I have tried to teach them that the way they dress on the outside is a reflection of how you feel on the inside. That how you take care of yourself sends a message of how you feel about yourself. You don't need to have the latest fashions to look great, all you need to do is dress neat and clean.
I try to let them develop their own style and let them have fun with how they look and dress. Now that my girls are growing up fast we have been having conversations about makeup in our house.
The girls have some make-up to play with and to experiment with on the weekends, to use for dress ups and dance performances that they chose to put on. They love to do 'up' each other's face and have serious fun with their creations.
Now that they are getting older, I realise that I need to have a makeup plan. I need to have it clear in my mind what age is appropriate for them to start to wear makeup outside of the house. I love the natural beauty that my girls have and I personally want them to keep it for as long as they can.
These pictures just make my heart sing for how sweet these girls are, how much I want to just bottle them up and keep them young and natural looking forever. I can see that they are wanting to be adults, wanting to be so much more grown up and I want them to enjoy the age they are, to be happy to be young and to be free to play and have fun.
I had to wait until I was 15 to wear some mascara, eyeshadow. My mum use to say you don't need all the foundation stuff with such beautiful skin. Milestones are important and I am conscious of this with my 9 year old son. He is always saying his friends are allowed to do things he is not. But I reply if you do everything now what will have to look foward to when you are 12, 16 and 18. I sound exactly like my mum! Charmaine
ReplyDeleteWith seven daughters and four of them adults now, we have been through this alot. These are my "rules". The things that work for us and I have been very happy with the results. My girls can have play make-up when they are little, much like your girls. We emphasis how beautiful they are without it all the time!! When they are 12 (usually in the Christmas stocking) they get a brown mascara and a natural blush (this is the kind that is not tinted until it goes on the cheek, then it is very light)and also lip gloss that has a very light tint. Miracle turned 14 this year and she got a pallet of browns and purples (light) eye shadows as well as a moisturizer that is lightly tinted. The moisturizer is costly (about 11.00), but very light and healthy for their skin, and it lasts a long time. In addition, she received some more colorful lip glosses that are almost but not quite a lip stick. I talked with her when she got them about how her makeup needs to be light enough that I don't notice it. It should add to her natural beauty and not stand out on its own. We put it on in different amounts and I showed her the difference. She loves it and takes care to always wear it light (when she wears it at all). Of all my girls, only one of them had problems with wearing way too much makeup and she used to have to wash her face and go without until she learned. It was a hard lesson, but she has her own natural beauty and is totally comfortable in her own skin these days and can't believe that she ever used that much makeup. I think the biggest thing to do is to talk about it. The girls love to help each other and they have learned to be casual with thier makeup when they are going out. I am happy with it, and so are they.
ReplyDeleteThank you Naomi & Patty Ann.
ReplyDeleteFor me it's about talking it through and emphasizing that makeup is an enhancer not a mask.
That having been said, there are such a lot of social 'pulls' on our girls to present themselves in a more 'mature' way and it's a constant challenge to support them to celebrate their natural beauty.
Captain V's girls are stunning and we are fortunate that they go to a school where there is a no-makeup policy (they have makeup & nail polish remover in the office and it's used!) which is a big thing in our area because there are some schools where the girls look like something out of a salacious movie.
Thanks for the great post, I'll be popping back in to read any other comments & suggestions for products.
xx Felicity
I've been thinking about his too...having 3 daughters. They too, have "play" make-up but I don't think I want them wearing makeup for a long while yet...I started wearing lipstick in grade 8 (13)...
ReplyDeleteI got my first lipstick and matching nail polish when I was about 12. My plan for my daughter is to introduce her own special good quality but no colour lip balm and moisturiser at around 10, and teach about caring for her skin first. Then at around 12 move onto a light gloss and pale polish, and then she'll have to wait until her teens for anything else (and pay for it herself). That's the plan, we'll see if it actually works!
ReplyDeleteMy mum bought my sister and I the cherry lip gloss from Avon. We loved ourselves sick wearing it.My sister still orders it for her self, and now my nieces wear it. They are 12 and 14. The oldest girl is allowed to wear mascara,and lip gloss, and natural browns eye shadow.
ReplyDeleteI would go to a friends house and we'd put on sooooo much eye shadow ( green or purple) then put our sunnies on. HA we thought we were cool.
