer performance of another classic ballet), and we'd have to learn how to apply liquid eyeliner, blush, etc.

And yes... hair spray was used in HIGH amounts, but it wasn't to make our hair big or anything.  It was mainly used to keep down flyaways and also on our shoe ribbons.  No nail polish aside from clear nail polish to stop runs in our tights.  That sort of stuff.  So please please please never imagine me in a pageant, please!!! 

Whats even more sad is that Vanessa Hudgens who is suppose to be a wholesome Disney girl has done her nude photos....I know a lot of parents that were VERY upset about that.  Or even now Jamie Lynn Spears...she was supposed to be the good one...what does this teach youg girls.  It's very sad to me 

It was tough enough being a teenager when I was in high school. I can't imagine what it's like now. Anyone remember all the fuss about Brook Shields and her Calvin Klein adds? It seems so tame now.

I agree Left Brain

where are the positive role models?

In any case, the tabloid culture is so weird, as pas said I also grew up with things allowed to me, like wine, or whatever I wanted to wear, but somehow I never ended wanting to look like a 30 year old. And I do not see that, that much back at home (tiny outfits and bikinis are not slutty, they are part of everyday life, so that doesn't work), is it a lot worst in the US? or is it just me? Do french or Italian girls do the same thing nowadays?

Oh good, I am starting to sound like my grandmother, remember how girls in "my days" didn't do this or that

I have a 11 year old little sister. She is allowed to wear a light coat of foundation (mine which is super light anyway) and when she has friends over she can experiment with my eyeshadows, blush, and mascara but she never goes in public. One of her friends put on black eyeliner one weekend and I about croaked I made her take it off right then I couldn't even stand to look at it. My mother allows her too much in my opinion just this past weekend she got acryllic nails just to tear them off 2 days later. I did pageants for a year or so and it is awful how much makeup and hairspray they put on you. I would have to wash my hair 3 times to get it all out and the makeup looked ridiculous on me and I was 19 when I started! I think Reese Witherspoon is a good role model but she is older than the young girls who need them.

^but it's Peter Petrelli aka Jesse (from Gilmore Girls)!!!

the age difference is a bit unsettling, but she's not a normal girl..

This is why I'm really glad I don't have or want kids. This whole topic is depressing ...

I am 16 years old and have been experimenting with makeup since I was 12.

When I was 12 years old, puberty hit and I was very insecure about my acne. Since I was not able to afford the miracle serums and cleansers sold at department stores, I decided to invest in a good foundation and concealor for my acne scars. After competing in competitive speech and debate, moot court, and youth court, I eventually realized that my appearance was as fundamental to my success as my knowledge. Not only did the makeup contribute towards my confidence, it allowed me to take on another persona (I am known as the “BallBuster”). Red lipstick soon became a staple.

Not many young girls understand that makeup is used to enhance features and boost confidence. Many pre-pubescent/teenage girls in my school use excessive makeup because they are incredibly insecure. Their only source of confidence is through their appearance. However, I am not sympathetic. Most teenagers are ignorant and self-absorbed. The increasing I-centered technology does not help. Therefore it is no surprise that children are desperately trying to appear older. Unfortunately, they often lack the emotional maturity to go along with their appearance.

However, 11 year old girls should be allowed to experiment with makeup. I find it ludicrous that parents view makeup on children as a plague. Criticizing the media and demonizing cosmetic companies won’t help your child. Parents should take responsibility and become proactive (don’t shoot me!!). Knowledge is power. Mandate that your child research diligently before purchasing a product. Most pre-pubescent/teenage girls I know do not like appearing like a clown. Through educating them about application techniques and cosmetic advancements (through personal experience or via the internet), parents will be doing their children a larger favor. Rather than ordering only fashion magazines, subscribe to the Economist or Discover.

There are positive role models everywhere, but many are not gifted with the beauty gene. Since we are genetically predisposed to prefer beautiful people, these accomplished individuals are not publicized. Fotunately, thanks to cosmetic chemists like the Beauty Brains, beauty standards are more achievable. I admire qualities like beauty but I respect achievement. Teenage girls may admire Paris’ svelte figure and privileged lifestyle, but they do not respect her. I still believe my generation understands the difference.r

And, yes, I am a Hillary fan. She totally would rip out Bill’s heart and eat it to be the presidential nominee. And she can rock pantsuits like no other.

If  "eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, blush, concealer, and some form of lip product" isn't piling it on then I don't know what is. False eyelashes? Full coverage foundation? What aren't you using?

I wouldn't make a habit of pointing out other people's spelling mistakes since your own grammar is far from perfect. You might also want to tone down the righteous indignation and lose the smug, know-it-all attitude. State your opinions without insulting other forum members if you want to be treated with respect and taken seriously. I realize that's difficult when you're 15 and have all the answers but try. 