Good luck with this exciting time in your and your girls lives. :)
I am not a wearer of makeup and was most shocked to say the least when my daughter aged 13 appeared out of her room one morning wearing very thick, heavy and dark eye makeup...I blogged about it and had some very helpful suggestions.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter and I spoke about it and for her it came down to peer pressure from friends. It did takes a few weeks for her to feel comfortable enough to stand up to them and now she is virtually makeup free. I have a friend who is a makeup artist who will teach her to apply makeup in a way to enhance her beauty when she feels she is ready for it.
The one thing I have been big on is skin care...both cleansing and being sun wise.
I would say at about 12, a tinted moisteriser (Nivea make a good one)! and maybe a clear lipgloss and special lip balm and a brown mascara and 14 for the rest.. if you don't let it then a lot of time they will just put it on at school :)
ReplyDeleteI started wearing a tiny bit of eyeliner when I was twelve. Then, first year of highschool, I had really bad acne. A friend introduced me to a fantastic tinted acne cream that my mother bought and allowed me to use. It made me feel better about my skin.
ReplyDeleteAside from eyeliner, lip gloss (clear) and tinted cream, I didn't wear anything much else. Nowadays I will put on some lipstick occasionally (except Amy drew on the fridge with it) and I bought good quality eye shadows, but mostly, I don't wear anything except pressed powder.
No advice. There's only boys in my house and not much makeup! Just wanted to pop in and say your girls are so very beautiful xx
ReplyDeleteI didn't wear make-up until I was around 14-15 but stopped wearing it around 19.
ReplyDeleteI only started wearing it again because I wanted to look more professional at work, but that was when I was about 23/24.
I wore it because of peer pressure and because my mother never taught me how to wear it (I wore it when I moved in with my dad) I never LEARNT how to wear it properly!
I think it's really important to be taught how to wear it to enhance your natural beauty. And one of the best tips I received was to pick either my eyes or my lips and draw attention to one of them, not both!
Now-a-days I only wear it when I go to work because (and I have tested this) my husband can't tell the difference anyway (apparently I look lovely all the time! lol)
Good Luck!
as a child of the late 80s- early 90s, I learnt about makeup in the days of clear mascara - I don't think my parents ever knew I owned it, let alone wore it! My mum never talked about makeup, because she never used it, and I guess that's probably why I don't use it now.
ReplyDeletemy big girl is just short of turning 13, and we've expressed our preference that she only wears it for special occasions or evenings out, and for the most part she hasn't even bothered on those occasions, but when she's at home with her dad I have no influence...
nice post..I too like to see my girls natural beauty for as long as I can...re: does my bum look big in this bus..Now I have 8 kids and was lucky enough not to have to convert to a bus to accomadate...by the time I had my last 2 the teens quite often had plans of their own..But when there was an occasion where we all were attending I had good family and friends that would call by and pickup a couple, then most times we travelled to and from with just us and the babyseat children as the others all wanted to go in the pickup car as well..lol.when ever we announced to family or friends we were coming to visit or excepting an invite, first question was how many you bringing, so they could buy a bigger pot or a biger BBQ..lol...myself and huby always said we would have six children, then gods gift of number 7 and because I dont like odd I had to have number 8...lord help me(or more to the point Hubby) if he gives me number 9...but we would not ever say w would have it any other way..my daughter did blog about her parents a couple of weeks ago....sums up her thougts of her family.
ReplyDeletehttp://kirstylee11.blogspot.com/2011/03/mum-and-dad.html
My daughter is now 23. So I can understand what you must be going through.They grow up so fast, we dont want them growing any faster than they already are. Go with what you feel about it. Talking to them is the best thing so you know where you/they are at. Thank you for entering my giveaway - good luck, and for becoming my latest follower. I love your blog and have just been enjoying catching up on you. Enjoy your week.
ReplyDeleteRebecca x
First of all... I LOVE these pictures. I can see you in all of your girls.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I started to wear gloss, mascara and eyeliner at 13. Then I had a friend who was older than me who did me up with pancake makeup, blush, the works. At 15. I hardly wore it, unless we went out (and I was with this friend). But I don't think I really cared for it until started working at 18. I hardly wore it to school (unless it was school photos!).
All the best. I often think that girls are hard with all of this stuff. Next question: when to shave their legs? Oh, it's ongoing... I wish you the best and know that you will be so wise in the information/sharing/learning!
I love how you share with them the balance of your views. xx
Thanks so much for these insights - love this feedback and it is so helpful. thanks so much ladies. xx
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