Gloss, no one is attacking you personally, believe it or not. And please don't get smug about your education; many of us could bury you in advanced degrees, hon.

The issue is not that Makeup Is Evil -- no one here believes that. It's a freaking cosmetic board. The issue is that makeup and appearance in general for women and girls is complicated. You can try to overturn all that by pretending it doesn't exist; it will not work. At some point, you will bump up against the world's opinions, and most of what we are expressing here is regret that many very young girls haven't found that out yet and are destined for some problems when they -- when YOU -- do.

And it just makes no sense to pretend that celebrities and fashion magazines have no effect on you -- you didn't invent mascara and lip gloss yourself and decide spontaneously to wear it. None of us did. We are surrounded by a culture that freights appearance and cosmetics with a lot of external baggage. No, it's not evil. Yes, it IS complicated. No amount of sass and confidence wil erase that fact. We see little girls still in the stage of thinking that it's simple, good fun, and we know it's more complex, and we know it's going t be a pain in the backside when they find that out. Believe it or not, we were all your age at one point, too -- I didn't emerge from my mother's womb 42 years old.

"Hot tranny mess"

HAHAHAHA! Oh, PurpleRules. I've seen it. I want to attack them with baby wipes and show them how to use the makeup so they look nice. Poor girls.

Maybe I'm in a minority, but I started wearing makeup semi-regularly around 13. I say minority because I did a lot of research on how-to's before I actually started wearing it. If I have a daughter I'll get her a how-to book or something when she asks about wearing makeup. I didn't wear mascara for a long time after looking it up and trying it out...eyelash curlers still scare me. When it comes down to it, it all depends on the person. Some girls are very mature at that age....some not so much. Regardless I see nothing wrong with a little lipgloss or face powder/tinted moisturizer or eyeliner. As long as they know how to apply it well, of course.

This whole topic reminds me of a conversation I had with SO when we saw a group of 11-12 year old girls raiding the bins at a Victoria's Secret sale. Yes, they wore makeup. All I could think was "Oh my god. What? No. What?" and be grateful I don't have to deal with that yet. I think I could deal with much makeup better than my 12 year old wanting thongs/lacy anything. >.<

Sadly, when I was your age there was no Bobbi Brown how-to book. It was just me, my "blueberry" mascara, some purple (and I do mean purple) eyeshadow and the ugliest fuschia lipstick you can imagine. Good times.

And in the interests of bringing a little levity to this thread, he's an example of what I think we'll all agree is a really overdone 16 year old. www.closeronline.co.uk/RealLife/Reallifestories/teen-wedding.aspx

 To be honest,  you can't really see her makeup in the pictures but I'll wager "hot tranny mess" is an accurate description.

** edit **

I can't get the link to work so you'll have to cut and paste it into you browser but trust me, it's worth it.

http://www.closeronline.co.uk/RealLife/Reallifestories/teen-wedding.aspx?dateonline=Monday+27+October+2008

 

 

 

whoa........ How you managed to notice the bride's make up, I do not know.  Her dress is so.. gaudy!  I googled her name and found this pic, where you can see her make up a bit more clearly.

 

News photo

The lady in the cream color bra and green skirt on the top picture is her MOTHER.  And she wants to be a glamour model.

C R A Z Y!!

Oh yea.. they live in a "caravan", which I take to be a trailer or RV.  The dad paves driveways for the living.  The wedding cost 100,000 pounds, which is around what, $200,000???  I guess paving driveways in England is quite profitable.

Oh my....

it's like a train wreck...awful but you can't stop looking at it

I was allowed play makeup as a kid, like around 8 or so. Cheap stuff like Wet-N-Wild and such. But I wasn't allowed to wear it in public. I always had to wash my face before we went out. And some things, like eye makeup, only mom was allowed to apply. In 6th grade some friends bought me teal colored masquera and that I was allowed to wear. I also once was allowed to go out wearing way too much makeup just to teach me a lesson. When a McDonald's cashier kept giving me weird looks I went into the public restroom and washed it all off. Probably taught me a better lesson then all of mom's lectures on the subject.

Edit: And no, Hillary Clinton is NOT a good role model. Any woman who stays with a man who constantly cheats on her is not someone to look up to. I'm sorry, but Sarah Palin is a much better role model. She's modest. Manages to both work and run a family. And if her husband cheated on her you know she'd have the brains to kick his butt to the curb!

I know some of you will tear into me for this but at the very least, go look up the book "Target: Caught In The Crosshairs Of Bill & Hillary Clinton" and see what a terrible role model Hillary really is.

I personally think the female stars of yesteryear are better to look to in terms of beauty, such as Lauren Bacall, Grace Kelly, etc. And female Biblical women better choices for moral role models such as Queen Esther, Sarah, etc.